Mugabe Allies Terrorize Farmers In Zimbabwe (PHOTOS)

It was a frigid June night at Pickstone Mine in Zimbabwe when 67-year-old Angela Campbell -- soaking wet, her arm broken and a gun to her head -- signed a document vowing to give up the fight for her family's farm.

The kidnappers demanding her signature at gunpoint were "war veterans" from President Robert Mugabe's heyday as a liberation hero, and they made it clear that her refusal would mean more beatings.

Though Campbell signed the document, her son-in-law said she has no intention of giving up her battle; Campbell's family will be in Windhoek, Namibia, on Wednesday to present arguments to a Southern African Development Community tribunal.

In pursuing the case, the Campbells and 77 fellow Zimbabwean farmers are risking theft, torture and death for what may be their only remaining chance to save the homes and farms so coveted by Mugabe and his loyalists.

Read the entire story here.

Comments

[asichii]

I have to resume my mildly interesting job of re-educating folks like natturnex about the Zimbabwe situation. What you are saying is hogwash and totally FALSE. Dictators are very cunning, they hide behind nationalistic rhetoric to justify their selfish agendas. Mugabe is very unpopular, much more than Bush. That is why he steals elections. Mugabe is in survival mode. He committed crimes against humanity most notably Gukurahundi massacres that would take him to Hauge. Zimbabweans loathe the man overwhelmingly. I wish you only knew how much the regime and its surrogates have gobbled the resources of the country to enrich themselves. Confiscated farms have been shared equally among regime's VIPs and surrogates plus a few 'rented' supporters (you too would have qualified). Go to Zimbabwe and do your own assessment. Why do you give a farm (say 5 ha) to an impoverished individual who has 2 goats, a donkey and no plough? Get serious about poverty eradication and national development. If you have an average education of geography, then you would know that Zimbabwe is located in a semi-arid region where its agriculture is at the mercy of erratic rains. Massive starvation is looming this year. Commercial farmers (black and white) used irrigation. Your attack of MDC makes a mockery of democracy. Zimbabwe has a severe Aids crisis. Hospitals, schools are deserted because there are no supplies.Doctors, nurses and teachers have fled the country. Mugabe's terror machine against defenseless citizens is vicious.

[natturnerx]

closely observe the above comment. that, good people, is a textbook example of the 'big lie' propaganda tactic. its effectiveness lies not in facts or logical deductions, but in simple and strident repetition of bald assertions,widely broadcasted and loudly proclaimed so as to drown out all counter-argument. (how did come to believe that saddam had wmd's? because they told us over&over&over. how are we being led to believe that mugabe is a bad man? because they're telling us over&over&over. ) i'm actually certain that asichii means well. he himself is a victim of the big lie, and now he is tricked into becoming a propagator of it. let's wake up people. how many times will we let them fool us with the same trick?

[ZimboChick]

These people, save a for a few eggheads who do not care to read or travel, know what you are talking about. Mugabe's atrocities are even on video and even John McCain can use 'the google' to find them - from Gukurahundi the diesel n'anga *insert black stare*. My interest today is not in repeating what everyone already knows but in asking why it takes an attack on white people for Huffpo to show pictures....what about the MDC mayor's wife who was abducted last month and killed in front of her toddler. I wrote about it here and Huffpo couldn't care less. This bugs me because then it makes Mugabe's claim about the West valid and that just irks me to no end...that because people cannot help their superiority complexes - they play into this senile old man's hands. Anyone who knows Mugabe knows how calculating he is. I am tired of everyone trying to quasi help. I am tired of Mugabe's paranoia. I am also tired of people calling the MDC the puppet of the West. MDC is not British - it is supported by real live Zimbabweans - chinja! For those of you who care to know what is happening to the average Zimbabwean - then watch this - just some of the 'normal happenings'. People have been reduced to helpless and hapless (starving) men and women....asazi!!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jul/04/zimbabwe1

[CarlosDee]

I agree that is sad that the Western media often seems more concerned about a few white people than millions of others. The pictures of murdered and tortured MDC supporters and the victims of the xenophobic attacks in South Africa are far worse than the pictures above. On the other hand if it takes a Rachel Corrie for Americans and Europeans to understand the plight of the Palestinians and pictures of tortured white farmers for them to be concerned about Zimbabwe then so be it, although it is sad.

