Lebanon: UN envoy holds talks to try to end delays on formation of government

The United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon met today with the country’s Prime Minister-designate and its parliamentary speaker as he continues his efforts to try to help end the political deadlock that has prevented the formation of a government, five months after national elections were held.

Kenya: UN seeks urgent funds to respond to flooding in refugee camps

The United Nations refugee agency is appealing for $2.8 million to provide essential supplies and respond to possible disease outbreaks among more than 300,000 refugees in two camps in Kenya threatened by flooding.

UN anti-malaria official commends UNICEF for funding 20 million mosquito nets

The official tasked with spearheading United Nations efforts against malaria has welcomed the decision of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to allocate more than $8 million in new funds to distribute insecticide-treated mosquito nets in eight countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

US Army Major Kills 13, Injures 30 at Fort Hood

Friday, November 06, 2009
19:19 Mecca time, 16:19 GMT

Deaths in US army base shooting

The suspect has been named as Nidal Malik Hasan, an army psychiatrist employed at Fort Hood

A mass shooting at the largest army base in the US has left 13 people dead and at least 28 wounded, military officials say.

The incident took place inside the Fort Hood military base in Texas as soldiers were awaiting medical and dental treatment at a processing centre for troops being deployed on missions to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Lieutenant-General Bob Cone, the base’s commanding officer, said the shooting took place at about 1:30pm local time (1930 GMT) on Thursday at a Soldier Readiness Facility.

The suspect has been named as Major Nidal Malik Hasan, a 39-year-old army psychiatrist.

“There was a single shooter that was shot multiple times at the scene. He was not killed as previously reported. He is currently in custody and in stable condition,” Cone said.

Hasan was born in the US to Muslim Palestinian parents who had emigrated from a small town near Jerusalem, US media said.

‘Quick reaction’

Further bloodshed was narrowly prevented when Hasan was apparently blocked from reaching a graduation ceremony attended by some 600 people, just metres away from the scene.

“Thanks to the quick reaction of several soldiers, they were able to close off the doors to that auditorium,” Cone said.

Josh Rushing, Al Jazeera’s correspondent at Fort Hood, Texas, said: “[Hasan] is a first-generation American. He joined the army after high school and went to the Virginia Tech university to get a psychiatry degree through a military programme.

“He became a psychiatrist at the Walter Reed Army Medical Centre in Washington … where he counselled soldiers coming back from war.

“Every day, he heard how horrible those stories were and he really started to question the wars, according to what his cousin and sources who knew him said.

“Hasan became more devout in his religion and started arguing with soldiers about whether the wars were right or not, to the point where he received disciplinary action and negative work reviews.

“He was transferred to the medical facility here at Fort Hood, where apparently these feelings continued.

“It raises a major question - how can a person responsible for the mental health of soldiers returning [from war] be allowed to continue in this profession when he has these kinds of questions himself?”

The rampage occurs at a time of stress for the US armed services burdened by two wars, with commanders struggling to ease the effect of repeated combat tours on troops and their families.

Repeated deployments

Suicides in the army hit a record level last year, with at least 128 taking their lives, and are on track to set a new high this year - surpassing the rate among the wider civilian population.

US commanders believe repeated deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan have played a role in the spike in suicides, as well a surge in post-traumatic stress and depression.

Hasan faced his own imminent deployment for military service, officials said.

Nader Hasan, a cousin, said Hasan was “mortified by the idea of having to deploy” and that he had been harassed by other soldiers for being a Muslim.

He told the New York Times newspaper that Hasan had retained a lawyer and sought to get out of the army before the end of his contract.

Security tightened

Fort Hood was locked down after the attack, which occurred on the same day as a graduation ceremony was due to go ahead at the facility.

Recent US mass shootings

April 3, 2009: Jiverly Wong, a Vietnamese immigrant, opens fire at an immigrant community centre in Binghamton, New York, killing 11 immigrants and two workers. Wong killed himself at the scene

March 10, 2009: Michael McLendon, 28, killed 10 people, including his Mother and four other family members in Alabama before himself committing suicide.

February 14, 2008: Former student Steven Kazmierczak, 27, kills five students and wound 18 more in shooting at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb. He then killed himself.

December 5, 2007: Robert A. Hawkins, 19, opens fire in a shopping mall in Omaha, Nebraska killing eight people before taking his own life.

April 16, 2007: Cho Seung-Hui, 23, kills 32 students and staff at Virginia Tech before killing himself in the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history.

Some other bases across the US also stepped up security in the wake of the shootings.

Barack Obama, the US president, called the attack a “horrific outburst of violence”.

“It is horrifying that they should come under fire at an army base on American soil,” he said in Washington.

Patty Culhane, Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Washington, said that the attack had come in spite of rigorous security protocols at the base.

“At every US military base since September 11, they do something that is called ‘100 per cent ID check’ - that means that when you pull up to the gate, there are armed soldiers and also contractors there, and you have to have a special sticker in your car,” she said.

“You also have to have a military ID. If you do not have that, you have to pull over to the side, and your car is usually swept for explosives, and you need an escort.

“Family members [of service personnel] do have ID, so they are allowed to go on to the base.”

Fort Hood is home to about 50,000 troops, although Kay Bailey Hutchison, a Texas senator, said there were about 35,000 troops at the base at the time.

“Our dedicated military personnel have sacrificed so much in service to our country, and it sickens me that the men and women of Fort Hood have been subjected to this senseless, random violence,” she said.

Source: Al Jazeera and agencies

UN providing essential health services to displaced persons in northern Yemen

The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) is providing vital health services to thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) who have been driven from their homes since clashes between Government forces and Al Houthi rebels resumed across Sa’dah province in northern Yemen in mid-August.

