> > Zimbabwe Under Siege - > > > > by Dr. Simbi Mubako > > > > {With Zimbabwe's March 9 scheduled > > Presidential elections > > three weeks away, Dr. Mubako, the Ambassador of > > Zimbabwe to the > > United States, gave this report of the country's > > fight for > > sovereignty against a global British campaign. The > > speech was > > given to the Presidents' Day (Feb. 16-18) national > > conference of > > the Schiller Institute and International Caucus of > > Labor > > Committees, on the Feb. 16 panel keynoted by U.S. > > Presidential > > pre-candidate Lyndon LaRouche.} > > > > These days Zimbabwe is always in the news, but > > rarely do you > > ever get news about anything positive. A wise person > > has said bad > > news is better than no news at all. However, as > > Ambassador for > > Zimbabwe these days, I would gladly swap anybody's > > ``no news at > > all,'' if he will accept my ``bad news.'' > > There has been a veritable media blitz on > > Zimbabwe by the > > Western powers in the last three years. Yet for the > > previous 19 > > years, the West showered endless praises on Zimbabwe > > and its > > President, as a beacon of stability and democracy in > > Africa. > > Zimbabwe won many international awards for its > > advanced > > agriculture and economic management. American > > universities > > awarded President Mugabe several doctorates, adding > > to his own > > six very good degrees in education, economics, law > > and > > international relations. Now, suddenly, the West > > condemns the > > country, and portrays Mugabe as a leader who has > > developed the > > horns of a demon, and a tail. He is called a tyrant, > > a thief, and > > a corrupt monster, with all the epithets that the > > West heaps upon > > Third World leaders. > > > > - Why This Sudden Assault on Mugabe - > > > > What are the reasons for this sudden turn of > > events? The > > reasons are not far to seek. They are mainly two. > > a) {The first one was the intervention of > > Zimbabwe troops in > > the Democratic Republic of Congo (D.R.C.).} In 1998, > > the D.R.C. > > was invaded by Uganda and Rwanda, with the tacit > > support of the > > United States of America and Britain. The declared > > aim was to > > overthrow the young government of President Laurent > > Kabila. The > > D.R.C. appealed to SADC for help; SADC agreed to > > send troops from > > Zimbabwe, Namibia and Angola. The invading forces > > were > > checkmated, and the plan to overthrow the government > > of the > > Democratic Republic of the Congo, was foiled. The > > invading forces > > are still occupying, and exploiting the diamond and > > other mineral > > resources of the D.R.C., on behalf of the West. Two > > and one-half > > million people have died in the process, in the > > occupied > > territories, as a result of war, starvation, and > > diseases. There > > has been no outcry in the West about the occupation, > > exploitation, and atrocities committed by the > > occupying forces, > > and the deaths of so many millions of people. The > > West singles > > out Zimbabwe for vilification, because of their own > > failure to > > plant a puppet regime in [D.R.C. capital of] > > Kinshasa. > > Zimbabwe's presence in the Democratic Republic > > of the Congo > > was a SADC [Southern African Development Community] > > decision, > > aimed at saving the people of the D.R.C. from > > imminent danger and > > genocide; and this was part of the wider SADC goal, > > to assist the > > African people everywhere. Zimbabwe is proud of its > > role in the > > D.R.C., and we know that the Congolese people are > > happy and > > grateful for the assistance they receive from the > > government and > > people of Zimbabwe. Zimnbabwe will continue to stand > > ready to > > assist, and to defend and consolidate the > > independence and > > territorial integrity of the D.R.C., as long as it > > is necessary > > to do so. [applause] > > b) {Land Reclamation.} The second and even > > more important > > reason for the West's assault on Zimbabwe, is that > > the Zimbabwe > > government decided to take control of its land; of > > the land which > > remained the monopoly of a small racial monopoly > > from the days of > > British colonialism. Land was one of the principal > > objectives of > > the war of liberation, through which Zimbabwe gained > > independence > > from Britain in 1980. Yet, 19 years after > > independence, that land > > was still in the hands of British settlers. The > > colonial racial > > division of the land left the white farmers owning > > 65% of the > > best farmland of the country, while over 9 million > > blacks were > > crowded on small, infertile, sandy plots, or were > > made landless > > and jobless. > > Moreover, Tony Blair's Labour government > > decided to abrogate > > the pledge, which the previous government had made > > before > > independence [at the 1980 Lancaster House > > Conference], that they > > would fund a resettlement program, a land reform in > > Zimbabwe. > > Tony Blair's government unilaterally announced, that > > they had > > stopped funding the land reform and resettlement > > program in > > Zimbabwe. > > The Zimbabwe government, therefore, was left > > with no choice, > > but to announce its own plan of land reclamation, at > > an > > accelerated pace. They embarked on that; and, as of > > now, 7,000 > > farms--or about 90% of the land which was formerly > > occupied by > > the white farmers--has now been acquired for African > > settlers. > > [applause] Most of the people who are being > > resettled, had been > > landless, or jobless. And by the end of December > > 2001, over > > 360,000 families had been resettled on new land. > > [applause] > > The government of President Mugabe acted with > > determination. > > This is the reason, why the West is punishing > > Zimbabwe. This is > > why the West is demonizing President Mugabe. The > > campaign against > > my country has nothing to do with democracy, the > > rule of law, or > > elections, as they tend to allege. Zimbabwe has > > always practiced > > these things, and is committed to democracy and good > > government. > > In reality, the West itself does not care > > about these > > matters in Third World countries. If you look, their > > closest > > allies are the greatest offenders against democracy > > and human > > rights. I shall not name names, but you know the > > military > > regimes, and the one-party states, and theocracies, > > and so on, > > with whom they are in bed. > > > > - Escalation of the Vilification Campaign > > - > > > > President Mugabe has repeatedly said that > > there is no going > > back on the land reforms. Zimbabweans know that > > Mugabe is a man > > of his words. The British know this as well. So, > > they have > > Folks see the other story hereunder,although long,you won't stop when you start reading through...I would recommend for interested parties to be visiting the site(s)mentioned below because u maybe seeing the other side of the coin as far as controversial geo-political OR regional political issues are concerned.