I am deeply ashamed of the South African president Thabo Mbeki. He has let the Zimbabwean people down. The same people that welcomed anti-apartheid activists and warmly supported the African National Congress in its struggle against apartheid.

Increasingly too, China is becoming the new colonial power in Africa. While public opinion in democratic countries now prevents the excesses of the past, there are no such restraints on the actions of the Chinese government.

I know that in the end Mugabe will be toppled. At a certain point, things will be so bad in Zimbabwe that the people will have nothing to lose. But that form of change will be at a terrible cost and that cost could still be avoided.

A luta continua - the struggle continues!

[ZimboChick]

Can we also see pictures of black Zimbabweans - the real losers ion this

You are all full of shenanigans

[asichii]

The pictures of black Zimbabweans savagely attacked by Mugabe thugs are GORIER than those on CNN / HuffPo. It is a color-blind campaign of terror ZimboChick!

If you are not faint-hearted, check them out on my blog:

http://nationalvision.wordpress.com

[colinmeister]

Mugabe lead his people to independence. He has run his country ever since, and can do nothing but bad mouth the west.
Inflation runs at 2,200,000% per annum. 1 US$ is worth about 30,000,000,000 Zimbabwe $, it is a fertile land which cannot feed its people.
It is time for the West to just turn their backs on Zimbabwe and leave it alone - of course, trade is not out of the question, provided Zimbabwe pays in cash with hard currency.

[asichii]

As at 2.37pm E :

US$1= Z$75 000 000 000 (thats right - 75Billion Z$)

Rocket Science made easy no need to use light years!!

[XYZguy]

There's no question that Mugabe's a thug (then again the mijority of the leaders in the impoverished nations of Africa are) but comparing him to Saddam Hussein (gassed thousands/war against Iran causing hundreds of thousands of causulties) is not only an exaggerating but is simply being absurd.

Let's compare Mugabe to Melez Zenawi of Ethiopia who has committed countless war crimes in the Ogaden region and currently through his occupation of Somalia. He has the backing and blessing of the US and UK. He has by any standard committed more grave war crimes than Mugabe yet he's propped up and funded by the west. Why the double standards? I've come to expect double standards from the US government but was not expecting it from fellow progressives.

It just shows how the plight of innocent is politicized and outrage is selective towards regimes not friendly to the west.

[watchingthings]

I agree that Sadam can in no way be compared to these ruthless thugs professing to be the government in some of the African countries. Sadam did not harm those who grew food for the country. He made sure they had a reliable source of energy, something they sorely lack now.

[XYZguy]

Body count alone makes Saddam worst but that's not the point of my post. The point is that the west is involved in selective outrage--they go hoo-haa over tyrants that are disobedient to them while showing indeference towards the atrocities committed by those "on their side"

I gave Ethiopia as an example. The tyrant dictator Melez Zenawi not only rigged the election and masscred opposition protesters (all documented) he is also involved in war crimes committed in the Ogaden region and the illegal occupation of Somalia (the resulting humanitarian disaster is ranked worst in the world). Now please explain why there is not the slightest hint of displeasure of what that regime is doing? Why Zenawi is patronized and labelled "a supporter in the war against terror", while the far less violator of human rights Mugabe is being compared to, in some circles, to Hitler. This is the essence of my argument.

[XYZguy]

On a different note, you seem to only be disturbed by his harming the farmers. Do the black Zimbabweans whose deaths for which he is most responsible have any weight in your book?

[edtastic]

Yeah I see people still shocked to see White people getting hurt. It is so easy to get Americans excited about something. Just show some hurt white people. You know Mugabe terrorizes the whole damn country. Everybody is being victimized in Zimbabwe but the first time I heard about Mugabe on the News is when the White Farmers had their land taken. We all know we would hear nothing if land were taken from Black or Asian Farmers. The fact is people are more sympathetic to whites in American Media. That's why this is a story, this is why people care to comment about their outrage. Zimbabwe is a mess, and so are a lot of other nations inside and outside of Africa. Nations take time to develop and stabilize. Europe was at war with itself for centuries before it settled down. South America has seen its countries go through many revolutions some aided by the United States. This chaos is politics, it takes time. We cant even get our politics to our liking with tremendous wealth, power and resources. Imagine how bad it is with a massive poor uneducated population.

