(NEWZIMBABWE) Goodbye Deborah, Goodbye Bruce!
27/01/2014 00:00:00
by Amai Jukwa
I AM reliably informed that the eager British Ambassador, Deborah Bronnert, will soon be leaving us. I am inconsolable. The same is rumoured of her American colleague, Ambassador Bruce Wharton.
These two have worked especially hard to take us for a ride, insisting that their hatred for President Robert Mugabe is motivated by nothing more than their love for Zimbabwe’s blacks. This is patronising nonsense.
I have always said that Britain cannot claim to sanction Zimbabwe for supposed democratic failings whilst their Queen enjoys tea and biscuits with the Saudi despot, King Abdullah, under whose despotic rule women are denied basic human rights (they can’t even drive a car), religious freedom is violated by statute and democracy is not even enshrined in the constitution.
It takes a special kind of hypocrisy to sustain such a glaringly contradictory foreign policy dance. Surely what is good for the goose is good for the gander? No?
Bruce Wharton is another shameless hypocrite. The United States sends billions of dollars in aid to Egypt. That country has suffered a violent coup in which a democratically elected leader was deposed and imprisoned. A few days ago at least four-dozen pro-democracy demonstrators were shot dead by that military junta. Aljazeera’s journalists are currently being held on trumped-up charges of “joining a terrorist organization”. Shall I speak of that sham of a referendum in which the opposition was not even allowed to put up posters?
I can’t hear you ambassadors. I call Bruce’s name. Where is your democratic sting? What has calmed the democratic fury with which you penned ZIDERA? I call Deborah’s name. Summon your human rights convictions oh fair lady. Egyptians are in need of your white bosom and the love you have so generously showered on us Zimbabweans.
The logical mind must ask why there is no talk of sanctions from those who eagerly prescribed them for Zimbabwe’s democratic illness? Where is the lofty talk of democracy and human rights? Surely what is good for the goose is good for the gander? No?
This shameful duplicity is born of nothing but white supremacy in which Bruce and company feel they have the right to define and change the rules of international relations as they go, and as they see fit, because their discretion is somehow inspired and can be trusted. Who is Amai Jukwa to ask these civilised white ambassadors to explain these contradictions? We don’t explain our actions to little people. We are white and we dine with whomsoever we please.
This is the attitude of white supremacy, a feeling of superiority and entitlement in which one need not explain their actions, they need not justify such violent contradictions. They are white and they are powerful. The rules of accountability do not apply to them.
It is against this intolerable background of white arrogance that I have rejected British and American intervention in Zimbabwe. It is clear their motives are unrighteous and self-serving. As the professor once said, their hands are dirty, their mouths are dirty and they must shut up. We see their dirty hands offering weapons to Egypt. They have no moral authority whatsoever to lecture us on matters of democracy and human rights.
Are we really to believe that Bruce and Deborah love Zimbabwe’s blacks more than they do the people of Egypt? How is it that they are so concerned about us that they are willing to draft sanctions to protect us from this despotic ogre called Mugabe but have no such love for the people of Egypt, Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia?
It is clear that the British and the Americans, despite their democratic pretensions, are merely operating as part of a vengeful white clique that wants to make an example of the land-grabbing Mugabe. The only sanctions that have been imposed against him are white sanctions by white countries. Why are there no Africans, South Americans, Asians or Arabs who have imposed sanctions? It surely cannot be that these white countries, our former colonisers and enslavers, love us more than the rest of the world.
As we bid farewell to these two ambassadors let it be made clear that their failure will equally befall those who will come after them. This is because Africans are not as stupid as white people believe. We see your duplicity. We see your hypocrisy. We see you self-interest.
In fact, this meddling by Western nations has actually served Zanu PF well as it has discredited otherwise valid complaints by the MDC. As long Britain and America continue to fund, support or sympathise with the MDC, that party will continue to lose elections. They will always be viewed as puppets. This is no different to the disposition Americans and Britons would have to a Chinese or Russian funded party.
Farewell good ambassadors.
Ndatenda, ndini muchembere wenyu Amai Jukwa.
Labels: AMAI JUKWA, AMBASSADORS, BRUCE WHARTON, DEBORAH BRONNERT
Read more...
(STICKY) (NEWZIMBABWE) Sanctions don’t create potholes, US envoy
Shame, shame, shame to the United States! ... Mugabe berates US over sanctions
13/02/2014 00:00:00
by Staff Reporter
COMMENT - This is the US Ambassador to Zimbabwe - what a lying lawyer. Admit to the existence of economic sanctions, so you can admit to the effects of your economic sanctions. They are still lying about the existence and effect of economic sanctions, rather than repeal them. Shame on America for being used to implement Rockefeller/Rothschild/British Crown/Dutch Crown neo-colonial system (Rothschild Bank funded De Beers in 1887, after which the renowned imperialist Cecil Rhodes became it's Founding Chairman of the board of directors in 1888), shame on the MDC. However, in the la-la-land narrative of Ambassador Wharton, Zimbabwe is free from outside influence. Free to set it's own domestic and foreign policy. Liars, thieves and murderers.
On the various statistics surrounding the economic sanctions against Zimbabwe, see my April 2010 post here, which includes a statement from then Georgia Representative Cynthia McKinney, who had it right from the start. - MrK
ZIMBABWE’S economic and political problems are self-made and a shift in policy could assist in developing a new trajectory for the country, US ambassador to Zimbabwe Bruce Wharton said Thursday.
“My fundamental point in all of this is that Zimbabwe has the right and the power to make policy decisions.
Just not redistribute the land that was stolen under the colonialism and UDI, both of which the American government supported, land that should have a) never been stolen in the first place and 2) should have been given back in 1965. How about some back rent? - MrK
"Some of these have had significant demonstrable effects on the economy, effects far greater than the targeted sanctions,” Wharton told a Southern African Political Economy Series (SAPES) meeting in Harare.
Still lying about the existence of economic sanctions, like ZDERA. And pray tell, what are the 'economic effects' of 'targeted sanctions', you lying hypocrite?
Here is what is in ZDERA, and you can tell for yourself whether the objective of the sanctions are 'individuals' or 'the Government of Zimbabwe' as a whole. From the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2001, S.494 of the 107th US Congress:
SEC. 4. SUPPORT FOR DEMOCRATIC TRANSITION AND ECONOMIC RECOVERY.
(c) MULTILATERAL FINANCING RESTRICTION- Until the President makes the certification described in subsection (d), and except as may be required to meet basic human needs or for good governance, the Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct the United States executive director to each international financial institution to oppose and vote against--
(1) any extension by the respective institution of any loan, credit, or guarantee to the Government of Zimbabwe; or
(2) any cancellation or reduction of indebtedness owed by the Government of Zimbabwe to the United States or any international financial institution.
So, what do your lying eyes tell you - are these sanctions against individuals (targeted or otherwise), or against 'the Government of Zimbabwe'?
Talking about 'targeted sanctions', blaming War Veterans' pensions, SHAMEFUL.
- MrK
President Robert Mugabe and his Zanu PF party insist sanctions imposed by the US and European countries are responsible for Zimbabwe’s economic problems.
They are, and were intended to. As economic sanctions always are. If anyone is naive or ignorant enough to doubt the genocidal effect of economic sanctions, let's ask Madeleine Albright (of the Albright Stonebridge Group, which is co-chaired with Sandy Berger, who is also on the International Crisis Group), and Bill Richardson (former Sr. Managing Director at Kissinger & Associates, and executive at Citi Bank).
(YOUTUBE) Madeleine Albright Says Deaths Of 500,000 Iraqi Children Is Worth It
And in case you thought you misheard that, or she misspoke, here is fellow clintonite, the Kissinger Associates employee Bill Richardson:
(YOUTUBE) Richardson: 500,000 dead kids OK in pursuit of U.S. policy
Admit it, Bruce, a couple of tens of thousands of dead Zimbabweans is more than acceptable in the pursuit of US policy in Zimbabwe, after all, they own 20% of the world's known diamond reserves, and De Beers wants it. Over 60,000 dead Libyans, including the lynchings of Black Libyans, was more than acceptable in pursuit of Libya's 47.1 billion barrels of known oil reserves - just ask Susan E. Rice and her 'responsibility to protect'. - MrK
The sanctions were imposed over allegations of rights abuses and electoral fraud which the Zanu PF strongman denies.