Tribal clashes uproot over 16,000 civilians in northern DR Congo, reports UN agency

Clashes between two tribes in northern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have caused more than 16,000 civilians to flee their homes since last week, crossing into neighbouring Republic of Congo to find safety, the United Nations refugee agency reported today.

Tribal clashes uproot over 16,000 civilians in northern DR Congo, reports UN

Clashes between two tribes in northern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have caused more than 16,000 civilians to flee their homes since last week, crossing into neighbouring Republic of Congo to find safety, the United Nations refugee agency reported today.

Zimbabwe News Update: VP Mujuru Blasts MDC-T Over Disengagement

Mujuru blasts MDC-T over disengagement

Bindura Bureau
Zimbabwe Herald

Vice President Joice Mujuru yesterday blasted the MDC-T’s disengagement from Government, saying it was a ploy calculated to derail preparations for the forthcoming agricultural season and discredit the land reform programme.

VP Mujuru was addressing Zanu-PF supporters at Bakasa Business Centre in Guruve during one of her tours of the district aimed at reminding people that they should remain focused and not be deceived by some political parties’ propaganda.

The meeting was attended by Mashonaland Central Governor and Resident Minister Advocate Martin Dinha, Zanu-PF provincial chairman and Mt Darwin North House of Assembly representative Cde Dickson Mafios and other party legislators.

“The real issue behind their (MDC-T’s) boycotting of Cabinet meetings is that they intend to derail the agricultural season which is imminent,” she said.

VP Mujuru said the last Cabinet meeting which the MDC-T boycotted had resolved to use part of the US$510 million disbursed by the International Monetary Fund.

“We sat as Cabinet and agreed that the funds we received from the IMF would be used towards inputs procurement, health, roads and other developmental programmes,” she said.

VP Mujuru said Cabinet also agreed that the cost of inputs like imported fertilizer should be subsidised to cushion farmers.

“When we continue importing we will be subsidising foreign farmers instead of our own,” she said. VP Mujuru said MDC-T was hampering Government’s efforts to recapitalise the Grain Marketing Board.

“We have since agreed as Cabinet that all the 84 GMB depots should be opened so that farmers travel minimal distances when they go and collect inputs.

“In Mashonaland Central Cabinet agreed that eight more sub-depots should be opened in some remote parts of the country to assist the farmers,” she said.

VP Mujuru said Cabinet had mandated Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development Minister Joseph Made to announce subsidised fertilizer and seed prices next week.

She said Zanu-PF had fulfilled all its GPA requirements but MDC-T was making fresh demands outside the agreement.

She said provincial governors, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor and the Attorney-General were appointed by the President in his capacity as Head of State and Government.

She said the present governors, RBZ head and AG were appointed according to the law before the creation of the inclusive Government and MDC-T should only raise queries after their terms expired.

“But he (MDC-T leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai) is saying no I would like to chair Cabinet and also be nominated Acting President when Cde Mugabe travels outside the country.

“We say no because the law does not allow that,” she said.

She said MDC-T had not fulfilled its GPA obligations after it called for the imposition of sanctions on Zimbabwe.

“They should go and tell Britain and America to remove the sanctions,” she said.

VP Mujuru said there were reports that former white farmers were frequenting State-acquired land in the false hope that they would regain their farms from the new and rightful owners.

“Let us continue supporting the party (Zanu-PF) that brought independence and emancipated you from repressive colonial rule,” she said.

Cde Mafios implored Government to look into the problems affecting Mashonaland Central ranging from roads, mobile networks and broadcasting services, which he said were in a deplorable state.

Tsvangirai ends boycott

From Morris Mkwate in MAPUTO, Mozambique

Sadc leaders yesterday convinced MDC-T leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai to end his party’s “disengagement” from the inclusive Government following a mini regional summit here.

Speaking to the media at the end of a summit of the bloc’s Organ on Politics, Defence and Security, Mr Tsvangirai said they would, however, review their position after 30 days.

He did not say what course of action MDC-T would take if the issues he wanted addressed were not dealt with to his satisfaction at the expiry of the deadline.

Zanu-PF representatives could not be immediately reached to comment on the matter.

“We have suspended our disengagement from the GPA (Global Political Agreement) with immediate effect and we will give President Robert Mugabe 30 days to implement the agreement on the pertinent issues we are concerned about,” he said.

Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara said he was “very satisfied” with the outcome of the summit.

The official summit communique had not been made public at the time of writing.

However, informed sources last night said Mr Tsvangirai’s announcement was in line with regional leaders’ expectations that his party engages the other partners in the inclusive Government to resolve any differences attendant to the GPA.

Sadc leaders, including President Mugabe, have in the past two weeks stressed that it is up to the parties in the inclusive Government to sort out their problems.

Opening the summit, President Armando Guebuza, who chairs the Troika, said Zanu-PF and the two MDC formations had shown commitment to resolving their differences and maintaining political stability for the country’s economic recovery.

He said indications were the parties “share more common views than disagreements”.

President Guebuza said they should work on strengthening areas of convergence for the benefit of Zimbabweans and Southern Africa.

The Mozambican leader made similar observations on the political situation in Lesotho.

The summit was held to review the general political situation in the DRC, Lesotho, Madagas-car and Zimbabwe.

“In both Lesotho and Zimbabwe, we are fully aware that the political parties share more common views than disagreements,” said President Guebuza, who was flanked by Sadc executive secretary Dr Tomaz Salamao.

“They do the most they can to overcome these disagreements and have shown great commitment in implementing policies and programmes that can answer the great desires of their people.

“We would like to point out that the challenges that have emerged can be overcome.