We need to get rid of the dictators where ever possible, but be careful not to throw the baby out with the bath water.

[watchingthings]

The land was used to provide food for the country as well as there was enough to export. Mugabee's Terrorists did not take the land to farm...it lays fallow. They use hunger as a means to stay in power....human life means nothing to Mugabee....he is obsessed with power only.

[XYZguy]

Economic instability was an inevitable outcome of land redistribution (which was by all counts necessary). Things could have gone more smoothly had the British and Americans held there end of the deal. Instead, they chose to do all they could to destabilize Zimbabwe. By putting undue pressure on an "infant" and fragile democracy they had ensured that who ever was in charge would counter by any means necessary, which is exactly what Mugabe did. He justified he's staying in power to his people by pointing out that if he were abdicate that the land reformers would be reversed. Can't blame his people for believing him as he was instrumental in delivering independence from the very same group of aggressors they face today. The irony is that every hostile action the neocolonialists conjure simply plays into his hands and proves the fears of his people.

Years later when he's totally corrupt with power and has his own lynch mob, the west turns around and says "it was never about the land reforms but his abuse of power." Can't say I didn't see that coming! Regardless of the west's intention, I support all peaceful efforts to have him relinquish power but with one small reservation: What about the other human rights violators in Africa and around the world (especially the ones you support)? What must these tyrants (whose actions you ignore) do to earn your outrage? Slap around a few whites or two? I thought so!!

[naturallight]

As my man Chuck D said, "Don't believe the hype"
As my man Bob Marley said, "Africa Unite"


http://www.africanexecutive.com/modules/magazine/articles.php?article=3264
"Frustrated by the failure of their man to win an outright victory, the West has ratcheted up the pressure in the hopes if precipitating a crisis which would allow them to intervene more directly. Mugabe’s pre-emptive move against the aid agencies [which have the perfect cover for espionage] has taken critical pieces off the board. Africans need to understand that is a test of their sovereignty and independence. If Mugabe’s independent voice can be stilled by Western intervention, propaganda and the collusion of local puppets, then Africa’s independence becomes meaningless."

[natturnerx]

finally, a voice of reason amidst this lynch mob madness. the west is pulling every dirty, underhanded trick in the book to perfect their new colonialist scheme. first the right-wing of western imperialism impoverishes a country with sanctions and unfair trade policies. then the left-wing of western imperialism proposes "humanitarian intervention" to save the poor impoverished people. then they go in and split up the spoils between themselves. its an ingenious scheme, but people are catching on.

[EdRocktober]

This looks like a job for Blackwater

[macintoshsauce]

And the world turns away...

[yankee452]

Wow!!

There are a lot of Native Americans on this post all of a sudden!!

[newworldman777]

We exploited, abused and subjugated native people have to stick together to survive in a world dominated by Western European colonialists.

[ZenJu]

Most "liberals" can only find time to vilify Israel and spend their energy bashing the tiny democratic Jewish state, while marching arm-in-arm with Hizbullah and Hamas thugs. I'd LOVE to see such enthusiasm for the victim's of Zimbabwe's vicious and brutal regime. Where are demonstrations anywhere equal to the anti-Israel marches I've seen in London? Where is the outrage? Why doesn't the UN's laughable "Human Rights council" spend time on this matter, researching and issuing denunciations of Mugabe? Unlike the Middle East, where the "Palestinians" indulge in glorifying martyrdom and death-worship and continually trash their own hopes for a better life, the people of Zimbabwe are REAL victims. Hypocrisy abounds.

[Horst]

Some of the worst gangsters in the world run many African countries...of course this is not a new phenomenon. Self loathing white liberals find it hard to accept that black people can also be racist and violent.

[Reine]

The liberals never want to take action when a dictator brutally rules a country unless the US doesn't get involved but when they don't, they criticize the US for not doing anything about it. Sometimes you just can't win.

[yankee452]

And what exactly has your conservative champion of human ideals done about it?

The fact is our government has been left impotent by getting bogged down in the Middle East. What exactly could they really do right now aside from sanctioning an already destitute nation?