Economic sanctions were imposed because De Beers wants to get hold of Zimbabwe's diamonds, and the MDC is their ticket. The MDC wants to privatise everything, except the diamond fields, so they can create a PPP with De Beers, like De Beers has in Namibia (NAMDEB) and Botswana (DEBSWANA), a ZIMDEB or DEBZIM. ("We will nationalise diamonds and ensure that government goes into partnership with genuine investors." - source: MDC’s plan for the mining sector, Saturday, 13 July 2013, from the very MDC friendly SW Radio Africa website.) - MrK
But President Barack Obama’s top man in Harare said blaming sanctions for Zimbabwe’s problems was a diversionary tactic by Mugabe's administration.
“The US takes great care to minimise any unintended consequences from targeted sanctions and I can tell you that my embassy works hard to try to resolve any that may arise. But, blaming targeted sanctions for Zimbabwe’s serious economic challenges or for issues such as potholes and road accidents is diversionary,” he said.
“Worse, such statements do not acknowledge Zimbabwe’s agency, its ability to address its challenges and to mobilize its magnificent natural resources and human capital.
Like, sell it's diamonds, which the United States has attempted to prevent at every turn? - MrK
“Zimbabwe is tremendously blessed in human and natural resources, and the narrative that targeted sanctions are the reason for economic woes undermines and obscures this nation’s vast capabilities.”
And you obscure the role of the United States, and the MDC in the creation of economic sanctions, like the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2001. If it is so insignificant - REPEAL IT. If economic sanctions were so insignificant, why did they destroy the national currency the year they came into force - in 2002, not 2000 ('farm invasions'), or 1997 ('pensions for War Veterans')? And apologize to the Zimbabwean people for the economic sanctions that were imposed on them, just because they made the choice to exercise "Zimbabwe’s agency", by taking their stolen land back. They are the ones who should be compensated for a century of foreign occupation and theft of their land, cattle, labor and freedom. An occupation and harassment that goes on to this very day. - MrK
The US is willing to work with the Zanu PF government.
“We are also willing to work with members of the Zanu PF government that are willing to work with us,” Wharton added.
He means 'divide and rule'. - MrK
“As a Zanu PF-supporting friend of mine said … yes, I do have those … the burden of diplomacy is to keep seeking engagement until all conflict is ended. I agree with that and I am willing. The US government is willing”.
Wharton said decisions including the unbudgeted 1997 cash-pay-outs given to war veterans and the economic turnaround witnessed between 2008 and 2010 provide insight into the positive and negative effects of critical policy decisions by government.
Did the 'unbudgeted 1997 cash-pay-outs given to war veterans' have a worse effect on the Zimbabwean government, than the implementation of austerity through ESAP, from 1991 to 1996? And he is blaming the highly predictable and monotonously repeated destructive effect of structural adjustment on the economies of the world (job losses, reduction in healthcare and education, destruction of local businesses in favour of transnational corporations) - on pensions for War Veterans? What a neoliberal scumbag. - MrK
“There were no sanctions in 1997 and they had not been varied in 2008. Zimbabwe’s sovereign policy decisions are the primary drivers of its economic performance,” he insisted.
From 1991 to 1996, there was ESAP. Own up to THAT.
From Antonia Juhasz "The Tragic Tale of the IMF in Zimbabwe.", March 7th, 2004:
" An IMF-sponsored study of its policies in Zimbabwe concluded that it "radically underestimated the social consequences," of its policies and that the "social hardship was avoidably severe because of poor program design." In other words, the IMF is to blame for the deadly impacts of its policies in Zimbabwe. "
In essence,
In essence, Zimbabwe was forced to implement every radical economic policy in the Fund’s arsenal immediately, without any concern for the impacts of those policies on the populace.
As a result,
The impacts were devastating.
Both employment and real wages declined sharply. During 1991-1996, manufacturing employment fell by 9 percent and wages dropped by 26 percent. Public sector employment fell by 23 percent, with wages dropping by 40 percent. While pocketbooks shrank, food prices soared, increasing by 36 percent. Private consumption levels declined by about one-fourth with urban households being particularly hard-hit. Worse still, the economy did not respond as the Fund had hoped and the government deficit increased. This put the country into a "debt trap" where it was losing money while simultaneously having to pay interest on its loans owed to the Fund and the World Bank. This created a losing spiral of increasing indebtedness and poverty.
However Ambassador Wharton is going on about a few 'pensions for War Veterans'? Is that neoliberal 'code', because it doesn't make sense in dollar terms.
- MrK
“Zimbabwe’s economy has been through dramatic ups and downs in the last 15 years. You all know that better than I do. But the idea that targeted U.S. sanctions have caused Zimbabwe’s economic woes simply does not hold up to critical analysis, the evidence is clear,” he said
Oh, the evidence is clear alright. In Jan 1st 2002, ZDERA 2001 came into force. This is the effect on tobacco exports - notice that from 2001 to 2002, after the 2000 'farm invasions', long after the 1997 payments to War Veterans, tobacco exports grew, and in 2002, the year ZDERA came into effect, they dramatically fell.
Tobacco Exports in million US$:
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
548.8 594.1 434.6 321.3 226.7 203.8
Trade Deficit in million US$ (a negative deficit is a surplus):
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
-295.6 -322.5 18.2 108.3 305.2 387.9 231.3
Source: Special Report, FAO/WFP Crop And Food Supply Assessment Mission To Zimbabwe, 5 June 2007
Table 1: Zimbabwe - Key economic indicators, 2000–2007
It is also in 2002, that the Zimbabwe Dollar started it's hyperinflationary decline against the US Dollar - see chart here.
Hey, the evidence is in, Bruce.
- MrK
“Now, this fact ought to be encouraging to Zimbabweans because it means that Zimbabwe need not wait until real or imagined external forces create the conditions needed for economic growth.
So repeal ZDERA, you jerk. - MrK
“Zimbabwe’s economy is in the hands of Zimbabweans. While businesses, labour unions, trade associations, courts and schools all have important roles, economic destiny starts with decisions made by the government of Zimbabwe.”
Sure, because unlike every other government in the world, the Zimbabwean government exists in a vacuum, free from external forces, even though their economy is heavily dependent on exports. - MrK
Mugabe had hoped that his victory in last year’s violence-free elections would lead to the immediate removal of the sanctions but the EU and the US have backed claims by the opposition that the vote was fraudulent, infuriating the Zanu PF leader.
However, the EU has indicated it will lift its remaining sanctions next week, although not on Mugabe and his wife Grace.
Labels: AMBASSADOR, BRUCE WHARTON, LYING, SANCTIONS, ZDERA
Read more...
(NEWZIMBABWE) US remains engaged, despite poll regret
13/11/2013 00:00:00
by Staff Reporter
THE United States remains disappointed with the manner in which the July election was conducted but will continue to engage the government of Zimbabwe, Washington’s top envoy to Harare said Wednesday.
Ambassador Bruce Wharton, who was addressing reporters at the Naletale monuments in Shangani, said although his country does not recognise the July 31 election as credible, Washington will continue to engage Zimbabwe to boost its economy.
The US government donated $64,000 for the rehabilitation of collapsed walls at Naletale monuments through the US Department of State initiative, the Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation.
“The election was peaceful and a major improvement from the 2008 poll. There is no doubt about that. But the whole process was flawed,” he said.
Washington and the European Union have refused to accept President Robert Mugabe’s re-election in the July 31 elections despite observers from the African Union (AU) and the regional SADC grouping endorsing the vote.
“Even the AU and SADC did not say the election was credible; they said ‘generally credible’. As the US we do not see the election as credible, it did not express the will of the people of Zimbabwe,” said Wharton.
“But that disappointment does not mean the US government has any plans to disengage with the government of Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe is important not only to the region but the world as a whole.”
Wharton said the US would continue to assist Zimbabwe in all sectors of the economy to support recovery.
“We have committed $125m to the health sector and we help in agricultural development programmes targeting small scale farmers. So Washington will continue to look for ways to engage Zimbabwe,” he said.
Harare would however, prefer that Washington removes sanctions imposed about a decade ago over allegations of rights abuses and electoral fraud which are denied by President Mugabe and his Zanu PF party.
Mugabe blames the sanctions for Zimbabwe's economic problems.
Labels: AMBASSADOR, BRUCE WHARTON
Read more...
(HERALD ZW) Zanu-PF policies are for Zim, US told
September 28, 2013 Shingirai Huni Local News
Herald Reporter
GOVERNMENT has castigated United States ambassador to Zimbabwe Mr Bruce Wharton for attempting to influence policy direction in Zimbabwe by saying his country will only normalise relations if the Zanu-PF Government implements policies favourable to the US.
Information, Media and Broadcasting Services Minister Professor Jonathan Moyo yesterday said Mr Wharton’s views were as abnormal as the illegal sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe by his country. He said Government would implement policies as espoused by the Zanu-PF manifesto that was overwhelmingly endorsed by voters on July 31.
