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Thread: When is a fall not a fall? When Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe's spin doctors say s

  1. #11
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    Dank memes, brah.
    I have a big cook.

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    Mugabe's days numbered?...

    Zimbabwe leader's loyalists make surprise break with Mugabe
    Jul 21,`16 -- Veterans of Zimbabwe's independence war made a significant break with President Robert Mugabe for the first time Thursday, calling him dictatorial, manipulative and egocentric.
    The Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association has been a pillar of support for the 92-year-old leader for decades, but it released a statement criticizing the man it had long been quick to defend. The veterans are known for unleashing violence on those opposing the government. The surprise revolt by Mugabe's aging corps of loyalists comes after nationwide anti-government protests organized via social media. Many in Zimbabwe are frustrated by a rapidly deteriorating economy, a currency crisis and alleged corruption. "We note, with concern, shock and dismay, the systematic entrenchment of dictatorial tendencies, personified by the president and his cohorts, which have slowly devoured the values of the liberation struggle," the statement said after dozens of veterans' representatives from around the country met Thursday, changing anti-government slogans.

    The group said it would no longer support Mugabe's political campaigns, accusing him of abandoning the veterans for the youth league of the ruling party ZANU-PF. The veterans' group, whose members are in their 60s and older, blamed the southern African country's economic crisis on "bankrupt leadership," and it accused Mugabe of corruption: "This rot needs to be uprooted, and right now." There was no immediate comment from the government. Mugabe has repeatedly said he plans to run again in 2018 and rule until he dies. Thursday's announcement "delegitimizes Mugabe in a big way, not least because he is always quick to flaunt his war credentials and revels in his title as patron of the war veterans association," said political analyst Gabriel Shumba, chairman of the South Africa-based Zimbabwe Exiles Forum. "The youths may provide him with the muscle he needs right now, but they don't command any meaningful political stock."

    Mugabe, who has been in power for 36 years, has recently turned toward the youth league for political support, including two rallies attended by tens of thousands of people. Earlier this week, the world's oldest head of state responded to the recent anti-government protests, telling critics to leave Zimbabwe if they are unhappy with conditions at home. The veterans' group indicated it has had enough of such talk from the president. "We are dismayed by the president's tendency to indulge, in his usual vitriol against perceived enemies, including peaceful protesters, as well as war veterans, when the economy is on its knees," their statement said. "He has a lot to answer for the serious plight of the national economy."

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    Coup possible in Zimbabwe?...

    NEWS ANALYSIS: War veterans spell bad news for Mugabe
    July 25 2016 - THE fallout between President Robert Mugabe and war veterans, once his most loyal allies, may force Zimbabwe’s military to show its hand, sooner, rather than later. The country is slipping deeper and deeper into an economic crisis, which has the potential of reconfiguring its political landscape.
    The war veterans’ association has strong links to Zimbabwe’s military — the latter, which although sidelined, remains potential kingmaker in Zanu-PF’s long-drawn out succession race. Last week it reminded Mugabe it was the veterans’ support during the liberation war that elevated him to the leadership of Zanu-PF in the late 1970s. "When he arrived in Mozambique ... he was not the president of Zanu-PF, but we made him so. Our decision to make him the president of Zanu-PF was accepted here at home, regionally by the Frontline States and internationally. Yet, today, he refers to us as irrelevant," the veterans’ association said. The war veterans’ chairman, Chris Mutsvangwa, expelled in July from Zanu-PF, has close associations with the army generals. Mutsvangwa is also an ally of Emmerson Mnangagwa, the vice-president and the frontrunner to succeed Mugabe.

    A war veterans’ conference held in April and presided over by Mugabe drew hundreds of top army personnel. "The military and war veterans are one and the same thing," said Eddie Cross, a legislator from the opposition Movement for Democratic Change party. "Virtually every army commander and senior army official was there. I cannot see the military standing aloof in all of this and not doing a thing." Cross said the "strong language" with which the war veterans had called time on Mugabe’s rule marked the beginning of the end. "This is a very serious crisis for Mugabe, and his departure date has been brought forward." Relations between Mugabe and the war veterans have been strained for months. In March, police threw tear gas and fired water cannons at them for gathering for an unauthorised meeting. Mugabe is the official patron of the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association.