Remember this is a President who when running for the office in 2000 declared that Africa is not in our "strategic interest". Zimbabwe much like the rest of Africa ( except Nigeria, Equitorial Guinea and Libya) have nothing in the way "interest" that we would like to safeguard.

So before you question where those rotten liberals stand, do yourself and our country a favor and question the Presidency instead....who knows you might actually get somewhere.

..or not!!

[paul15260]

why is it, that most white people only get enraged by brutality that happens in Africa, when it's a white face that has been bruised. You people on this site need to look at how much of your opinion has to do with racism. I'm not saying that anyone should be treated this way, but I am asking that we look at our reaction to this versus the millions of other countries being brutalized on the continent as we blog.

[phreeman]

ZenJu: Apparently, your mama never told you that two wrongs don't make a right.

The fact that you can use this as a basis to attack "liberals" is astonishingly ignorant. You obviously have no idea what a "liberal" is, beyond spouting propaganda you heard from Rush Limbaugh and his fellow travelers. Maybe turn off Rush and do some reading and THINKING about what "liberal" really means. This would be a good start: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_liberalism

Without "liberals," you wouldn't have the right to spout your ignorant rubbish. Before you keep spouting this propaganda, substitute "Jews" for each statement you want to make about "liberals," and see how close those statements are to Nazi propaganda in the 1920s and 30s. Remember the Nazi's that we defeated in the "Good War?"

Plus, is the "Jewish state" (meaning Israel I assume) really a democracy? You might want to actually read up on that proposition. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_citizens_of_Israel#Legal_status_in_Israeli_law might be a good place to start.

[acudoc]

Of course, or course, we must never forget the mantra.....Jews good, Arabs bad, Jews good, Arabs bad. Somehow it doesn't ring true anymore. The MSM has a throttle-hold on the truth, but the truth is seeping through. Israeli history is being courageously revisited by certain Israeli historians, and it's not all that golden. Both sides have committed atrocities over the past 60-90 years, BOTH SIDES! An influx of Jews from Eastern Europe claiming that that the land was promised to them by a tribal God does not constitute justification for turning out an entire people from their homeland and creating an apartheid state that refuses even to acknowledge the right of Palestinians to have a state.

[edtastic]

The reason liberals focus on Israel is very simple. We give them several BILLION DOLLARS A YEAR. In fact we give them a lot more than that. America defends Israel at every turn, no matter what atrocity is committed by the IDF in the name of security. The collective punishment, the segregation wall, the incredibly disproportionate counter strikes, the assassinations by hellfire missile on streets of Gaza and West Bank. I am old enough to remember a time before Israel escalated violence to this level. I remember when Palestinians worked in Israel. There was a peace process now we have the product of bigotry, arrogance, and evil. People who feel the lives of some people are worth more than others. People who pimp American influence and ruin it's name so they may go on killing, starving, and humiliating millions of people for no apparent reason.

[newworldman777]

Let's see...

Israel is a "country" whose very flawed existence is considered highly questionable (at the very least) by the other Middle Eastern countries, and by many other people around the world. After all, the Jews lost their land 2000 years ago, yet decided to reclaim it in 1948 (by driving out the Palestinians), because their Judeo-Christian "God" promised them that land forever and ever, amen. The Israelis now subject the Palestinians to humiliating and degrading existences on a regular basis by using brute force, with the help of the good ol' U.S. of A.: their twin sibling who is joined at their hip.

Zimbabwe is a country that is comprised of land that had originally belonged to the native black Africans who had inhabited and owned the land for millennia before the Western European colonizers arrived there en masse sometime in the 19th century. The white people named the land "Rhodesia" in honor of one of their most aggressive imperialists, Cecil Rhodes, who became rich by exploiting the natives and their land, stealing their natural resources in the process. They forced the blacks into demeaning and subservient roles. Now, since the blacks have retaken their land and renamed it Zimbabwe, the white "landowners" don't want to go, flawed though their existence there was since they arrived. The solution for the problem is for the white colonizers to go back to Western Europe. Considering their racist past there, they really have no place anymore in Zimbabwe.