“This thing is totally unacceptable,” said Prof Moyo. “The Government was not elected by Americans, it was elected by people of Zimbabwe on the basis of a very clear, transparent manifesto.
“This Government has an obligation to implement that manifesto as a promise to the Zimbabwean electorate, not to Americans or ambassador Wharton or any foreigner and this position of saying we are watching your policies is exactly what Zimbabweans fought against.
“It is exactly the reason we have fallen gallant sons and daughters who sacrificed their lives to free our country and give it its sovereignty and it is impossible for us to countenance betrayal of that sovereignty. This Government is the last to betray the sacrifices of our gallant sons and daughters and through that the sovereignty that they won, by saying we shall formulate and implement policies with America in mind in order to please the American government so that it will not impose sanctions or it will lift sanctions, that does not make sense.”
Mr Wharton told journalists in Mutare on Thursday that his country would decide whether or not to engage Zimbabwe based on how the new Zanu-PF Government would implement its policies.
But Prof Moyo said the fact that Mr Wharton said his country was ready to normalise relations with Zimbabwean meant that they recognised that the relations were abnormal.
“Everyone knows that the abnormal future of the relations between the two countries is entirely because of the illegal sanctions imposed against Zimbabwe by the American government through Zidera, which sanctions have devastated the livelihoods of ordinary people,” he said.
Prof Moyo said the same sanctions had affected the country’s ecology as seen at Hwange National Park where nearly 90 elephants were poisoned by poachers after the Parks and Wildlife Management Authority’s monitoring systems were compromised.
“The only way to normalise the relations between Zimbabwe and America is to remove the abnormality of sanctions,” said Prof Moyo.
“This thing the American ambassador told the journalists, which he has been repeating for much too long, to the effect that the American government will keep the sanctions and therefore maintain abnormal relations while they watch the policies of the Government of Zimbabwe and will lift them depending on what those polices are and how they are implemented is not the basis of international relations and that is not the basis of normal relations.
“That is as abnormal as the sanctions. Our Government is committed, willing and ready to engage or re-engage any other foreign government on the basis of mutual respect of each other’s sovereignty in terms of international law and not on the basis of each other’s domestic policies.”
Prof Moyo said the time had come for ambassador Wharton to “stop his abnormal message and join all progressive members of the internal community in calling on his government to remove the illegal and abnormal sanctions they imposed against us”.
“If they do that, we will have normal relations which will improve the livelihoods of the peoples in the two countries,” he said.
Turning to the closure of the pirate television station 1st TV this week, Prof Moyo said the station was a voice of sanctions and had to shut because of the abnormal message it sought to portray.
“The first voice to come up as a pirate TV station has become the first to shut up,” he said. “This was a money making venture and it continues to be such.
“They don’t have a normal voice with any benefits to Zimbabweans and Zimbabweans are prepared for these things and that is why it did not have listeners. It has had no taker. It is natural that if you have an abnormal message you will not have any viewers and listeners and it becomes necessary to close, but the curious fact is that they are saying they are now going to be fund-raising, so this was clearly a fundraising initiative.”
Prof Moyo said the reason Zanu-PF won resoundingly with an emphatic two thirds majority in Parliament even with the pirate broadcasting stations was because Zimbabweans were “tired of the American project that has been polarising and dividing us”.
“They now want to move on to attend to their lives, put bread and butter on their tables for their families, to realise their their aspirations, hope,” he said.
“They are now united behind the Zanu-PF Government and joining team Zanu-PF for the good of the country, for the good of every Zimbabwean, every family, every community, all of us.”
Prof Moyo said Zimbabweans have had 14 years of bickering sponsored by the likes of Mr Wharton and the British.
He said the fact that 1st TV was founded just before the July 31 by the likes of Andrew Chadwick, a British who once worked for the MDC-T, showed that it was British project.
“So, it is now clear that these Americans and British sponsored projects to divide and polarise Zimbabweans are all coming to grief,” said Prof Moyo. “They are all folding up because we can’t continue doing the same thing that divides us for 14 years and expect good results.
“And it is for this reason that everyone can bet their last dollar that these projects will no longer find any favour with any Zimbabweans regardless of their political affiliation…they are now united against sponsored projects whose main purposes is to divide them, hence the collapse of these projects,” he said.
Labels: BRUCE WHARTON, COLONIALISM, NEOCOLONIALISM, SANCTIONS
Read more...
(HERALD ZW) Baba Jukwa, Edward Snowden, WikiLeaks
July 14, 2013 SuperAdmin Mai Jukwa
A FEW months ago, I wrote on Deborah and Bruce, the British and American ambassadors. It was my charge that they were shameless hypocrites; not of conscious or deliberate effort but by an involuntary and subconscious superiority complex that has permeated their collective white psyche over a number of centuries.
They have
an odious sense of entitlement, poking their noses into the affairs of others and doing this with
a troubling self-righteous air though their own compound is filthy beyond compare.
They are a law unto themselves
I used to believe the Western world was deliberately objectionable — that they chose to be unjust.
I have since entered a different regime of thought. The contradictions of the Western world are so obvious, so egregious, as to be obvious to even the offender. At least one would think so. Quite clearly this is not the case.
The West does not think itself unjust; if anything it sincerely believes itself to be the salt of the earth.
I now have no doubt in my mind that the British and American ambassadors believe their own nonsense about regime change efforts being motivated by a desire to further human rights and democracy.
Instead of seeing themselves for the gratuitous racists, slave drivers, colonisers, segregationists, Iraq invaders, sanction mongers and greedy capitalists that they are, the British (and their white imperial comrades) see themselves as paragons of virtue.
Not only so, they are puzzled when their acts of global “generosity” are rejected by Africans, Asians and Latin Americans.
The white world sees nothing unjust in Australia or New Zealand.
They were welcomed by the indigenous peoples of those lands and rewarded this generosity with subjugation.
Today Australia and New Zealand are living examples of the wickedness of unchecked white imagination.
They take, take, and continue to take.
Their own lands are not enough for them.
Baba Jukwa and WikiLeaks
Baba Jukwa claims that he is a member of Mugabe’s inner circle.
He is not.
However, let us assume that he is and that all he said thus far was indeed true. Let us assume that Baba Jukwa is indeed leaking State secrets. The contradictions are obvious.
Consider how PayPal, an American online payments processing engine, and VISA, all came together and pulled the plug on WikiLeaks’ funding when Julius Assange began releasing American diplomatic cables and the War Logs.
It was alleged that by exposing American soldiers shooting innocent civilians from a helicopter gunship that Julian Assange was compromising American national security.
Today Assange is holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy in London; his co-conspirator has not been equally lucky and is languishing in an American military facility.
Consider how Facebook seems to very much support the posting of pictures of individuals, their names and phone numbers, together with the encouragement to “phone them and give them no rest” (harassment) as not being in violation of their terms of service.
Would Facebook hold the same position if an anonymous profile began posting the phone numbers of David Cameron’s children and threatening to kidnap them as Baba Jukwa has done to Kasukuwere?
The page would be shut down in minutes.
It is not only that they have offered tacit approval; they have actively encouraged Baba Jukwa.
The Economist and even the BBC carried adoring articles on Baba Jukwa.
It is inconceivable that these organisations would lend support to a page that calls for the abduction of children.
The cunning whites will hurry to say that Mugabe is, in their view, a dictator so the rules that apply for him do not apply to them.
I hate to put things in such prosaic terms but this is precisely how white people think.
It is for this reason that the Americans do not hesitate to drop a bomb to target an alleged insurgent even if he is in bed with his wife and children.
Imagine the outrage if the Russians — pursuing a Chechen rebel — sent in a missile into Manhattan and killed 20 Americans and defended their action by arguing that they had sought the cooperation of the Americans in bringing the rebel to justice but had received no assistance and thus felt compelled to “eliminate” him by any means necessary.
This seems inconceivable because it is grossly unjust but it is happening in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The white world feels that its blood is more precious than the blood of other non-white nationalities.
This is why the West wails itself sore over Sandy Hook, where a mere two dozen kids were killed, but speaks very casually about Iraq where it’s soldiers and the sectarian militia it formed butchered hundreds of thousands.
All this is born of an inherent sense of supremacy that is characteristic of white society. It is not so much born of race but culture.
Mainstream political rhetoric in America unabashedly refers to “safeguarding American interests.”
In their view if a dictator (read Saudi Arabia and Bahrain) serve American oil interests then he is to be supported and supplied with fighter jets.