“In this framework, they must do the best they can to maintain political stability to allow foreign direct investment and the relaunch of economic activity in the country.”

President Guebuza challenged the parties to pledge full commitment to working together.

He added that the report of the ministerial mission that visited Zimbabwe last week to review the Global Political Agreement provided useful pointers on the way forward.

Prior to the summit, media reports claimed that the ministerial mission’s visit and yesterday’s meeting were a direct result of MDC-T’s lobby following that party’s “disengagement” from Government.

The Organ chairman, however, indicated that the developments were in line with prior Sadc arrangements made at a summit of regional Heads of State and Government in the DRC in September.

President Mugabe, who is the Head of State and Government and Commander-in-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, attended the meeting after President Guebuza extended an invitation to him.

Mr Tsvangirai, Prof Mutambara and Ms Thoko-zani Khupe were also invited.

Apart from President Guebuza, other members of the Troika are Zambia’s President Rupiah Banda (deputy chair) — who was represented by his Defence Minister Dr Kalombo Mwansa — and Swaziland’s King Mswati III.

South African President Jacob Zuma was present as an observer.

Others present included Cdes Emmerson Mnangagwa and Patrick Chinamasa (Zanu-PF), Mr Tendai Biti, Mr Elton Mangoma (both MDC-T), Professor Welshman Ncube, and Mrs Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga (both MDC).

Sources said MDC-T raised its usual concerns about Roy Bennett’s swearing in as Deputy Agriculture Minister, the appointment of provincial governors and the status of Reserve Bank governor Dr Gideon Gono and Attorney-General Mr Johannes Tomana.

Zanu-PF has said MDC-T has not played its part in the implementation of the GPA by calling for the lifting of the economic sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe by the West.

External interference in the country’s domestic affairs through the beaming of hate messages by pirate radio stations and the setting up of parallel government structures by the Prime Minister’s Office are also among Zanu-PF’s concerns.

“Zanu-PF maintains that these (MDC-T’s concerns) are peripheral issues compared to the substantial issue of sanctions.

“This embargo is hurting the generality of Zimbabweans,” the sources said.

“In fact, there is dishonesty on the part of the Prime Minister because he wants to use sanctions as leverage against Zanu-PF.

“His party also wants to use the sanctions to get Zanu-PF to comply with its demands.

“There is evidence that they want the sanctions to remain in force and this was their brief to the EU Troika that visited the country recently. So Zanu-PF wants this addressed.”

President Mugabe has pointed out that Bennett will only be sworn into office if he is cleared of the terror-related charges he is facing in the High Court.

MDC-T started boycotting participation in Government on October 16 and ministers from that party missed three consecutive Cabinet sessions.

President Mugabe indicated that State functions would not be paralysed by that action and Government would continue operating in the best interests of the people.

However, there were efforts at rapprochement and it is understood that had the three principals met on Monday, they would have agreed on a common position ahead of yesterday’s summit.

Nkomo nominated for VP post

By Lloyd Gumbo

Former PF-Zapu members who sit in Zanu-PF’s Central Committee met in Bulawayo yesterday and nominated national chairman Cde John Nkomo to fill the post of Vice President and Second Secretary left vacant following the death of veteran nationalist and hero Cde Joseph Msika in August.

According to a party source, Deputy Senate President Cde Naison Khutshwekhaya Ndlovu, who had expressed interest in the post, was nominated to take over as party national chairman.

According to the 1987 Unity Accord, the two positions, as well as that of Home Affairs Minister, will be filled by cadres who belonged to PF-Zapu before the merger with Zanu-PF.

Speaking on condition of anonymity after yesterday’s meeting, a former senior PF-Zapu and Central Committee member said Cdes Nkomo and Ndlovu were unanimously endorsed as the candidates of choice.

“All the Central Committee members who attended the meeting unanimously endorsed Cde John Nkomo as VP and Cde Naison Ndlovu as the party national chairman.

“This was the best meeting we have ever had. We hope other groups will take a leaf from this and we are proud that this nomination had good representation from all the provinces.

“We are there to give an advisory opinion to other provinces and we are sure the other provinces are going to rubber-stamp our decision,” the source said.

In an interview last night, Zanu-PF’s acting political commissar, Cde Richard Ndlovu — who presided over the meeting — could neither confirm nor deny that Cdes Nkomo and Ndlovu had been nominated.

He simply said one name had been agreed on for the VP post and similarly for that of national chairman.

Cde Ndlovu said the candidates were nominated in line with the 1987 Unity Accord and everyone was satisfied with the outcome.

“We were consulting on who we want to assume the Vice President’s position and the national chairman and we all agreed on the candidates.

“However, I can’t divulge their names at the moment because it will be premature at this stage. I can only confirm that the nominations were unanimous.

“The meeting was very cordial and everyone was happy with the nominations and we believe the other provinces will consider our nominations because this was in line with the Unity Accord,” he said.

Cde Ndlovu said former PF-Zapu Central Committee members from all the 10 provinces graced the occasion and those who failed to attend sent solidarity messages.

He said the nominations would be done on November 14, but the names would only be revealed at December’s national congress.

“All former PF-Zapu Central Committee members from all the provinces attended the consultative meeting and we spoke with one voice. Nominations by other provinces will be done on November 14 but the names are only going to be made public at congress.

“This meeting was part of our consultations and so far we are on track, but the final nominations will be done by all provinces,” Cde Ndlovu said.

Zanu-PF’s Politburo last week directed former PF-Zapu members sitting in the Central Committee to consult and nominate a candidate of their choice to fill the vacant post.

The decision was in line with an understanding following the Unity Accord that one of the two Vice Presidents should come from the most senior surviving member of the former PF-Zapu still holding a senior post in Zanu-PF.

