One Culture,

President Robert Mugabe has unleashed a tsunami-like wave of destruction upon Zimbabwe’s urban poor, who also happen to be those who generally do not support his ruling Zanu-PF.

The demolitions commenced on 23 May under the auspices of “Operation Murambasvina” (Restore Order). About 300,000 homes have been demolished leaving 1.5 million homeless. Three children died after being crushed in their homes. Others have died from exposure. 30,000 people have been arrested.

The world was quite oblivious to this tragedy until images of bulldozers, security police, burning homes, and mothers and children sitting amid rubble were secretly recorded and smuggled out of Zimbabwe.

The extent of the devastation is now well known. What is still unclear is what is really happening in Zimbabwe, for other details indicate that this operation is indeed much more than a badly handled urban renewal project and really is a Mugabe/Zanu-PF war against opponents. It appears that, in the light of the recent Velvet, Rose, Orange and Cedar “revolutions”, Mugabe and his Zanu-PF are merely engaging in a little “revolution prevention” by shattering, impoverishing, dispersing and possibly even killing the opposition before it can get organised.

Three years ago, when Didymus Mutasa was Zanu-PF’s Secretary for Administration and in charge of food distribution, he commented regarding food distribution to the opposition, “We would be better off with only 6 million, with our own people who support the liberation struggle. We don’t want all these extra people.”

In April 2005, after his election victory, Mugabe appointed Didymus Mutasa to be his Minister for State Security. This role puts Mutasa in charge of the Central Intelligence Organization (secret police) and in charge of Operation Murambasvina.

On top of this, Mutasa’s Ministry for State Security is now in charge of food distribution, although Mutasa claims that there are no food shortages in Zimbabwe. When a journalist challenged Mutasa with reports from Zimbabwean Catholic Archbishop Pius Ncube that people are starving to death in Bulawayo, Mutasa replied, “The cleric [Ncube] has a psychological disease and he needs to have his head examined because he is a liar.”
[Cont]

TimesOnLine Christina Lamb reports: those left homeless by Operation Murambasvina are “herded into re-education camps and told they have a housing plot only if they swear allegiance to the party of President Robert Mugabe. “Those who refuse are loaded into trucks and dumped in remote rural areas, far from their homes, where food is scarce. Human rights workers say they are being left to die in a deliberate strategy by the Mugabe regime to exterminate opponents.”

Another Zimbabwean writer commented, “Indeed there are stories coming out of people being trucked to re-education camps. We saw such camps during the early stages of the farm invasions where farm workers were exposed to this political re-education. Now it seems the same technique is being used on the urban poor. People are forced to recant and become members of the ruling party before they receive guarantee of a new home or food relief. It’s almost impossible to credit that this is happening in Zimbabwe in 2005 but all evidence is pointing that way: a Pol Pot type operation to empty the towns and force the poorest of the poor back into the countryside where they will starve to death without government assistance, which we know they will not get unless they chant the party slogans and sing the party songs.”

Harare correspondent Dumisani Muleya said in an opinion piece published in Business Day (Johannesburg, 22 June), “The scenario is almost like a theatrical revival of Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution or Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge rampage. The political philosophy and motives are similar.”

Zim Online reported, “A Zim Online news crew touring Caledonia Farm, converted into a holding camp for thousands of families evicted from their shanty homes in and around Harare, met several agents of the state’s dreaded spy Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO).

They said they were at the camp to ‘monitor the mood’ of the families and also to keep a record on who visits them especially non-governmental organisations or members of the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change party, adding that this was being done only as a security precaution.”
[cont]

Philo, what's with the Mugabe essay?

I presume, given your previous posts ("[i]t is these particular persons we need to isolate, educate, or remove"), you are presenting the Zimbabwe story as encouragement to those who would like to ethnically cleanse our Australian society. It is without doubt the logical conclusion to the argument that John Stone presents.