This sick state of mind is pervasive within the Western world.
Bolivia’s ‘cheap’ President and Edward Snowden
Edward Snowden exposes the depth of Western supremacist thought.
On discovering that the Americans were spying on them, the French and Germans were dismayed.
Allies should not spy on each other, they complained.
Notice that their objection is not to spying against the rest of the world.
Their view is clearly that the Americans can violate the rest of the non-white world with total impunity as long as they do not spy on their fellow “civilised” Europeans.
If it was the case that the Americans had been spying on Bolivia, Nigeria or India then that would have been perfectly acceptable even in view of the fact that none of these nations is at war with America or has expressed any aggressions against it.
But notice that this, the French and Germans are not complaining about spying in general, what has upset them is that they have been put in the same category as niggers for whom they would have expected such activity to be targeted against.
Again the duplicity is obvious to anyone who is not white but the Europeans themselves are entirely oblivious.
One could describe it as intellectual blind spot.
It is blind spot that allows Western ambassadors to jump up and down in synthetic rage at what they call abuses by Mugabe yet their Queen dines with the Saudi despot in whose country women are second class citizens and thieves have feet cut off for having stolen motorbikes. They are oblivious to the violence of their contradiction.
The forced landing of the Bolivian presidential jet outraged Latin America, rightly so.
It is inconceivable that the very nations that routinely scream themselves hoarse over the rule of law would have so flagrantly violated established conventions.
But the message from Europe was clear: you are not one of us and we do not consider your presidency as being of equal weight with that of a European leader.
This is what the Europeans communicated when they forced the Bolivian jet to the ground.
Zero respect.
Their talk of equality is empty and those who take it seriously are to be pitied.
China is hacking us
The Snowden saga exposes the duplicitous nature of Westerners.
Over the past six months the Americans wasted no time to tell the world how nasty the Chinese were.
They were hacking into American computers and the civilised Americans found this unacceptable.
The Chinese had to be put in their place.
This is how cunning and manipulative these people are.
Though they knew that they were actually hacking the Chinese at a greater scale they still thought it right to dishonestly present themselves as an angel of light.
It is the height of deception, but one must not consider this conduct to be out of character.
This is just how they operate.
They manipulate and they deceive.
I view Westerners in quite ungenerous terms.
Their history is littered with slavery, colonialism, and war mongering. It struck me the other day that the only nations that ever talk about sanctioning any other nation on earth are white.
No other race is interested in sanctioning anyone.
It is just the whites. They must ask themselves why this is so.
Ndatenda,
Ndini muchembere wenyu Amai Jukwa
Labels: AMAI JUKWA, AMBASSADORS, BABA JUKWA, BRUCE WHARTON, DEBORAH BONNERT
Read more...
(NEWZIMBABWE) Charamba blasts US envoy over ZBC
07/07/2013 00:00:00
by Staff Reporter
PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe’s spokesman has accused US ambassador, Bruce Wharton, of behaving as if he was "an MDC councillor in Harare" after the envoy expressed concern over partisan political coverage by the ZBC.
Wharton wrote to the ZBC to express his concern after it emerged that the corporation demanded US$165,000 from the MDC-T to cover party leader and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s election campaign launch in Marondera on Sunday.
The MDC-T said it refused to pay the cash with Tsvangirai telling supports at the rally: “We (have been) shut out of the public media which has taken a position to cover live in the electronic media, the campaign of President Mugabe and Zanu PF.”
ZBC covered live President Robert Mugabe’s own campaign launch in Harare on Friday. It was not clear whether Zanu PF paid for the coverage.
“In that context, I wish to express concern about lack of access by political parties to ZBC, a situation which appears to run counter to these guidelines.
“This letter is an expression of my desire to support a credible electoral process in Zimbabwe and be clear about the elements I believe are important in that process. I will not distribute or share this letter with media, political parties, or civil society organisation.”
But the letter drew the ire of information secretary, George Charamba, who said the envoy’s conduct was unheard of.
“It’s unheard of for an ambassador, especially from a perceived super power like America to write to an executive of a parastatal,” Charamba told the herald.
“He (Wharton) can’t even write to the President and there he is writing to the executive of a parastatal jumping foreign affairs, which is his country’s contact point.
“He skips the ministry of Media, Information and Publicity which is responsible for the media and leaps past the ZBC board which is the governing authority at the parastatal and lands on the desk of Muchechetere. Ooh, how the mighty have fallen!
“I am very happy that the ambassador is aware of the GPA and its various demands. I hope he can now tell his government that in this very important document called the GPA, there is some reference to pirate radio stations which must stop invading our airwaves. One of these pirate radio stations is Studio 7, which is funded by the Americans.”
Zanu PF strategist and former information minister Jonathan Moyo added: “How can the ambassador of a country that is funding Studio 7 try to lecture to us how ZBC should conduct its business?
“His hands are dirty, his mouth is dirty and he must be advised to shut up because that pirate radio station, Studio 7 is not only violating Zimbabwean laws, the GPA and Sadc guidelines but also international law.
“Nobody needs a lecture from this outpost of tyranny called America. They call ZBC, ‘dead BC’ so is the ambassador seeking to go to the grave with ZBC? Our elections will be free and fair if America and its friends including a neighbouring country leave us alone.”
Labels: AMBASSADOR, BRUCE WHARTON, GEORGE CHARAMBA
Read more...
(HERALD ZW) US ambassador showers President Mugabe with praises
Wednesday, 29 May 2013 00:00
Bulawayo Bureau
UNITED States ambassador Mr Bruce Wharton has praised President Mugabe for calling for peace ahead of the harmonised elections expected next month and said his country was willing to work with Zimbabwe.
Mr Wharton was addressing a Press conference at the just-ended Bike Across Borders initiative organised by US embassies in Zimbabwe and Zambia in Victoria Falls to promote tourism and wildlife conservation ahead of the 20th session of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) General Assembly scheduled for August 24 to 29.
He said Zimbabwe was a magnificent place.
“President Mugabe has been calling for peace, and I believe him. You can see that he is sincere, the situation has changed from previous years,” said Mr Wharton.
“We are responding to positive changes in Zimbabwe. The constitution process that has taken place is a positive thing.
“I think the Government of National Unity has been challenging and difficult for some people, but I think that bringing Zanu-PF and the MDCs together in Government has been useful. I think all sides have learnt something about each other and about the ability to work together.
“Our change in approach to Zimbabwe is simply a reflection of changes that the people and the Government of Zimbabwe are making on their own. We have to keep up with Zimbabwe.”
Mr Wharton said Victoria Falls was well positioned for tourism growth.
“Victoria Falls will be a shining light ahead of the UNWTO General Assembly,” he said.
“We encourage Americans to come to this part of the world. There is a connection between tourism and economic development of the country.
“We are optimistic of the future of Zimbabwe in general and Victoria Falls specifically.”
On the protection of foreign direct investment in tourism in the face of the country’s indigenisation drive, Mr Wharton said every country had the right to regulate its investment in ways that protect its citizens.
“The key is that those rules and regulations be transparent and consistent and be applied equally to all investors,” he said.
“Investors can deal with a broad range of issues, but predictability, consistency and transparency are the key issues in giving investor confidence and encourage them to look for opportunities in your country.”
Speaking at the same occasion, US Ambassador to Zambia Mr Mark Storella said the co-hosting of the UNWTO General Assembly by Zimbabwe and Zambia would result in development for the two countries.
“Zimbabwe and Zambia are cousins, they are close historically and close culturally and they share the Victoria Falls rainforest,” he said.
“This resource is opportunity for prosperity for the people. We think that a more prosperous and peaceful and democratic Southern Africa is in the interest of all nations.”
The United States took a leading role in condemning Zimbabwe, imposing illegal sanctions and travel bans on its citizens.
However, it has shifted its position and recently sent its former ambassador to the United Nations, Mr Andrew Young, and Reverend Jesse Jackson to convey a message of reconciliation to President Mugabe.
Labels: AMBASSADOR, BRUCE WHARTON, MARK STORELLA, ROBERT MUGABE
Read more...
(NEWZIMBABWE, NEWSDAY SA) US to announce policy shift on Zimbabwe
24/04/2013 00:00:00
by Moses Matenga I NewsDay
THE United States will announce major policy changes in its relations with Zimbabwe in a few weeks’ time, Ambassador Bruce Wharton has said.
Wharton told Star FM on Monday night: “It is my sincere hope that we will announce changes on Zimbabwe policy within the next few weeks, and I hope it will be taken in the context that it has to be taken.”