[Researchguy66]

Where's O'b*ama on this issue? I thought he was an expert in African politics. Maybe he can send cousin Odinga in to negotiate peace.

[yankee452]

How about asking what the CURRENT government in seat has done about it?!?

Jesus!

[Horst]

The ones repsonsible for Mugabe's continued mis-rule are Thabo Mbeki (the George Bush of Africa) and his regime who have steadfastly supported the Zimbabwean regime.

[watcher269]

If Bush upholds his reasoning for invading Iraq then the United States should invade a number of other countries in the world. By the United States NOT invading other countries with that reasoning indicates the un-truthfulness in his reasons for the Iraq invasion.

[onemorevoice]

The above statement makes the assumption that Bush governs based on logic.

Which automatically makes it wrong.

[FirstShirt]

By the looks of it the folks in Namibia are too busy bashing the white farmers to worry about us. You don't have too many reports of them killing themselves to make a point.

[humuhumunukunukuapuaa]

Anyone who says that it was our duty to invade Iraq because "Saddam was a bad man who needed to be removed" needs to look at these photos and then eat a healthy serving of crow.

[danoj]

We invaded on the intelligence the entire world thought to be acurate. The same intell Clinton used as an excuse to bomb Iraq; not to mention sanctions imposed under Clinton that caused many more cavillian deaths then have been caused by our invasion. However, at the time I don't recall the liberal nuts crying about it. leads me to believe as long as you are 15000 feet up and it's only sanctions killing folks libs don't care.

[yankee452]

I guess you have conveniently forgotten those famous words from our president stating that British intelligence had claimed Saddam was trying to acquire yellowcake from Niger?
Our own CIA advised the White House to ignore those findings due to a lack of independent evidence. The president's own envoy Ambassador Wilson returned from two trips to the region and reported there was no evidence to support the British intel on the matter.
Bush used this claim from a foreign intel service to sell the impending war to the American public in his state of the union address, even though the CIA chief insisted that portion of the speech be removed.

Oh and by the way, yellowcake is not in any way sufficient for the production of NUCULAR weapons. In addition to uranium or plutonium for example, it needs to be enriched. Iraq did NOT have this capability - that much the world never had any doubt about. So there was no nuclear threat to speak of. The last time Saddam had that sort of technology was in 1981 when Iraq's single nuclear plant was destroyed by an Israeli air raid. And the last time Iraq had a program of any real intent was in the early 1990's.....yeah Bill Clinton took care of that with the UN mandated Operation Desert Fox.

Did you forget all that?

Or did you just shut your eyes and ears real tight, and hope it never happened?

[natturnerx]

the western media lynch mob campaign against zimbabwe continues. there is no purpose in publishing these photos except to inflame racial passions, especially since there is no credible link between them and the mugabe government. notice the quotation marks around the words "war veterans". they couldnt even tell that lie with a straight face. the liberation war was 30 yrs ago, so its veterans would be old men in their 50s & 60s. i doubt they would have the energy to be running around doing all the mayhem that the western press alleges. ( may as well attribute a recent rash of bank robberies to a gang of nazi war criminals.) will mugabe ever be forgiven for taking the land from the colonizers and giving it back to his people?

[procopios]

It's not the media who decided to call the thugs "war veterans", it's the Mugabe regime and the thugs themselves, in order to give the murder and thievery a Robin Hood storyline.

[watchingthings]

Mugabe is also holding back food brought by the UN.

[CarlosDee]

The "war veterans" call themselves that. They weren't a force in Zimbabwe until "Hitler" Hunzvi became the leader of the organization in 1997. The organization is closely allied with Mugabe's ZANU-PF, its leaders actually receiving money from Mugabe's government. Of course most of the members weren't even born during the guerilla war to liberate Zimbabwe. The name is used to evoke the continuation of the independence struggle.

Most of the whites left Zimbabwe after Ian Smith's illegal regime fell. The ones that remained (and still remain) made a conscious choice for Africa. Most feel their identity is African not British.

Mugabe didn't give the land back to "his people", most of the seized farms were taken over by members of Mugabe's regime. Agricultural output and the economy collapsed. Zimbabweans are now literally starving. Millions have fled to neighboring countries to eke out meager existences in squatter camps. Other African countries were pleased to received the displaced farmers. Zambia, Nigeria and Mocambique have made land available to them.