Central Committee nominations deferred

Herald Reporter

ZANU-PF has deferred to November 14 the nomination for Central Committee members that had been set for this weekend.

Addressing a Press conference in Harare yesterday, the party’s secretary for administration, Cde Didymus Mutasa, said various issues necessitated the postponement.

“We want to inform our members countrywide that the nominations of Central Committee members have been shifted from November 7 to 14. This was as a result of many reasons beyond our control.

“Firstly, we have noted that the nomination date was clashing with the Harare provincial elections set for this Saturday.

“We also wanted to give the Matabeleland region time to finish their consultations on coming up with a candidate to fill the position of the Second Secretary of the party,” he said.

Cde Mutasa expressed optimism that the Matabeleland region would finish the consultations before the nomination date.

“There was a lot of advice for the Matabeleland region during the last Politburo meeting and I am sure that they will meet the deadline,” he said.

Cde Mutasa said the party’s administration department was also yet to write to provinces informing them about their Central Committee membership quotas.

According to the party’s constitution, Cde Mutasa said, the nominations for the Central Committee members should be held on the same day in all provinces.

“The nominations for Central Committee members have to be done on the same day countrywide, so as a result of this Saturday’s commitments, we decided to shift the nomination dates,” Cde Mutasa said.

He also took the opportunity to encourage provincial leadership to nominate mature and eligible members capable of dealing with the challenges facing the party.

Meanwhile, information at hand indicates that the party’s information and publicity department was seized with the drafting of the theme for the National People’s Congress set for next month.

The theme would be forwarded to the President and First Secretary of the Party, Cde Mugabe.

The Congress is expected to draw more than 10 000 delegates.

Tsvangirai driving Rhodesian agenda

By Alexander Kanengoni

POLITICAL events happening over the past two weeks have been so quick it took some time to understand them.

First, there was President Mugabe opening Parliament two weeks ago challenging the West for engagement.

Then followed Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s surprising announcement that he was ‘‘disengaging’’ from the inclusive Government.

Then there was the flurry of movement from Sadc that culminated in the visit by the DRC president, Joseph Kabila of course this does not include UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Manfred Nowark’s unscheduled visit that unceremoniously ended in the VIP lounge at Harare International Airport.

The case for engagement with the West as part of efforts to get Zimbabwe out of the current economic problems cannot be over-emphasised.

But it is Tsvangirai’s announcement to disengage from the inclusive Government that is quite revealing.

The observation that the Rhodesian lobby could be controlling MDC-T, and therefore responsible for most decisions that the party takes, is frightening.

It was the Rhodesians that we fought against during the liberation war.

Although they may agree on many things, the West and the Rhodesian lobby are not the same. The two major distinguishing features of the Rhodesian lobby are:

-rabid racism and;

-a misplaced belief that they will one day, return to the farms

The Rhodesian lobby has always had disagreements with the West, particularly the British.

The lobby disagreed with the British over their view of Africans who the lobby regarded as unfit to rule the country.

A political deal the British had struck with nationalist leader Joshua Nkomo in London in 1960 envisaged a gradual increase in African representation in Parliament that would take up to 100 years for blacks to attain a parliamentary majority to enable them to elect the country’s first black ruler.

It was that deal that gave rise to popular euphemisms like: “The country is around the corner!” or “The country is in my briefcase!”

The Rhodesian lobby was livid. It would never give the blacks such a chance! “Not in a thousand years!” Ian Smith would boast three years later in 1963 after his Rhodesian Front party wrenched power from Winston Field’s Dominion Party.

Two years down the line in 1965, Ian Smith would rebel against the British Crown and declare independence.

Harold Wilson, the British Prime Minister promised to crush the rebellion by force, but he never did it.

It must be noted that it was the rise to power of the Rhodesian lobby that precipitated the split in the nationalist movement.

Hardliners, who included Robert Mugabe, Ndabaningi Sithole, Leopold Takawira, Enos Nkala, Edgar Tekere etc broke away from Zapu to form Zanu arguing that there was not much to expect from the British but to take the Rhodesians head-on through armed insurrection.

We are our own liberators! was the rallying call at the Gwelo (now Gweru) congress where the new party was launched.

The point is the British and the Rhodesians have not always agreed. In his book, The Great Betrayal, Ian Smith accused the British of selling out the Rhodesians at Lancaster House, declaring Rhodesians were prepared to fight the nationalist guerrillas to the last man.

Implicitly, he was still holding on to the myth that blacks should never have been allowed to rule. The man went to his grave clinging to that delusion believing strangely the war between the Rhodesians and the nationalists had not yet been settled.

The tragedy is Ian Smith was not an eccentric voice speaking on the fringes of a defeated community.

He was speaking on behalf of a community that had regrouped in South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Britain and Canada.

It’s one thing to see the Rhodesian lobby in other countries outside our borders but quite another to see it rearing its ugly head in our midst, through the opposition (MDC-T is still an opposition by virtue of opposing in the inclusive Government).

Because, when a high-ranking opposition leader, Eddie Cross, recently said the clause in the GPA that the land reform programme was irreversible be revisited, one could not help seeing a frighteningly Rhodesian agenda.

The Rhodesians still dream of going back to the farms.

His secretary for information, Nelson Chamisa tried to douse the anger and panic the statement had ignited but it was too late because the Rhodesians had spoken.

When Tsvangirai decided to ‘‘disengage’’ from the inclusive Government primarily over the case of Roy Bennett, most people were surprised by the power and influence that the Rhodesian lobby wields within the opposition movement.

There have been other black MDC-T leaders, including Government ministers, arrested in the past for various offences, but the party’s response had not been as swift and as resolute as it was in Bennett’s case.