Wharton said the United States understood that Zimbabwe had no obligation to invite observer missions from Western countries during forthcoming general elections, but he hoped the country will open up to the widest scrutiny.
Asked to clarify on the policy changes, the US Embassy public affairs dean Sharon Hudson said she had no adequate details.
Zanu PF representative during the live phone-in radio programme, Christopher Mutsvangwa, spoke glowingly of the US, describing the country as an “elephant” in the international arena.
“Zimbabwe should look forward to working with America. Anything that makes Zimbabwe-America relations move forward is good for Zimbabwe because we are a small country while America is a big country,” Mutsvangwa said.
Relations between Zimbabwe and the United States have been frosty since the latter imposed sanctions in 2001.
However, the US has since re-engaged Zimbabwe with a view to normalising diplomatic relations. Last week, a State Department envoy Andrew Young called on President Robert Mugabe.
Labels: AMBASSADORS, BRUCE WHARTON, SANCTIONS
Read more...
My problem with Ambassador Bruce
18/03/2013 00:00:00
by Mai Jukwa
THERE is often a disparity between declared intent and the real motivations behind the actions of governments. Objective political analysis devotes itself to a careful examination of what politicians say and interrogates this against facts. These facts will either support or contradict their declared narrative. We cannot be so gullible as to place full reliance merely on what a politician happens to say.
The American Ambassador Bruce Wharton routinely subjects us to his scripted pieties of concern over human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Zimbabwe. He tells us that it was toward these noble ends, and not without a heavy heart, that the United States felt compelled to impose sanctions on Zimbabwe. These are noble boasts that paint his country in a very generous light.
If these are the Ambassador's real motivations then he is to be applauded, perhaps even encouraged. However, if his claims to goodness were disproved on the plateau of reason then the next natural point of enquiry would be an effort to understand his real agenda. We began by highlighting the case of declared intent versus real motivations; let us carry on along that thread.
Draconian Legislation
Laws are promulgated in response to national circumstances; it is through this lense that they must be viewed. What is considered good law in Saudi Arabia would likely be considered abhorrent and be rejected by a Zimbabwean parliament. This truth extends to all, including the ever-eager champions of democracy in the United States. On their statute books sit laws that many of us would object to as a gross violations of personal liberty.
Take for instance the argument by Eric Holder, the American Attorney General, that it is legal for Obama to put together a highly secretive kill-list of American citizens. This list is not subject to judicial scrutiny nor is any part of the American legislature allowed to examine the processes leading up to an individual being placed on the list for targeted assassination. Imagine the outrage if Robert Mugabe declared that he had the power to secretly tell the military or intelligence services to kill Zimbabwean citizens without any measure of judicial or parliamentary oversight. The United States recently killed a 16-year-old American boy, Abdulrahman al-Awlaki, whose father was accused of involvement in terrorist activities. This unprecedented murder was carried out under the cover of these opaque laws. That child had not been charged with any crime and his voice will never be heard in a court of law.
It is against this bloodied background that Ambassador Bruce’s protestations against the relatively innocuous AIPPA and POSA become all the more amusing. He howls righteous indignation and disapproval at these ‘draconian’ pieces of legislation and demands that we submit to him and repeal these laws. Surely Bruce must have the decency to begin his noble acts of charity closer to home. AIPPA and POSA does not allow for the killing of any man, it is not subject to the vagaries of presidential whim and anyone charged under those acts is allowed to defend themselves in a court of law. Would the good Ambassador be kind enough to tell us how many people have been convicted under these laws that he so hysterically rails against? The fact of it is that the vast majority is acquitted in the same courts of law that the Ambassador tells us lack judicial independence.
Human Rights
The Ambassador’s beating-stick of choice is the noble sounding human rights cause. He tells us with confident moral authority that America will maintain sanctions on Zimbabwe because, in their view, the country violates human rights. Bruce will forgive me for being so prosaic but this is absolute nonsense. The Americans have very little to lecture us on human rights, if anything they should learn from us.
Is there a single Zambian or South African who has been captured by Zimbabwean security services, dragged away to a secret torture chamber and subjected to sadistic abuses such as water boarding? Is there a British national who can claim to have been stripped naked and sodomised by Zimbabwean security forces in a manner similar to what we saw in those ghastly pictures that came out from Abu Ghraib?
Today the British government is facing lawsuits from Libyans like Sami al-Saadi who were captured by MI6 and submitted to torture. Instead of allowing these cases to be heard in court the British want to maintain their dishonest prestige of being champions of human rights and have chosen to pay off these victims to the tune of millions. Has a single citizen of this world filed any similar lawsuit against Zimbabwe? Given these facts, how is it that Bruce has no shame in holding hands with his British mistress to condemn us a violators of human rights? Their hypocrisy stinks to the highest heaven.
Their self-anointed status as human rights ambassador’s looks all the more pathetic when one considers the contradictions of their policy on Zimbabwe. How can Ambassador Bruce justify sanctions on Zimbabwean when Obama dines with the Saudi King? Is America so determined to punish Zimbabwe for its Land Reform policy that it is willing to harass reason itself to justify its patently hypocritical policies? No mind blessed with sanity would attempt to compare a relatively free society like Zimbabwe to Saudi Arabia. That would be ridiculous but for the sake of sport I will indulge the good Ambassador.
Saudi Arabia is not subject to sanctions but is actually a close ally of the United States. How can this be if Ambassador Bruce’s argument is that America imposes sanctions in objection to perceived human rights abuses? Zimbabweans are free to worship any religion of their choice; the state does not interfere in this. Contrast this with Saudi Arabia, a country that continues to enjoy cordial relations with the Americans. In 2005 Mohammad al-Harbi, a teacher, was sentenced to 40 months imprisonment and 750 lashings for contradicting Islam. In Zimbabwe we recognise the rights of women as equals and the new constitution makes positive steps to enforce this equality in all sectors of society including public office. Women in Saudi Arabia are denied all these rights; they are not allowed to vote, they are denied the right to drive and cannot travel abroad without the authorisation of a man. Does the Ambassador charge that this nation has greater freedoms that Zimbabwe? Criminals in Zimbabwe are treated humanely and our constitution is taking steps to eliminate the death penalty. Compare this with Saudi Arabia were hands and feet are chopped off for something as petty as stealing a motorbike. If the United States policy was sincerely informed by a concern for human rights one would imagine that it is Zimbabwe that would be an ally of the Americans, not Saudi Arabia.
The rule of law
Habeas Corpus and the rules of natural justice do not allow the indefinite detention of any individual. The rule of law affords every person the right to be brought before a judge, to be advised of what charge they stand accused and to see the evidence held against them and to equally submit a defense against the same.
Consider that concentration camp called Guantanamo Bay where America employs savage impunity and violates the very foundations civilised society. Men from around the world are captured in the dead of night without a warrant of arrest; many are smuggled out of their countries of residence without any knowledge of the host government. Upon arrival at Guantanamo many detainees have questioned on what charge they were being held. Such is the contumelious self-regard of the Americans that they are not obliged to answer the question.
Shaker Aamer is a Saudi Arabian British resident. He has been held at that beastly facility for over ten years. He has never been charged with any crime nor has the United States offered an explanation as to why they abducted him and are keeping him from his family. He has a son who he has never seen and could very well die in that facility. Such is the nauseating impudence of the Americans, willfully disregarding the rule of law simply because they can.
Has Zimbabwe held anyone without charge? Is there any prisoner in Zimbabwe who has been denied their right to justice in a court of law? Certainly not! So how then does Ambassador Bruce stand up with puffed American ego to lecture Zimbabweans on the rule of law when his nation presides over such gross injustice? Does he feel so entitled as to think that rules apply to the rest of us but not to the United States? We reject that white supremacist spirit in the strongest terms and say no to it. What is good for the goose is certainly good for the gander!
Torture
The American Ambassador made not a small nuisance of himself following the death of Christpower. Even before the police had been allowed the chance to investigate, the said gentleman was already jumping up and down in uncontainable adolescent excitement and wasted no time in issuing a statement instructing Zimbabwe on how to conduct its internal affairs.
If Ambassador Bruce is so eager to poke his nose into the affairs of justice one then wonders why he continues to ignore the overweight elephant in his American bedroom. We have all heard consistent testimony of how CIA agents and American soldiers tortured individuals with simulated drowning in a process they called water boarding. Of all those American agents who forced prisoners to inhale water and suffer such intolerable pain that they wished they were dead, how many have been prosecuted for torture? How is it that Bruce wants to lecture us on our bed-wetting when his own sheets are soiled by his incontinent hypocrisy?
