Morgan Tsvangirai, who leads the largest faction of the now-divided Movement for Democratic Change, MDC, has announced popular resistance against Robert Mugabe's attempts to extend his nefarious reign. The M&G reports that such demonstrations may meet government forces determined to stop the protests at all costs. According to Eldred Masunungure, chair of the University of Zimbabwe's department of political science, “[Mass protests] will be met with the might of Mugabe’s security forces and any person who takes lightly the threat of the force that will be unleashed will only do that at their own peril. This government is fighting to survive and will do everything possible to remain in power.” In light of recent dissent from police officials, one wonders which "security forces" Mugabe would unleash.
Meanwhile, following up on a recent story about representatives from African nations trying to recruit Zimbabwe's remaining white farmers, the Zimbabwe government has ordered 15 more farmers to vacate their land. This despite the fact that earlier this month the government announced that it was "calling back expelled farmers to help resuscitate the collapsed agricultural sector." The key to understanding this story is the realization that the agricultural well-being of the nation is at best a secondary concern and that first and foremost the government's, Mugabe's, maneuverings are about the naked exercise of power.
Finally, the Zimbabwe National Editors' Forum (Zinef) has taken a brave stance against Zimbabwe's refusal to renew the passport of newspaper owner Trevor Ncube, who publishes The Standard and the Zimbabwe Independent in that country and the Mail & Guardian in South Africa. They have called Zimbabwe's action "a form of punishment that must not be allowed to escape international notice," noting that Ncube's "newspapers in Zimbabwe and South Africa have taken a lead in exposing corruption and misrule." According to the report, Zinef said Ncube was seeking a high court order compelling Registrar General Tobaiwa Mudede to renew his passport following his application for Zimbabwean citizenship and the agency hopes that journalists in Zimbabwe and internationally will "make it clear to the regime that any interference with the freedom of the press in Zimbabwe is unacceptable." The odds that Mugabe will pay those journalists any heed are, alas, slim. Tyrants are never cowed by words alone, though words are necassary.
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