March 27, 2005
Archbishop urges Zimbabweans to rise up against Mugabe
By MICHAEL HARTNACK
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) - One of Zimbabwe's most outspoken church leaders called Sunday for a peaceful uprising against President Robert Mugabe's autocratic rule, just days before a parliamentary election that rights groups say is already tainted from years of violence and intimidation.
Roman Catholic Archbishop Pius Ncube, of Zimbabwe's second city, Bulawayo, said he was willing to put on his vestments and lead a march to Mugabe's residence himself, but feared: "If I do it, I do it alone."
"The people are so scared," he said in an interview with The Associated Press. "You are not going to get that where people are so cowardly."
Police on Sunday arrested nearly 200 opposition supporters after a rally in the capital, Harare, the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change said in a statement.
Mugabe, a former guerrilla leader, has led Zimbabwe since the end of white rule in 1980.
Ncube believes Mugabe's Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front party will easily win Thursday's poll, which he said will be overseen by the military and is certain to be rigged.
"I hope that people get so disillusioned that they really organize against the government and kick him out by a nonviolent, popular, mass uprising," Ncube said in a separate interview with the South African newspaper the Sunday Independent. "Because as it is, people have been too soft with this government. So people should pluck up just a bit of courage and stand up against him and chase him away."
Ncube confirmed the comments to The AP, but was more guarded in an interview conducted over Zimbabwe's state-monitored telephone lines. Calls for unauthorized protests are punishable by up to 20 years in jail under the country's harsh Public Order and Security Act.
While this year's election has been less blatantly violent than previous ones, Ncube said "a kind of tacit violence" persists.
He accused the government of denying desperately needed food aid to opposition supporters in rural centres such as Filabusi, about 400 kilometres south of Harare, where he said over 200 hungry families had been turned away.
Ncube was also critical of opposition leaders, who have been at pains to avoid bloodshed since at least 200 people were killed during the government's often violent seizure of thousands of white-owned farms for redistribution to black Zimbabweans.
"We do not have a leader to lead us. We need someone who is courageous," Ncube said. "People must be ready even to risk losing their lives; everyone wants to keep safe."
The tumultuous land reform program, combined with years of drought and a government crackdown on dissent, have plunged the country of nearly 13 million people into international isolation and economic crisis.
Opposition leaders remain hopeful that change can be brought through the ballot box, encouraged by large turnouts at their rallies in recent days.
"What is needed by Zimbabwe is a new vision, a new Zimbabwe that is able to respond to the crisis that we find ourselves in," MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai told some 20,000 supporters at a rally Sunday in an impoverished Harare neighbourhood.
"Go and vote for food, go and vote for jobs, go and vote for MDC - and go and vote for your future."
After the rally, opposition officials said police "ran amok" in the Mbare neighbourhood, beating up anyone seen putting on MDC T-shirts. Four people were injured and nearly 200 arrested as they left the event singing and chanting slogans, the opposition said in a statement.
Many were released without charge, but at least six were charged with conduct likely to provoke a breach of peace, the statement said. Police could not immediately be reached for comment.
Earlier, Ncube delivered Easter Sunday mass at Bulawayo's packed St. Mary's Cathedral. He urged worshippers to remain hopeful and to persevere.
"Somewhere there shall come a resurrection for Zimbabwe," he said.
Mugabe Spokesman Calls Zimbabwe Cleric 'Liar'
By VOA News Washington28 March 2005
A spokesman for Zimbabwe's ruling party says a prominent Roman Catholic cleric who has criticized President Robert Mugabe is a liar.
Archibishop Pius Ncube was quoted by several news organizations on Sunday as saying that Mr. Mugabe's government had threatened to withhold food aid to certain regions if they supported the opposition Movement for Democratic Change in Thursday's parliamentary vote.
The cleric also called for a non-violent, popular uprising if Thursday's poll fails to unseat the government.
The spokesman for the ruling ZANU-PF party (Nathan Shamuyarira) called Archbishop Ncube "a mad, inveterate liar." He says the cleric is advocating the wishes of Britain and the United States, who he says want "regime change" in Zimbabwe.
Mr. Mugabe has waged attacks against former colonial ruler Britain and its current prime minister, Tony Blair, as part of his re-election strategy.
Some information for this report provided by AP,AFP and Reuters.
Uganda Protesters Reject Third Museveni Term
By VOA News
24 March 2005
Hundreds of people have marched in Uganda to protest a bill that would allow President Yoweri Museveni to seek a third term in office.
Opposition groups organized Thursday's march in Kampala, which included handing a statement to Britain's embassy.
In the statement, critics accuse Uganda's government of seeking a constitutional amendment to end a two-term limit in order to establish a "dictatorial presidential monarchy."
Mr. Museveni has not publicly declared if he will stand in elections next year.
Monday, government supporters held a rally to dismiss foreign criticism of a proposed third term for the president.
Mr. Museveni has agreed to allow multi-party elections next year for the first since he took power nearly 20 years ago.
Some information for this report provided by Reuters and AP.
www.voanews.com/english/2005-03-24-voa53.cfm
Northern Ugandan Leaders Consult With the International Criminal Court
Washington,DC
17 March 2005A six-man delegation from northern Uganda is in The Hague this week for consultations with the International Criminal Court, the ICC. The group is asking the court not to issue arrest warrants against leaders of the Lords Resistance Army, the LRA. The rebel group has been active in Uganda�s northern Acholi region for nearly 20 years. It�s known for its brutal attacks on civilians, including mutilation, abduction, rape and torture.
Among the members of the delegation to The Hague are the cultural head of the Acholi ethnic group, Rwot David Onen Acana the Second, and the Roman Catholic Archbishop of the northern diocese of Gulu, John Baptist Odama. They say prosecuting the LRA now could jeopardize negotiations between the government and the rebels.
Dr. Walter okello is the head of the Campaign for Political and Human Rights in Uganda, based in London. He told English to Africa reporter William Eagle that he agrees with the position of the delegation. He also says the ICC should look into allegations of atrocities made against the Ugandan military in the fight against the rebels.
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