We all watched that shocking video of American soldiers in Iraq firing a helicopter gunship into a funeral procession. Was that not murder in cold blood? Listening to the audio of those bloodthirsty young men toy with the lives of human beings as though they were playing video games, one got a clear picture of the wickedness of American foreign policy and how they view the lives of other nationalities as being of less value.
These killers have not been prosecuted. Instead, they are celebrated as veterans and war heroes and given medals of honour. We are then told to accept this idiotic narrative that Americans are ambassador of peace and justice. As the president once said, they have little to lecture us on and very much to atone for.
It’s our right to monitor your elections
The Americans and British have made for a pitiful sight these past few weeks as they tried every desperate trick in the book to get a chance to send in their election monitors. Their political surrogates were distressed beyond measure when Amai Mujuru barred countries that have imposed sanctions and made it clear they would not be allowed to observe the elections.
In an effort to lend weight to their pathetic argument, their witless surrogates have been jumping up and down declaring that the necessity of ‘international’ observers. I need not remind Bruce that the international community is not defined as the handful of Western white nations that imposed sanctions on us in solidarity with the British farmers that we kicked off the land they stole from us.
The international community remains welcome to observe our elections. The only nations that are crying foul are white Western countries that have imposed illegal sanctions against Zimbabwe. Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, India, Japan, South Africa and the rest of the international community is welcome. Bruce must not flatter himself and imagine that the international community is defined as his racist kith and kin club of white nations. They are not welcome and must keep out.
Consider how these shameless hypocrites want to impose themselves under the guise of international observation yet they are unwilling to equally submit themselves to scrutiny by the United Nations. The case of Bradley Manning makes a perfect example. This is the heroic young man who released thousands of secret American files detailing their abuses around the world. Since his arrest he has been held in an American military facility where is kept in solitary confinement and routinely stripped naked. The United Nations special rapporteur on torture called his treatment cruel and inhuman. Bradley Manning’s defense has requested that the UN torture expert be allowed to give testimony during the trial. The United States refused.
It astonishes how the United States wants to poke its nose into the affairs of sovereign nations but refuses to subject itself to a similar standard. Consider how the United States makes a nuisance of itself ululating at prosecutions conducted by the ICC whilst at the same time refusing to ratify the Rome Statute. Not only so, George Bush signed into law the American Servicemembers' Protection Act of 2002 (ASPA) which authorises the use of military force to free any American agent if they are ever held by that court.
My problem with Ambassador Bruce
I could carry on and speak of the drone attacks that continue to take the cheap lives of Afghan and Pakistani civilians. For every fifty people killed in drone strikes only one is an actual insurgent. One could speak of the illegal invasion of Iraq or the hypocrisy of the Americans in siding with Israel when it continues to violate international law by building settlements on Palestinian territory. In such talk could we miss the hypocrisy of Americans frothing at the mouth at the thought of a nuclear Iran when it has stockpiles of nuclear weapons for its own protection? Such is the depth of their hypocrisy that an exhaustive list is impossible.
When Ambassador Bruce tells us that he is sanctioning us because of human rights, the rule of law or democracy, it is quite clearly not the case. The contradictions are all too plain for all to see. The truth of it is that America cares little for the rule of law as evidenced by their refusal to prosecute the agents responsible for torturing detainees. They are not concerned about democracy as shown by their cosy relationship with Arab despots. We could not accept the argument that they care for human rights when they allow their soldiers to shoot into innocent civilians with helicopter gunships and get away with it.
Ambassador Bruce carefully clothes his real intentions in the admirable language of virtue. However, the facts speak much louder than the eloquence of his voice. His only concern is furthering American economic interests. Their determined campaign against Zimbabwe has nothing to do with their supposed love for human rights. Their punitive sanctions are meant to punish us for daring to kick out the British settler farmers after Britain reneged on the agreements reached at Lancaster.
Bruce can jump up and down and chant the slogans of liberty to his hearts content but it is all in vain. We now see clearly past his empty and self-serving rhetoric. He is the mother of all hypocrites. Let him begin his charity at home before he presumes to lecture Africans on how best to conduct their affairs.
Amai Jukwa is a loving mother of three. She respects Robert Mugabe, is amused by Tsvangirai and feels sorry for Mutambara. She answers questions on Facebook and Twitter
Labels: AMBASSADOR, BRUCE WHARTON
Read more...
US envoy stumped by thong protest
Naked aggression ... Ambassador Wharton is given an eyeful by Zanu PF protester
21/01/2013 00:00:00
by Staff Reporter
THE United States ambassador to Zimbabwe Bruce Wharton has faced many protests from Zanu PF supporters since arriving in Harare last year – but none of them have been as quite revealing as this encounter in Mutare last week.
The envoy was forced to abandon a visit to the American Corner at the Turner Memorial Library in Mutare on Wednesday after Zanu PF supporters angrily confronted him demanding the lifting of sanctions on Zimbabwe.
Among the protesters was Sheila Mutsenhu, who grabbed the ambassador’s attention by stripping to her bra and thong.
Mutsenhu’s naked rage shocked the ambassador who said later that the Zanu PF protesters were “not interested in a conversation”.
The envoy also said he supported their right to protest, but demanded a "respectful sharing of ideas”.
Mutsenhu later told the Manica Post:
"Our beautiful country is reeling under the effects of illegal sanctions imposed by the West, yet we have an Ambassador coming here to tour what they say are developmental projects.
"We cannot wine and dine with the enemy and the message we are sending to them is that enough is enough, we want the country's economy to be back on track and this can only be achieved if the illegal sanctions are lifted.”
Unconfirmed reports say Mutsenhu is the same woman who stormed the newsroom of the Daily News in April last year and excoriated journalists before urinating in the reception area.
The Daily News raid woman, who was never identified, scolded journalists over a report in the paper claiming that President Robert Mugabe was seriously ill in Singapore.
The US embassy has demanded better protection for diplomats after Wharton was confronted by protesters in Rusape and Makoni in recent weeks.
"We call on the government of Zimbabwe to ensure the safety and security of diplomatic personnel, and to condemn the harassment and intimidation of peaceful exchanges between the US and the Zimbabwean people," an embassy statement said.
Labels: AMBASSADOR, BRUCE WHARTON, SANCTIONS, SHEILA MUTSENHU, ZDERA
Read more...
COMMENT - There is no need for speeches on Zimbabwe "moving beyond a relationship defined by aid" - let the people get paid for the value of their diamonds, platinum and gold. Presto, no more 'need' for aid.
US ambassador barred from Mutare meeting
16/01/2013 00:00:00
by Staff Reporter
THE United States ambassador to Zimbabwe says “Zanu PF protesters” barred him from entering a library in Mutare on Wednesday where he was due to give a speech
calling for the United States and Zimbabwe to “move beyond a relationship defined by aid”.
Bruce Wharton said he had been looking forward to “engaging in a dialogue with the citizens of Manicaland” at the Turner Memorial Library only to be met by about 130 placard-waving protesters “not interested in a conversation”.
The United States embassy later said Ambassador Wharton had been “prevented” from entering the library after spending nearly 20 minutes “listening to their [Zanu PF supporters] messages written on placards and verbal”.
“He was met with no opportunity for constructive conversation,” the Embassy said in a statement, while insisting that the United States “values the right to peaceful protest”.
Ambassador Wharton “recognises the critical need to work together to build a way forward”, the Embassy statement went on, “but believes that this must begin with a respectful sharing of ideas”.
Wharton was remaining in Mutare on Wednesday with further scheduled visits to USAID projects and meetings with businesspeople, academics, local authorities, and citizens.
The US embassy distributed a speech which Ambassador Wharton was due to give during the visit to the library.
Wharton would have told his audience that the United States is was ready to help Zimbabwe get back on its feet “so that it can again be a nation of economic opportunities, of respect for the rule of law and the rights of all people”.
“Those are values that reflect the core of what Americans share with Zimbabweans and that we should pursue together,” he was going to say.
Zimbabwe and the United States, according to Wharton, also needed to “prepare to move beyond a relationship defined by aid”.
“The people of Zimbabwe are fully capable of feeding themselves, meeting the nation’s health and education needs, building a dynamic political system, and restoring what was once one of the strongest economies in Africa,” his speech said.
Wharton was also going to tell his audience that the United States “backs principles and institutions, not individuals or parties” in Zimbabwe.
“It is not for the U.S. or foreigners to say how Zimbabwe should govern itself or its democratic practices. Instead, using the Zimbabwean constitution, laws, the Global Political Agreement, and the SADC Roadmap, Zimbabweans have agreed how they will comport themselves,” he was to say.