If anyone ever doubted that MDC-T was at the beck and call of Bennett, it was time to awaken to the fact.

There has been idle talk that MDC-T queues at Bennett’s office at the end of each month for its stipend.

It’s hard not to believe it now.

The other interesting point is the choice of Bennett for the ministry of agriculture.

But considering the power that he wields in MDC-T, he must have assigned himself to that ministry.

The question becomes why he gave himself that ministry. But it is easy to understand within the context of Rhodesians’ delusion of returning to the farms.

The anger reflected in the vandalism that one sees along the highways and the country’s infrastructure, most of which is senseless, can only be attributed to people with the mentality: if we can’t have it, then no one else should have it.

All the road-signs along the highways are gone.

Some of us thought it was the aluminium that the vandals wanted for resell. But when they also destroyed the concrete blocks showing the distances along the roads, then the agenda became purely Rhodesian.

The same applies to the other infrastructure that is being destroyed without any intention to resale.

The Rhodesians want to come back.

If it is true that Prime Minister Tsvangirai wants the power and influence of war veterans in state institutions like the army and police force diluted before he can return to the inclusive Government, that is another frightfully Rhodesian agenda.

War veterans symbolise the defence of the gains of the liberation war.

They are the people who toppled the Rhodesians from power and the last people Rhodesians want to see.

Calling for the dilution of their influence is tantamount to calling for their demobilisation from the army and the police force.

It’s like calling for the people to lay down their arms in the middle of a war. Prime Minister Tsvangirai is driving a Rhodesian agenda.

The Rhodesian lobby is Tsvangirai’s burden.

But the problem with him for us is when he tries to facilitate their return.

When President Mugabe talks about engaging the West, he is certainly not talking about engaging the Rhodesians.

The only place to engage the Rhodesians is the battlefield.

That has been the nature of the relationship.

Ian Smith went to his grave, less than a decade ago, still believing blacks were not fit to rule; that it was the British who sold out the Rhodesians at Lancaster House.

He died unrepentant. But is it not said shamelessly that Rhodesians never die?

Several years after independence, Peter Godwin, a former Rhodesian, published a book with the title Rhodesians Never Die.

The case for engaging the West that President Mugabe raised in his opening address to parliament recently is significant.

It is such an engagement that will eventually lead to the lifting of economic sanctions. To expect the opposition to tell the West to lift sanctions would be folly because the powerful Rhodesian lobby will not allow them to do it.

There will be other voices besides ours, calling for the lifting of sanctions; Sadc and the AU for instance. But it will be us engaging the West, particularly the USA and Britain, that is key to getting sanctions lifted.

I don’t think there is much difficulty in that regard because the basis for such engagement already exists — the Lancaster House Agreement.

Both the British and the Americans were there and are signatories to the agreement.

There are still outstanding commitments agreed at Lancaster House.

The British pledged 36 million pounds towards paying off the white farmers and supporting a future land reform programme.

The Americans pledged an equal amount. I believe those commitments need to be revisited. We should ignore the letter by the then British secretary for International Development, Claire Short in November 1997 that reneged on her government’s commitment, as agreed at Lancaster House, to pay for the land because it is dishonest.

I believe it was that letter which was largely responsible for the tragedy that occurred between 1998 and 2008.

I do not believe the case for re-engagement with the Americans to repeal the US sanctions law; ZDERA (Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act) is complicated either.

If we accept that the Americans enacted ZDERA in return for British military support for the invasion of Iraq and that Obama was elected on the promise of getting the Americans out of Iraq, then theoretically, the reasons for ZDERA fall away.

There are other reasons that make re-engaging the Americans less complicated.

There are many things about us that must fascinate the Americans, our resilience and prowess. The attempt to lure Reserve Bank Governor, Dr Gideon Gono to the World Bank was a clearly American initiative.

I believe there are two things they wanted to achieve.

They had correctly identified that he was the man preventing the country’s economic collapse and they wanted to remove him to hasten the process.

They were fascinated by how he had, literally single-handed, managed to save the country from economic collapse.

There is no doubt that the Americans are fascinated by our military prowess in Mozambique and the DRC. Our army cleared Renamo from the Beira Corridor and stopped Kinshasa from falling.

Who would not envy an army with such a string of accomplishments? There are many things about us that fascinate the Americans that they would jump at the slightest opportunity to work with us, sometimes at even the level of individuals as they tried to do with Dr Gono.

As far as the British, the land reform programme is a fait accompli.

It’s the powerful Rhodesian lobby and their own huge ego that they have to deal with. The lobby wants President Mugabe out of power in order to go back to the farms.

The British would want President Mugabe out of power not to facilitate the Rhodesians back to the farms, but as a way to exact revenge on the man who challenged their global supremacy openly and embarrassed them.

Such vengeance would soothe their bruised ego.

But I am sure they are already looking at their interests in Zimbabwe beyond the land reform programme.

An MDC-T official confessed recently in a discussion that the inclusive Government was the best thing to happen because if MDC-T had tried to govern alone, that government would have collapsed from ignorance and inexperience.

I cynically quipped his fears were unfounded because the Rhodesians would govern for them.

A colleague with us encapsulated the implications: “If the Rhodesians come back, then it will be another war!”

What does Morgan know about heroes?

Tarwireyi Matsika Chifambayi Tirivavi

EDITOR — In 2002 we came across a cartoon of Morgan Tsvangirai entitled “The Dreamer” which showed a sleeping Tsvangirai slouched in an easy chair, obviously in dreamland, an empty scud by his side.