In my view, Mugabe was given the benefit of the doubt for far too long. The rest of the world, and especially Africa, looked away when his regime massacred 20,000 civilians in Matabeleland in 1982. It should have been a warning that despite his Saville Row suits and affected British accent Mugabe is essentially a thug.

[ADVOCATE4ZPG]

Mugabe has descended to the role of frontman. All the same, he is little more than a slicked-up version of a Mau Mau!!!

[Beachrunner]

Well said, CD; you nailed it.

[asichii]

There is a phony organization here in the US called 21st February Movement based out of the Bronx NY basically on Mugabe's payroll to do counter-PR. Many more are scattered around the world. There is a perplexing similarity in your defence of Mugabe and theirs. My friend, your remarks are not only ridiculously incongrous but utterly insensitive to the plight of ordinary Zimbabweans who have been butchered mercilessly by Mugabe's hangmen. Those pictures are nothing compared to what Mugabe has done to his own people (blacks). Are you ready for horror? visit my blog (http://nationalvision.wordpress.com) and see the gravity of human rights violations where people are set alight by Mugabe and his thugs. The war in Zimbabwe should be about poverty and disease not this concocted and politically expediant land issue used by a kleptocracy of geriatrics of 3 decades and still clinging. Which planet do you hail from? You don't know that Mugabe stole 2002 and 2008 election only to declare himself winner in a solo contest. Even those without cable like you see images on local channels of extreme terror unleashed by the regime there. When was the last time you visited Zimbabwe? Go again this time and let's see if you will have enough billions of Zimbabwe dollars just to bribe a security guard to use an 'out-of-order and no electricity' restroom. 9 millon% inflation will eat you alive. You need to read my book son! Mugabe is Zimbabwe's greatest liability.

[natturnerx]

you, sir, seem to be the one who is making a career out of trumpeting the racist propaganda big-lie campaign against the people of zimbabwe. funny how the western media doesnt report about election issues in ghana, mali, chad,cameroon, etc,etc. and they didnt report about zimbabwe either - until mugabe had the effrontery to re-take the white occupied farms and redistribute the land to the landless peasantry of his country. this set an intolerable precedent of aboriginal people re-taking their land. and we all know that the whole structure of western imperialism is based on the stolen lands of the amerindians (north & south america),the polynesian­s(hawaii),­the aborigines­(australia­),the maoris(new zealand), and on&on. if mugabe gets away with this the whole western international system is threatened. thus the british instigated economic warfare to undermine the zimbabwean economy, and the british bankrolled fifth-column (mdc) to cause chaos in the country. fortunately the spineless traitors are too cowardly to become insurgents, so they hide in european embassies and cry for intervention. the african union sees thru the scam and supports its african brothers&sisters, to the dismay of the neo-colonialists. by the way i've never been to the bronx.

[CarlosDee]

I agree with asichii. Your comments sound very much like the pathetic propaganda put out by the Mugabe regime. It's never "Dad's" (Mugabe's) fault. It's always the British or the homosexuals or the CIA or anything but Mugabe's corrupt mismanagement and self-enrichment.

You really have a nerve to talk about the rights of aboriginal peoples. Mugabe bulldozed whole areas of Harare, where the poorest Zimbabweans lived, leaving them homeless and destitute. Mugabe doesn't give a fig about the Zimbabwean people, as long as he can afford his western lifestyle and his wife can spend a fortune on shopping trips to Johannesburg and Rome. Mugabe may have been a hero once, but he's turned out to be the ultimate sell-out.

[greenbrier]

Isn't a billion Zimbabwean dollars now worth about $2--literally?

[rh654]

LOL - yeah ok.

Let me guess you also believe that the Holocaust is a made up lie.

Mao didn't harm a fly.

Pol Pot was merely a misunderstood "fun-time" guy.

and,

Stalin's regime just "loved" too much.

[watchingthings]

Mugabee never intended to give the land back to the people. The land lays idle [under the new ownership of his thugs]. They are Terrorising the nation to accept Mugabe as supreme leader.

[gintheb]

Honestly folks, Mugabee is a thug who needs to be dethroned, arrested, tried and punished to the fullest extent of world law.