“It is against those commitments that Zimbabwe will be judged by the Zimbabwean people and friends of Zimbabwe alike. But, in any human interaction, one’s credibility rests on maintaining one’s word and one’s honour.”
Labels: AID, BRUCE WHARTON
Read more...
COMMENT - Having political parties funded by foreign governments is not democracy. One reason the MDC needs foreign government support, is because their policies, when spelled out, are anathema to the people of Zimbabwe. No one wants to see a return to austerity, privatisation (job losses) and deregulation (corruption and crime). This was tried from 1991-1996, and was resented by the Zimbabwean people to such a degree that it led to the creation of the MDC. Which was then hijacked by those very same mining interests (Morgan Tsvangirai was a miner for Anglo-American De Beers.)
US pledges election funding for MDC-T
Indigenisation fund now US$4bn
China was our backbone against colonial paralysis
Sunday, 16 December 2012 00:00
Nilene Foxworth
For centuries, we Africans were indeed paralysed victims; physically, psychologically, and geographically. Pushed off the precious God-given land of our forefathers, then demeaned and stagnated in the worst crime against humanity (the African slave trade); and African descendants in the colonial diaspora are still being shot and killed at bus stops, murdered (inside) American jail dungeons, and downsized on professional jobs after fifteen plus years of service.
It is hard to understand how some of our people can support such a colonial system, where African-Americans are no more than a tolerated quota of appeasement in the interest of the slave-master’s descendants.
And it is difficult to understand how any indigenous Africans can support sanctions against its own country to appease European descendants of colonialism.
It is unfortunate that far too many of our people choose to embrace systems and people who are responsible for the oppression of African people worldwide.
It is disheartening to hear an indigenous Zimbabwean saying: “China wants to recolonise us.”
One can only question why such propaganda is circulating.
China has never been our problem, and they never colonised Africa, nor enslaved Black people. In many ways they have been our backbone.
I had the pleasure of working with and supporting revolutionaries who ran for their lives from Apartheid South Africa and Apartheid United States in the sixties, when whites were burning our churches down, killing our people over the simple right to vote and sit on a front seat of the bus.
Perhaps some people do not know about the Soweto Massacre, the Sharpeville Massacre, and the 1 200 indigenous Zimbabwean bodies found in a Mt Darwin mine, plus more than 50 000 Zimbabwean brothers and sisters who died for independence.
How can any indigenous Zimbabwean not know about the Chinese support?
China supported Zimbabwe when so-called democratic America was sending mercenaries to Ian Smith in the interest of the white minority, who illegally claimed most of the precious land, while denying Blacks the right to shop and eat in the upper City Centre.
Many Black revolutionaries went to China, and received a resounding welcome. After Ghana received its independence in 1959, many revolutionaries went to President Kwame Nkrumah, who was indeed endowed with a foresight of Pan-Africanism.
However, when we look at the division among our people today, with wars everywhere (religious wars, political wars, gang wars), from the ghettos of America to our major countries in the homeland (Nigeria, Sudan, Somalia, Mali, the DRC) . . . one can only reflect on the warning of Nkrumah when he said in the early sixties: “If we do not formulate plans for unity and take active steps to form political union, we will soon be fighting and warring among ourselves with imperialists and colonialists standing behind the screen and pulling vicious wires, to make us cut each other’s throats for the sake of their diabolical purposes . . .”
A conscious person can never forget the pleasure and blessing of learning from the revolutionary Pan-Africanist the positives of our historical struggle.
When I made my first trip to the homeland (Dar es Salaam, Tanzania) in 1974, my host family was the late Minister Nicholas Maro and his wonderful wife, Jennifer.
Maro was the Minister of Transportation. So, I was invited to tour the newly-built railroad, which was built by the Chinese. One of the railroad engineers explained the beginning stages of the railroad system.
He told me how America tried to disrupt the construction by the Chinese, and their anger became physical, but the Chinese were victorious in building the great railroad from Tanzania to Zambia.
According to researchers, China and Africa have trade relations as far back as 202BC, and in the 14th century an African explorer named Sa’id of Mogadishu went to China.
There are 750 000 Chinese nationals working in African countries, and as many as 20 000 Africans working in China.
CCTV recently interviewed Kenyan Ambassador to China Julius Sunkuli. He said Kenya has traded with China for more than 600 years. He talked about the diversity of China and its beauty.
He said: “The Chinese have lots of generosity and are very friendly toward mankind.”
In essence, he was also saying: If the Chinese are doing a project in Africa, they only want information on the project, not on the governance of sovereign nations.
It is no secret that China was a great supporter of Zanu (Zimbabwe African National Union) during the struggle for independence, and President Mugabe responded to an inevitable question at that time (middle of 1976) regarding what China would demand in return for their support.
According to his biography, Mugabe, by David Smith and Colin Simpson, the President said: “Our war could not be waged without the assistance of China. But the Chinese have never attached any conditions to their supply of weapons . . . there is an understanding between the Chinese and us, that we are free to choose our friends and pursue any policy which we thought best suited for our country. We will not give in to any pressure to abandon our Chinese friends.”
In 1972, I was asked to organise a small group of African-Americans to meet the legendary Black Power revolutionary, Stokely Carmicheal, who had travelled to Cuba, China, North Vietnam, Ghana, Guinea and America, and was born in Trinidad.
With only a few hours to organise, I invited only 15 people to meet at my house, but over 200 people squeezed themselves into my house to meet (for the first time) a strong Pan-Africanist and fearless revolutionary, who worked hard against colonial evils and their double- standard racist practice.
Stokely Carmicheal was like a son to Kwame Nkrumah and Sekou Toure, so he changed his name to Kwame Ture. Through his organisation AAPRP (All African Peoples Revolutionary Party) I was introduced to PAC (Pan-Africanist Congress) members, and quickly learned that PAC was very serious regarding the South African Land issue and tangible goals.
So, I supported them from 1972 until I came to Zimbabwe in 1997. I cooked my best meals for PAC, and organised speaking tours for PAC exiles when they came to Colorado.
It was an honour and blessing to host strong Pan-Africanist leaders like Stokely Carmicheal, Vusi Ndlovu, Adabisi Ayola, Mekki Mtewa and Elizabeth Sibeko, who taught us about the ruthless Apartheid system.
So much more was learnt at the exile camp in Bagamoyo, Tanzania, where the deep scars of Apartheid on the bodies of the youth made me work harder toward the struggle.
PAC Secretary for Defence Sabelo Phama and Vusi Ndlovu both praised the Chinese for their training.
Vusi Ndlovu (now late-PAC), became a Karate Black Belt in China and opened the first Karate school in Harare.
Sabelo Phama (now late-PAC) became a military strategist trained in China. The late Stokely Carmichael also loved China and is buried in Guinea.
We have witnessed here in Zimbabwe lots of Chinese support: bicycles, tractors, computers, and so much more.
It was China (in the eighties) who shipped some of the most beautiful black statues to the USA, when there was nothing with such beauty for our people in Colorado’s major stores, nor anywhere else in America.
I bought a beautiful black African queen sitting on her throne — Made in China, and a very beautiful lamp with a black angel protecting little children — Made In China.
I could not believe that such beautiful images of our people were at last in US stores. In the past, such artifacts were only white images, not of our people. However, whites did make ugly demeaning Black artifacts of our people doing dirty work.
The bottom line is the colonial world was too racist to show the beauty of our people in such a creative way like China has; and unfortunately, conscious African-Americans did not have the technology to do so.
We are so grateful for such beautiful Chinese artifacts today. Apartheid America cloned the brains of the world to believe that everything that is melanin-mutant (white) is most precious and most beautiful; like white hair, white skin, white rhinos, white sharks, White House and etcetera.
We conscious Africans understand the colonial game of mind control, and we are most grateful to China for its strength, its generosity, and its insight.
Richard Dowen, director of Royal African Society said in 2005: “China and mobile phones are going to reform Africa . . . China has brought more people out of poverty than anyone.”
It is important that we search for the positives of this politically-disturbed world and be grateful for our genuine friends.
Labels: 2013 ELECTIONS (ZW), BRUCE WHARTON, MDC TREASON
Read more...
US says will accept a credible Mugabe poll win
12/12/2012 00:00:00
by Staff Reporter
THE UNITED States will accept a win by President Robert Mugabe in the forthcoming elections – provided the polls are held in a free and fair environment, U.S. Ambassador to Zimbabwe Bruce Wharton has said.
The US has isolated Mugabe over the past ten years, accusing him of rights violations and fixing successive polls.
“Yes, we will embrace President Robert Mugabe if he wins free and fair polls,” Ambassador Wharton told reporters during a visit in the second capital of Bulawayo on Wednesday.