The cartoon showed Tsvangirai dreaming of success in those aspects of his life where he had dismally failed. Consequently, he was dreaming of passing ‘‘O’’ Level, dreaming of joining the liberation struggle and dreaming about being President of Zimbabwe.

All along we thought The Dreamer cartoonist was being cruel to Tsvangirai because we thought the Right Honourable Prime Minister was not that much of a dreamer as depicted.

Alas how wrong we were, for how else can we explain the dream where he, Morgan Richard Tsvangirai, expected to be consulted about the late national hero Cde Misheck ‘‘Makasha’’ Chando’s hero status.

Or perhaps Tsvangirai is against the hero status of Cde Makasha because to him Cde Makasha was a terrorist who had a bad habit of shooting at people like Roy Bennett?

Surely, the Prime Minister needs help, because it appears he does not understand a lot of things about Zimbabwe, which perhaps explains why during his sojourn to Germany early this year, Chancellor Merkel had to show our Prime Minister the Zimbabwean flag at the start of their joint Press briefing.

She had to literally drag Tsvangirai from the side of the podium that had the German flag to the side with the Zimbabwean flag.

Quite rightly, the ETV news presenter commented that “someone has to teach the Zimbabwean Prime Minister how his country’s flag looks”.

That is Tsvangirai for you. Now he wants the Zanu-PF Politburo to consult him on liberation war heroes yet he fled the struggle to work, first in a textile mill in Mutare then at Trojan Nickel Mine in Bindura.

What would he know about what was going on in the bush?

We wonder how Tsvangirai wants grieving comrades to consult him when he has disengaged from Zanu-PF. Furthermore, he has to attend the Politburo meeting where the issues are discussed.

The hogwash about MDC-T contributing to the liberation struggle should end because MDC-T is full of Selous Scouts like Bennett and Rhodesian Front members like Giles Mutsekwa. The reality is that Zanu-PF liberated this country and there is nothing anyone can do about that.

If MDC-T has its own ideas of heroes, fine, they should get a farm from somewhere and build their heroes’ acre of quislings, Selous Scouts, ex-Rhodesian Light Infantry, ex-Rhodesian African Rifles, ex-Pfumo Revanhu, sanctions mongers, and so on.

Come to think of it, MDC-T can also use its heroes acre to bury all its imaginary dead activists as well.

Tarwireyi Matsika Chifambayi Tirivavi.
Zimbabwe Heritage Project.

US Army Major Kills 13, Injures 30 at Fort Hood; Shooting Occurs inResponse to Afghanistan Deployment

US gunman ‘faced Afghan posting’

A US major believed to have killed 13 people in a gun attack at a Texas army base was due to be deployed soon to Afghanistan, a military official said.

Maj Nidal Malik Hasan, 39, a US-born Muslim, opened fire on fellow soldiers at Fort Hood on Thursday.

Relatives of the army psychiatrist said he had strongly opposed his deployment and had wanted to leave the army.

US officials said investigations into what prompted the attack had continued through the night.

Early on Friday the commander of the Fort Hood base, Lt Gen Robert Cone, told NBC News that, according to eyewitnesses, the gunman had shouted the Arabic phrase “Allahu Akbar!” [God is great] before opening fire.

Military officials said 12 soldiers and one civilian had been killed.
——————————————————————————————
MAJOR NIDAL MALIK HASAN
Born in US to Palestinian parents
Joined the army and trained to be a psychiatrist
Treated soldiers returning from combat zones
Described as a devout Muslim
Said to have been unhappy about imminent overseas deployment
——————————————————————————————-
Of the 28 people who remained in hospital, 14 had required surgery but all were in a stable condition, Col Dr Steven Braverman said.

Deputy base commander Col John Rossi declined to comment on what might have triggered the attack. “We’ll let investigators find that out,” he said.

Maj Hasan was shot four times during the attack and is currently being treated in hospital under armed guard.

The policewoman who shot him first - named as Kimberly Munley, 34 - was among those wounded.

President Barack Obama described the shooting as “a horrific outburst of violence”.

He said: “It is difficult enough when we lose these brave Americans in battles overseas. It is horrifying that they should come under fire at an army base on American soil.”

‘Could have been worse’

The shooting began at about 1330 (1930 GMT) on Thursday at a personnel and medical centre at Fort Hood - the largest US military base in the world, home to about 40,000 troops.

In an e-mail to the BBC, a US soldier stationed at the base described the venue as a large, open room where hundreds of soldiers were queuing up to get their pre-deployment checklists signed off.

SHOOTINGS AT FORT HOOD

Shooting started at 1330 local time at Soldier Readiness Processing Center in Fort Hood, the world’s largest US military base

Gen Cone said a graduation ceremony for a group of soldiers was taking place nearby.

“Thanks to the quick reaction of several soldiers, they were able to close off the doors to that auditorium where there were some 600 people inside,” he said.

“As horrible as this was, I think it could have been much worse.”

A picture is beginning to emerge of the suspect, a psychiatrist who was transferred to the Texas base in July.

Reports suggested that he had been increasingly unhappy in the military and that his work at his previous post - Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington DC - had been the subject of concern.

The gunman’s cousin Nader Hasan posted a message on the Washington Post website on behalf of the family.

“We are shocked and saddened by the terrible events at Fort Hood,” it said. “We send the families of the victims our most heartfelt sympathies.”

The cousin also told US media that Maj Hasan had been opposed to an imminent deployment overseas, describing it as his “worst nightmare”.

He said that Maj Hasan had been battling racial harassment because of his “Middle Eastern ethnicity”.

Surveillance video showed he was wearing religious attire on the day of the shooting.

A fellow Fort Hood soldier told the BBC that the incident could put pressure on Muslim American soldiers.

