Mercedes Sayagues
The government of Zimbabwe has a peculiarly selective way of reading the press. Usually, the Mail & Guardian is lumped among the foreign media engaged in a conspiracy to tarnish Zimbabwe’s image and bring down President Robert Mugabe. The many speeches where Mugabe says so inflame his followers and account no doubt for the many foreign correspondents roughed up by Zanu-PF thugs.
But this week, the ruling party saw it fit to quote the M&G in a full-page ad in the government-owned daily The Herald. Extracts of a story by Chris McGreal (April 14 to 19) on white farmers in Wedza appear under the headline: “In their own words. There you are. They said it, not us.”
The quotes refer to the support given by white business to the opposition party Movement for Democratic Change and to the rage felt by farm owners at being invaded.
Conveniently, the ad omits other excerpts from the story. For example: “Racial confrontation is a convenient distraction from the imploding economy.”
How about quoting from the many stories and editorials where the M&G has consistently denounced Mugabe’s misrule?
The ad is part of Zanu-PF’s barrage of electoral propaganda, some of it masquerading as information. The government-owned ZBC TV and The Herald sound like Chinese media during the cultural revolution. Events and quotes are twisted, facts omitted.
The barrage of “Vote Zanu-PF” ads is nauseating. It may well backfire, as it did during the constitutional referendum in February.
Mugabe may be obtaining what he wants. White farmers are lining up to emigrate – and not only to Australia and New Zealand. Zambia, and President Frederick Chiluba’s moderate stance, attracts some. The Mozambican press reported last week that 320 farmers crossed into Manica province in Mozambique, bordering Zimbabwe’s Eastern Highlands, seeking land. The provincial governor has agreed to settle about 40 in an underpopulated district where there should be no land conflict.
Back home, acting Minister of Land Joyce Mujuru (both Minister Kumbirai Kangai and the ministry’s permanent secretary face charges of gross corruption) waxes about how well the white farmers are behaving, co-existing with the war vets. As a grim reminder, she adds that any violence is the farmers’ fault.
This week, the Zimbabwe Tobacco Association (ZTA) urged its members to boycott early sales. The ZTA cites disruptions in tobacco grading by farm invasions and reluctance of transporters to go into troubled areas. They are hoping for a devaluation of the artificially low local currency, ensuring better prices.
The ZTA letter was delivered to Mujuru just before her press conference to open the auctions. She was not amused. Wednesday’s editorial in The Herald warns farmers: “How will war vets, who had agreed to a ‘ceasefire’, react to this act of blackmail and breach of faith? We hope … the war vets will not be provoked.”