He said Washington had no interest taking political sides in Zimbabwe, adding that if Zanu PF wins a credible vote, the US will respect the outcome.
”Our aim is to see the will of the people respected,” he added.
Zimbabwe is currently working on constitutional reforms ahead of next year’s ballot.
Mugabe last week vowed to “fight like a wounded beast” to win the elections and avoid a repeat of 2008 where he was defeated by MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai in the first round.
He went on to deploy violence that forced Tsvangirai to withdraw from the second round vote.
Although the soon-to-be 89-year-old leader has repeatedly denounced political violence since the formation of the unity government in 2009, critics question his sincerity and ability to win any vote without coercion.
Ambassador Wharton met with Mugabe last month as he assumed office as new US envoy, pledging to “engage in a dialogue that is respectful”.
And so far, the ambassador says, his interactions with Zanu PF have been positive.
“We have established smooth communication, and we even attended Zanu PF’s conference last week and we were treated with respect,” he added.
Wharton also refuted charges by Mugabe at the conference that the US government was orchestrating a plot to take him out.
He said Washington will continue working closely with the Zimbabwean government especially on the humanitarian front.
“Overall in Zimbabwe, we provide ongoing support to the Zimbabwean parliament and constitution making process and we have invested more than 1 billion dollars in health and humanitarian assistance in the last ten years.
“The US also promotes business linkages, encouraging American investors to look closely at Zimbabwe’s educated labour force and long term growth potential,” he said.
Labels: 2013 ELECTIONS (ZW), BRUCE WHARTON, ROBERT MUGABE
Read more...
Ambassador Wharton does not address the fact that his government has taken over the colonial role of Britain from the 1960s onwards, which put them continuously on the wrong side of history - supporting white minority and colonial regimes (Portugal, Rhodesia, apartheid South Africa in Africa - Vietnam in Southeast Asia) until they fell. This is because their political and economic system is owned by the very same banking dynasties that owned them under colonialism. Notice that at no time Ambassador Wharton mentions securing the natural resources that belong to the people of their respective countries. Or respecting the ownership of natural resources by the people themselves. He does however mention using NGOs, which undermine national sovereignty and fragment national policy.
New US envoy meets Mugabe, to 'listen and learn'
15/11/2012 00:00:00
by Staff Reporter
BARACK Obama’s new top envoy to Zimbabwe assumed office on Thursday with a vow to “listen and learn”.
Bruce Wharton, who has previously worked at the United States embassy in Harare as a political attaché, presented his credentials to President Robert Mugabe at State House and “delivered President Obama’s greetings”.
The new United States ambassador takes over from Charles Ray, whose stint in Zimbabwe was less dramatic than those of the previous two ambassadors - Christopher Dell and James McGee - who presided over a deterioration in relations between Harare and Washington.
If career diplomat Ray oversaw the lowering of rhetoric, Wharton told Mugabe he sought to “engage in a dialogue that is respectful”.
Citing US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s comments last August that they would meet “action for action” in their relations with Zimbabwe, Wharton said: “American policy toward Zimbabwe is not static, and will respond positively to Zimbabwe’s progress on the roadmap to constitutional reform and elections.”
Mugabe, who is subject of a United States travel and assets ban, has previously used encounters with American diplomats to call for the lifting of personal sanctions as well as trade embargos imposed on state-owned companies including diamond mining firms.
[And the financial freeze of the Zimbabwe government from international financial insitutions, through the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2001, Section 4C - the sanctions that are public record, but they don't want the world to know exist. - MrK]
Wharton said: “President Mugabe and I had a good discussion of where our relationship has been over the last few years, and how we would like it to develop in the coming years.
“I... expressed the US government’s sincere desire to find common ground to enhance the bilateral relationship.
“I pledged to President Mugabe our continued support to the people of Zimbabwe and their efforts to build a more just, prosperous and healthy society. The government of the United States and the government of Zimbabwe share this desire for a better future for the people of this great nation.
“When we differ on the best means of achieving those goals, I will seek to engage in a dialogue that is respectful and that seeks to uphold the universal values and rights that Zimbabweans fought so hard to gain 32 years ago.”
Zimbabwe is due to hold a referendum on the new constitution, shortly to be followed by general elections. Wharton said the two events were a watershed moment in Zimbabwe’s history and could define the two countries’ relations going forward.
“We support the democratic reform process underway since the start of the Global Political Agreement and, along with SADC and other friends of Zimbabwe, we will stand by the people as this process reaches its conclusion,” he said.
The United States had spent over $1 billion over the last decade on health and humanitarian assistance in Zimbabwe, the ambassador said, adding: “I am also personally interested in supporting women’s empowerment, education, conservation, freedom of expression, and the rights of all people.”
Wharton will begin his term "by listening and learning about the goals of the Zimbabwean people, and how the United States can be a good partner. As I learn, I will begin to add my own ideas in support of what is clearly best for both our nations: a strong, prosperous, just and healthy Zimbabwe,” he added.
AMBASSADOR WHARTON ON ZIM RETURN
Labels: AMBASSADOR, BRUCE WHARTON
Read more...
Ambassador Wharton does not address the fact that his government has taken over the colonial role of Britain from the 1960s onwards, which put them continuously on the wrong side of history - supporting white minority and colonial regimes (Portugal, Rhodesia, apartheid South Africa in Africa - Vietnam in Southeast Asia) until they fell. This is because their political and economic system is owned by the very same banking dynasties that owned them under colonialism. Notice that at no time Ambassador Wharton mentions securing the natural resources that belong to the people of their respective countries. Or respecting the ownership of natural resources by the people themselves. He does however mention using NGOs, which undermine national sovereignty and fragment national policy.
New US envoy meets Mugabe, to 'listen and learn'
15/11/2012 00:00:00
by Staff Reporter
BARACK Obama’s new top envoy to Zimbabwe assumed office on Thursday with a vow to “listen and learn”.
Bruce Wharton, who has previously worked at the United States embassy in Harare as a political attaché, presented his credentials to President Robert Mugabe at State House and “delivered President Obama’s greetings”.
The new United States ambassador takes over from Charles Ray, whose stint in Zimbabwe was less dramatic than those of the previous two ambassadors - Christopher Dell and James McGee - who presided over a deterioration in relations between Harare and Washington.
If career diplomat Ray oversaw the lowering of rhetoric, Wharton told Mugabe he sought to “engage in a dialogue that is respectful”.
Citing US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s comments last August that they would meet “action for action” in their relations with Zimbabwe, Wharton said: “American policy toward Zimbabwe is not static, and will respond positively to Zimbabwe’s progress on the roadmap to constitutional reform and elections.”
Mugabe, who is subject of a United States travel and assets ban, has previously used encounters with American diplomats to call for the lifting of personal sanctions as well as trade embargos imposed on state-owned companies including diamond mining firms.
[And the financial freeze of the Zimbabwe government from international financial insitutions, through the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2001, Section 4C - the sanctions that are public record, but they don't want the world to know exist. - MrK]
Wharton said: “President Mugabe and I had a good discussion of where our relationship has been over the last few years, and how we would like it to develop in the coming years.
“I... expressed the US government’s sincere desire to find common ground to enhance the bilateral relationship.
“I pledged to President Mugabe our continued support to the people of Zimbabwe and their efforts to build a more just, prosperous and healthy society. The government of the United States and the government of Zimbabwe share this desire for a better future for the people of this great nation.
“When we differ on the best means of achieving those goals, I will seek to engage in a dialogue that is respectful and that seeks to uphold the universal values and rights that Zimbabweans fought so hard to gain 32 years ago.”
Zimbabwe is due to hold a referendum on the new constitution, shortly to be followed by general elections. Wharton said the two events were a watershed moment in Zimbabwe’s history and could define the two countries’ relations going forward.
“We support the democratic reform process underway since the start of the Global Political Agreement and, along with SADC and other friends of Zimbabwe, we will stand by the people as this process reaches its conclusion,” he said.
The United States had spent over $1 billion over the last decade on health and humanitarian assistance in Zimbabwe, the ambassador said, adding: “I am also personally interested in supporting women’s empowerment, education, conservation, freedom of expression, and the rights of all people.”
Wharton will begin his term "by listening and learning about the goals of the Zimbabwean people, and how the United States can be a good partner. As I learn, I will begin to add my own ideas in support of what is clearly best for both our nations: a strong, prosperous, just and healthy Zimbabwe,” he added.
AMBASSADOR WHARTON ON ZIM RETURN
Labels: AMBASSADOR, BRUCE WHARTON
Read more...