“It kind of puts a negative light on them and makes people distrust them because everybody is going to look at them [and think]: ‘Well, you’re probably going to pull something like this’,” the soldier said. “And it’s a sad fact that that will happen.”

The New York Times said the FBI had been investigating internet postings by a man called Nidal Hasan that appeared to back suicide bombings - but said it was not clear whether it was the suspect.

Texas Governor Rick Perry ordered all flags in the state to fly at half-mast as a tribute to the victims.

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Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/8346078.stm
Published: 2009/11/06 16:03:03 GMT

November 6, 2009

Web post by Fort Hood gunman Major Nidal Malik Hasan could shed light on motives

Investigators trying to understand why a US army psychiatrist launched into a shooting spree on a military base in Texas will be poring over an internet posting he is thought to have made comparing the sacrifice of Islamist suicide bombers and American military heroes.

Thirteen people were killed and more than 30 were injured when Major Nidal Malik Hasan opened fire at Fort Hood yesterday afternoon in a part of the base where soldiers are prepared for deployment to Afghanistan and Iraq.

The gunman himself was shot four times and was reported last night to be unconscious and on a ventilator in a nearby hospital. The female officer said to have shot him is also in hospital.

Major Hasan, 39, whose job involved counselling soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder after overseas tours, had himself fought a long and unsuccessful campaign against deployment to Iraq – which a cousin described as “his worst nightmare”.

As President Obama said in his first statement on the slaughter, the killings were all the more “horrifying” for having happened at an army base on American soil. But Major Hasan’s background – he is a Muslim of Palestinian descent – prompted immediate speculation that the attack was a premeditated act of terror.

It was reported that Major Hasan had come to the attention of the FBI after a user named NidalHasan posted on the Scribd.com website in May, comparing the actions of an American soldier who threw himself on a grenade in Iraq with those of Islamist suicide bombers. No action was taken against him.

“He intentionally [sic] took his life (suicide) for a noble cause i.e. saving the lives of his soldier. To say that this soldier committed suicide is inappropriate. Its [sic] more appropriate to say he is a brave hero that sacrificed his life for a more noble cause,” NidalHasan wrote.

“Scholars have paralled [sic] this to suicide bombers whose intention, by sacrificing their lives, is to help save Muslims by killing enemy soldiers. If one suicide bomber can kill 100 enemy soldiers because they were caught off guard that would be considered a strategic victory.”

The posting was analysing rather than glorifying the actions of suicide bombers, but the distinction was lost in a slew of angry comments left after the news emerged of the slaughter in Texas.

“Not all Muslims are terrorists but all terrorists are Muslims,” one commenter wrote. “Texas will fry your ass,” wrote another.

Flags outside churches and cemeteries around Fort Hood were at half-mast as the occupants of America’s largest military base tried to comprehend the killings.

Major Hasan had been armed with two non-military issue pistols, including a semi-automatic, as he entered the pre-deployment station together.

Within minutes, a dozen soldiers at the base were dead or dying in the worst mass shooting ever at a military base in the US.

Terry Lee, a retired colonel who worked with the gunman, said that Major Hasan had told him that he hoped Mr Obama would pull troops out of Afghanistan and Iraq and got into frequent arguments with others in the military who supported the wars.

Faizul Khan, a former imam at a mosque that Major Hasan attended in Silver Spring, Maryland, said he spoke often with him about how he wanted to find a wife. Major Hasan is a lifelong Muslim and attended prayers regularly, often in his army uniform, Mr Khan said.

The rampage, the worst ever to take place on a US military base, began at a “soldier readiness centre” used for final medical and dental check-ups for troops about to be sent overseas.

President Obama condemned what he called “a horrific outburst of violence” and said of its victims: “These are men and women who have made the selfless and courageous decision to risk and at times give their lives to protect the rest of us … It’s difficult enough when we lose these brave Americans in battles overseas. It is horrifying that they should come under fire at an army base on American soil.”

Major Hasan, whose family said he was born in suburban Washington, is single with no children.

“We are shocked and saddened by the terrible events at Fort Hood today,” his cousin, Nadar Hasan, said in a statement issued on behalf of the family. “We send the families of the victims our most heartfelt sympathies.”

The cousin said that Major Hasan had been ordered to serve a term in Iraq and had been resisting the deployment.

“We’ve known over the last five years that was probably his worst nightmare,” he said.

He had served as a psychiatrist at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington DC, which treats many badly wounded troops.

Major Hasan had transferred to Fort Hood in July after receiving a poor performance evaluation.

Military police surrounded a supermarket on the sprawling base soon after the initial attack had sent soldiers and civilians running for cover. There was confusion about the number of attackers, with reports suggesting that at least one other suspect might have been at large and armed with a high-powered sniper’s rifle.

Major Hasan used two pistols, one of them semi-automatic, neither of them military issue. Soldiers at Fort Hood do not carry weapons unless they are doing training exercises.

In Washington, a senior official said that authorities had initially thought one of the victims who had been shot and killed was the gunman. The mistake resulted in a delay of several hours in identifying Major Hasan as the alleged assailant.

Officials are not ruling out the possibility that some of the casualties may have been victims of “friendly fire,” that in the mayhem and confusion at the shooting scene some of the responding military officials may have shot some of the victims.

The wounded were dispersed among hospitals in central Texas. Lisa Pfund, whose daughter Amber Bahr, 19, was shot in the stomach, said: “We know nothing, just that she was shot in the belly.”

She said that her daughter, who was in a stable condition, had joined the reserves at 17 and loved being in the military even though none of her friends was interested in joining the Army.

Set in hill country in central Texas, Fort Hood is home to more than 70,000 people – including soldiers’ families – from the US 1st Cavalry Division and 4th Infantry Division. It has deployed more troops to American-led military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan than any other base.