 

iExecutive ntelligence Review

> > http://www.larouchein2004.com./ > > http://www.Larouchepub.com > >

> EIR STRATEGIC ALERT February 21, 2002

> > Vol. 16, No. 8

> >

> >

> > @z:Wall Street's Derivatives "Slime-Mold"

> >

> > @t:The fall of Enron

has led to an endemic

> > collapse in

> > confidence in respect to "New Economy" flagships, as

> > well as

> > other "high-performance" corporations. On top of the

> > systemic

> > accounting fraud -- a corruption scheme that

> > included not only

> > the corporate management, but accounting firms,

> > rating agencies,

> > and Congressional lawmakers as well -- there is

> > another much more

> > worrying issue: the giant volume of hidden

> > derivatives

> > contracts

and other exotic financial liabilities.

> >

> > On Feb. 13, the Financial Times

pointed to the

> > huge

> > derivatives exposure of the largest American

> > conglomerate,

> > General Electric

, as constituting a "ticking

> > time bomb." A

> > few days before, Tyco

International, the

> > second-largest

> > American conglomerate, admitted that it spent $8

> > billion in the

> > last three years to covertly buy up 700 companies.

> > In recent

> > days, analysts have pointed to American

> > International Group

> > (AIG

), expressing fears that the insurance

> > giant might have

> > piled up a great number of financial obligations of

> > a very unsure

> > nature.

> >

> > Lyndon LaRouche

, on Feb. 13, added the

> > following

> > observations: "Enron was the flagship of a flotilla

> > of

> > Congressionally legalized pirates -- sometimes

> > called

> > 'privateers', which, taken all together, has marked

> > similarities

> > to what biologists recognize as a 'slime-mold.' The

> > result was a

> > gigantic financial interbreeding among hedge-funds,

> > totalling to

> > what some of the world's best financial sources have

> > reported to

> > be $100 trillions or more in financial derivatives.