It is clear that Mr Mugabe has come to the limits of his tolerance of multiculturalism in Zimbabwe, and is doing something that, presumably, is the envy of John and his fellow-travellers. Encourage one sector to leave by taking their livelihood (farms), and then bulldoze the houses of the urban dwellers. We might have to be a little more subtle here - perhaps just herd them all into "relocation camps" for a while, don't bother with the rule of law or anything as trivial.

But I might be wrong, and you are saying something different. Please explain.

Kenny

Hang on mate! Lay off BOAZ_David. He's a real character!

So what if he is pedantic, fixated and obsessional? I'd wager that he's probably a nice bloke. I bet he doesn't go around killing innocent people in the name of Jesus Christ. I bet that he doesn't deliberately cause harm to others.

Have a closer look at all of the threads in which B_D participates. Sure it is predicatable what he will say - and posters almost always bite! Just imagine OnLine Opinion without the B_Ds of the world. There probably wouldn't be a lot of discussion.

B_D teaches me heaps even though I rarely agree with him. He triggers my thinking and he challenges my brain. I think that's great - even though at times I would love to ring his neck for some of the things that he says.

Kenny - I don't know the bloke and I am certainly not starting up a B_D fan club. I can assure you that there are two other regular posters who drive me nuts [far more than B_D] with their intellectual sarcasm - which of course, is the lowest form of wit! Just about everything they say smells of intellectual superiority. I read what they say but I have stopped taking their bait - vis a vis, I do not reply to them. Rather, I simply ignore bad behaviour.

What's the stuff about B_D's wife? I do not get the connection. Is it appropriate?

Cheers
Kay

Kay, I think B_D has said elsewhere that his wife is asian which is probably what is being refered to.

Philo, you are right there is not a lot of enlightened truth or superior wisdom coming from this quarter. I wouldn't mind a dose of the superior wisdom stuff but would rather get my truth by learning and testing it. The problem with the "enlightened" kind is that those who think that they have it don't see much need to keep testing it against the world they live in.

Clearly I don't agree with B_D in regard to the truth or relevance of his faith. I don't think that means that I am indicating that I am the only one with enlightened truth or even that I have yet found the answer. I have looked enough at B_D's world view to decide that it does not convince me.

Think of it as determining that the world is not flat on the way to finding out the diameter. You don't have to have the final answer to work out that some proposed answers don't hold up.

R0bert

Perhaps instead of Muslim’s we could just bring in the Christians and Jewish people from the middle east and African.!? Would they be more like Aussie's ? I can assure you there is little difference in the cultures whatever religion people are. Most are conservative, women are marginalised because of difficult economic conditions and the societies are patriarchal - Christian, Jewish and Muslim. I have worked and socialised with a variety of ethnic groups and religions and religion is only partially responsible for culture. Of course extremely conservative Muslims (and observant Jews and how about strict Christians) won't fit into mainstream Australian culture, how could they all that boozing and loutish behaviour ! IS THAT WHAT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT because that's the only thing 'AUSTRALIAN' my husband can't do as a Muslim ??

So what sort of Australian culture are we talking about exactly ? I regularly see the local Lebs at BBQ's in local parks Muslims and Christians (and Africans, Pakistanis, Indians and all the rest). I often hear of the local Muslim lads (and girls) going fishing and to the footy. Someone 'please explain' to me exactly what sort of Australian culture is it that Muslim's can't fit into ? If it only drinking and getting plastered on Friday and night and the rest of that silly behaviour I am sad to call myself a second /third generation Anglo Aussie.

Very strict Muslims will never mix much with other non-Muslims or non-strict Muslims. These people are a very small minority. And for the record an anglo friend of mine's daughter was attending Hillsong Church in Sydney's northwest and was told she should only be friends with similiar strict Christians. I am not against any religion as it brings about good morals and values in the right proportions, but these comments are sounding very 'un-Australian' to me. I say egalitariansim is the key to our culture. Treat others fairly and equally no matter what their background rich poor, black, white and that goes for all who live here. They're the values I fight for.