Most combat troops at Fort Hood have served multiple tours in Iraq, Afghanistan or both since 2001.

The base, midway between Houston and Fort Worth, was closed and schools inside the perimeter were shut as a search started for any gunmen still at large. “Effective immediately. Fort Hood is closed,” a message on the base website said. “Organisations/units are instructed to execute a 100 per cent accountability of all personnel. This is not a drill. It is an emergency situation.”

News helicopters were kept out of the airspace over the base.

Fort Hood is the only army base in the US able to accommodate two full armoured divisions. Described as a world unto itself, it has multiple schools, cinemas and suburbs as well as some of the country’s most extensive firing ranges and training facilities.

Friday, November 06, 2009
19:19 Mecca time, 16:19 GMT

Deaths in US army base shooting

The suspect has been named as Nidal Malik Hasan, an army psychiatrist employed at Fort Hood

A mass shooting at the largest army base in the US has left 13 people dead and at least 28 wounded, military officials say.

The incident took place inside the Fort Hood military base in Texas as soldiers were awaiting medical and dental treatment at a processing centre for troops being deployed on missions to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Lieutenant-General Bob Cone, the base’s commanding officer, said the shooting took place at about 1:30pm local time (1930 GMT) on Thursday at a Soldier Readiness Facility.

The suspect has been named as Major Nidal Malik Hasan, a 39-year-old army psychiatrist.

“There was a single shooter that was shot multiple times at the scene. He was not killed as previously reported. He is currently in custody and in stable condition,” Cone said.

Hasan was born in the US to Muslim Palestinian parents who had emigrated from a small town near Jerusalem, US media said.

‘Quick reaction’

Further bloodshed was narrowly prevented when Hasan was apparently blocked from reaching a graduation ceremony attended by some 600 people, just metres away from the scene.

“Thanks to the quick reaction of several soldiers, they were able to close off the doors to that auditorium,” Cone said.

Josh Rushing, Al Jazeera’s correspondent at Fort Hood, Texas, said: “[Hasan] is a first-generation American. He joined the army after high school and went to the Virginia Tech university to get a psychiatry degree through a military programme.

“He became a psychiatrist at the Walter Reed Army Medical Centre in Washington … where he counselled soldiers coming back from war.

“Every day, he heard how horrible those stories were and he really started to question the wars, according to what his cousin and sources who knew him said.

“Hasan became more devout in his religion and started arguing with soldiers about whether the wars were right or not, to the point where he received disciplinary action and negative work reviews.

“He was transferred to the medical facility here at Fort Hood, where apparently these feelings continued.

“It raises a major question - how can a person responsible for the mental health of soldiers returning [from war] be allowed to continue in this profession when he has these kinds of questions himself?”

The rampage occurs at a time of stress for the US armed services burdened by two wars, with commanders struggling to ease the effect of repeated combat tours on troops and their families.

Repeated deployments

Suicides in the army hit a record level last year, with at least 128 taking their lives, and are on track to set a new high this year - surpassing the rate among the wider civilian population.

US commanders believe repeated deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan have played a role in the spike in suicides, as well a surge in post-traumatic stress and depression.

Hasan faced his own imminent deployment for military service, officials said.

Nader Hasan, a cousin, said Hasan was “mortified by the idea of having to deploy” and that he had been harassed by other soldiers for being a Muslim.

He told the New York Times newspaper that Hasan had retained a lawyer and sought to get out of the army before the end of his contract.

Security tightened

Fort Hood was locked down after the attack, which occurred on the same day as a graduation ceremony was due to go ahead at the facility.

Recent US mass shootings

April 3, 2009: Jiverly Wong, a Vietnamese immigrant, opens fire at an immigrant community centre in Binghamton, New York, killing 11 immigrants and two workers. Wong killed himself at the scene

March 10, 2009: Michael McLendon, 28, killed 10 people, including his Mother and four other family members in Alabama before himself committing suicide.

February 14, 2008: Former student Steven Kazmierczak, 27, kills five students and wound 18 more in shooting at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb. He then killed himself.

December 5, 2007: Robert A. Hawkins, 19, opens fire in a shopping mall in Omaha, Nebraska killing eight people before taking his own life.

April 16, 2007: Cho Seung-Hui, 23, kills 32 students and staff at Virginia Tech before killing himself in the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history.

Some other bases across the US also stepped up security in the wake of the shootings.

Barack Obama, the US president, called the attack a “horrific outburst of violence”.

“It is horrifying that they should come under fire at an army base on American soil,” he said in Washington.

Patty Culhane, Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Washington, said that the attack had come in spite of rigorous security protocols at the base.

“At every US military base since September 11, they do something that is called ‘100 per cent ID check’ - that means that when you pull up to the gate, there are armed soldiers and also contractors there, and you have to have a special sticker in your car,” she said.

“You also have to have a military ID. If you do not have that, you have to pull over to the side, and your car is usually swept for explosives, and you need an escort.

“Family members [of service personnel] do have ID, so they are allowed to go on to the base.”

Fort Hood is home to about 50,000 troops, although Kay Bailey Hutchison, a Texas senator, said there were about 35,000 troops at the base at the time.

“Our dedicated military personnel have sacrificed so much in service to our country, and it sickens me that the men and women of Fort Hood have been subjected to this senseless, random violence,” she said.

Source: Al Jazeera and agencies

Kenya: UN seeks urgent funds to respond to flooding in overcrowded refugee camps

The United Nations refugee agency is appealing for $2.8 million to provide essential supplies and respond to possible disease outbreaks among more than 300,000 refugees in two camps in Kenya threatened by flooding.