> > Somewhat like

> > the participants in a slime-mold, each of the

> > corporate entities

> > involved combined to form a gigantic cluster of

> > variously

> > 'bisexual,' 'multi-sexual,' and even, according to

> > some

> > testimony, 'asexual' counter-party 'hedges.'"

> >

> > A very well-informed American source noted the US

> > and European

> > agitation over Japan's horrific economic and

> > financial problems,

> > misses the point that conditions in the US and

> > Europe are not

> > really different. Those "who live in glass houses

> > shouldn't throw

> > stones," the US source stated. "The Enron affair

> > shows that the

> > entire US economic system is just as bankrupt as

> > Japan's, and

> > that the United States is no more a democracy than

> > Japan's

> > Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), that in the United

> > States public

> > opinion doesn't count for anything, any more than in

> > Japan."

> >

> > While institutional investors are beginning to react

> > to the

> > systemic fraud in the economy, the millions of

> > "small investors"

> > remain in a state of denial

. "People in this

> > country today

> > are just going along with the system out of fear,

> > the way the

> > population went along with the old Soviet Union,

> > which was to not

> > even consider criticizing it -- until the very day

> > it simply fell

> > apart," the American source continued. "I've had

> > people say that

> > to me recently. 'I'm just a good Soviet. I won't

> > protest until

> > the whole house of cards comes down.'"

> >

> >

> > @z:American-Russian Relations

> >

> > @t:With the Bush administration's firm commitment to

> > military

> > action against Iraq, in order to facilitate "regime

> > change"

> > there, the position taken by Russia becomes an even

> > more crucial

> > strategic factor. Since the beginning of February,

> > the Bush

> > administration has mounted a major coordinated

> > attempt to "buy

> > off" potential Russian opposition, offering Moscow

> > strategic

> > concessions in arms negotiations and in Central

> > Asia, as well as

> > economic and financial assistance of various sorts:

> >

> > * The US government reversed its position on ongoing

> > nuclear

> > disarmament negotiations with Russia, suddenly

> > acquiescing to

> > Russia's demand for a legally binding agreement.

> > * Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage

,

> > signed an

> > agreement with Russia on anti-terror cooperations,

> > which included

> > a clause to the effect, that the United States does

> > not intend to

> > establish "permanent" military bases in Central

> > Asia.

> > * Russian Prime Minister Kasyanov

, during his

> > recent visit

> > to New York and Washington, was given strong

> > promises of support

> > for Russia's membership in the World Trade

> > Organization, of

> > large-scale US investment, and perhaps even major US

> > purchases of

> > Russian oil in connection with a possible new deal

> > on the

> > Soviet-era debt.

> > * [ofInformed Russia sources noted a flurry 

> >of unofficial visits of  "former" CIA of ficials to Moscow, to sound

> > Kremlin positions,

> "c> including on the issue of possible compensation"

> > for financial

> > losses to Russia in case of US military action

> > against Iraq]!!!!!!!!!!!!!.

     Isn't this what i was just saying some hours back on this very forum?

> >

> > Whether the Russian will "play the game," however,

> > is an open

> > question

, to say the least. There is an clear

> > impulse on the

> > Russian side, to join forces with the Europeans in

> > opposition to

> > US military action, as exemplified by statements of

> > Russian

> > Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov

during a Feb.

> > 15-16 visit to

> > Paris.

> >

> > On Feb. 11, President Putin

broke a lengthy

> > silence on

> > foreign policy questions, following Bush's "Axis of

> > Evil" speech,

> > to grant an interview to the Wall Street

> > Journal

. As often

> > the case with Putin, interviewthe  contained an

> > ambiguous mixture

> > of signals. On the one side, Putin refrained from

> > any substantial criticism of Bush' "axis of evil"

> >  which

> > had been seen

> > in many leading Russian circles as "outrageous" and

> > a unilateral

> > American repudiation of the "Bush-Putin

> > partnership." Instead,

> > Putin praised the post-Sept. 11 "breakthrough" in

> > US-Russian

> >