POLITICAL SITUATION IN ZIMBABWE: THE ROLE OF THE ARMY IN ZIMBABWEAN POLITICS

POLITICAL SITUATION IN ZIMBABWE: THE ROLE OF THE ARMY IN ZIMBABWEAN POLITICS: THE role of the military has risen to the top of the political agenda as Zimbabwe’s fractious coalition debates the prospect of fresh e...

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THE ROLE OF THE ARMY IN ZIMBABWEAN POLITICS

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THE role of the military has risen to the top of the political agenda as Zimbabwe’s fractious coalition debates the prospect of fresh elections in 2013 or, if President Robert Mugabe has his way, before then. The question haunting members of the MDC, the opposition party that joined Mugabe’s Zanu PF in a coalition government after violently disputed elections in 2008, is how the security establishment will react if the MDC leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, the prime minister, wins and becomes commander-in-chief. Serving and former commanders have been making menacing comments. Brigadier General Douglas Nyikayaramba, a commander in the national army, once accused Tsvangirai of being a “national security threat” and stooge of Western powers. He added in comments to the Herald, the state newspaper, that: “We will die for him (Mugabe) to make sure he remains in power.” Although many observers suggest such bellicose statements are posturing and that even Zanu PF has distance...
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MUGABE`S KILLING MACHINE; NAMES & FACES

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The tight circles of "securocrats", who sit on the Joint Operations Command (JOC) committee, are now believed to be in day-to-day charge of Zimbabwe's government. They ensured Mr Mugabe did not step down after his defeat in the presidential election's first round in March 2008 and are now masterminding a campaign of terror to suppress the opposition Movement for Democratic Change and guarantee victory for Mr Mugabe in the upcoming elections this year. The government indefinitely suspended all work by aid groups and non-governmental organizations, accusing them of breaching their terms of registration. Mr Mugabe is a useful figurehead who still commands the deference of other African leaders, notably Former President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa. But the western diplomat said Mr Mugabe's power had ebbed away and Zimbabwe was now run by a "junta". "This is a military coup by stealth," he said. "There are no tanks on people's l...
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VIOLENCE UP AS ELECTIONS DRAW CLOSER IN ZIMBABWE

Police have arrested two more members of staff from the Prime Minister’s Communications Office, caretakers, Spiwe Vera and Elizabeth Banda. This brings to six the number of staff members from the Office of the Prime Minister arrested inside five days. Lawyers have been dispatched to Harare Central Police Station to attend to them.Four party officials were arrested Sunday, along with prominent rights lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa who was trying to represent them during police searches of their offices and homes. The four top officials are accused of compiling information on the state’s failure to prosecute cases of high level corruption. Critics accuse ZANU-PF of abusing state security organs to intimidate its rivals ahead of crucial elections. The harassment of ZANU-PF’s perceived opponents extends to civic society groups, human rights lawyers and the private media.While the police have been quick to arrest suspected MDC-T perpetrators of violence, they have not done the same to ZANU-PF sup...
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