    Their attempts most recently to add input into the party’s succession race earned a strong rebuke from Mugabe, who warned they risked suffering the fate of the mid-1980s "dissidents". But if the war veterans’ strategy was to surprise and go for the jugular after months of fiery exchanges with Mugabe, they won. Members of Mugabe’s inner circle were caught off guard by the veterans’ hard-hitting statement, which called Mugabe "manipulative", and by the bold declaration that the veterans would not support him in the next elections. "I was also surprised by the statement," said Tshinga Dube, the state minister responsible for veterans’ welfare. "Among those war veterans there are different groups. I had assumed that they were all Zanu-PF, so I will find out whether this is the true position."

    Ben Freeth is a former commercial farmer, who crossed paths with the war veterans during Zimbabwe’s land seizures in 2000. He said the fallout reflected the collapse of a system of patronage Mugabe had put together. "The last time such confrontation took place was in 1997, and then Mugabe could afford payouts. Now there is no way for him to pull money out of the hat to pay them off. As is often said, you can’t rig the economy, and his support base will wane and wane until he is gone." As the twilight years of his political career set in, Mugabe is isolated. Western financial institutions refused to extend any new funding during talks in London in July. His allies, China and Russia, have also not responded to calls for financial aid. At home, a popular citizen’s movement driven by social media has turned the tide against his rule. Ordinary people have taken to the streets in protest. Yet, even in the face of mounting unrest, Mugabe has remained defiant. He blames western sanctions and a "third force" for the turmoil. Mugabe, it seems, will fight on.

    http://www.bdlive.co.za/africa/afric...ews-for-mugabe

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    Quick: one guess.

    What do Zimbabwe and Venezuela have in common?

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    Angry

    Mugabe gettin' vindictive...

    Zimbabwe's president Mugabe vows 'severe' punishment for loyalists who turned on him
    July 27, 2016 - Zimbabwe's 92-year-old president on Wednesday said the longtime loyalists who turned against him last week should face "severe" punishment, and he vowed to stay in power for "a long time."
    President Robert Mugabe made his first public response to a scathing statement by veterans of the country's 1970's liberation war. They called him dictatorial, manipulative and egocentric. The Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association long had been quick to defend Mugabe, even with violence. Mugabe demanded new leadership for the association, claiming Western countries have infiltrated it. "We have ordered an investigation to identify authors of the statement. ... The punishment will be severe," he said to thousands of supporters at the ruling ZANU-PF party's headquarters in the capital, Harare.


    Robert Mugabe speaking to supporters on July 19

    Mugabe insisted he will not step down. "As long as the party still wants me to serve, if I still have the energy and still have the life, I will continue," he said. The surprise revolt by Mugabe's aging corps of loyalists comes after nationwide anti-government protests organized through social media. Many in Zimbabwe are frustrated by a rapidly deteriorating economy, a currency crisis and corruption. One protest organizer, pastor Evan Mawarire, is now staying in neighboring South Africa after Mugabe accused him of being sponsored by the West.

    The veterans' criticism has unsettled Mugabe, said Eldred Masunungure of the University of Zimbabwe's political science department. "This is a result of his failure to hand over power. The succession war is driving towards a tipping point," Masunungure said. The veterans accuse Mugabe of dumping them for a more youthful group associated with his wife, Grace, whose political power has dramatically increased in the past two years.

    http://www.foxnews.com/world/2016/07...ed-on-him.html

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    Red face

    Zimbabweans finally gettin ' enough of Mugabe regime...

    Scores arrested in Zimbabwe after anti-government protests
    Sunday 28th August, 2016 - Zimbabwe's police arrested 67 people following a violent protest that rocked the capital, Harare, as the president warned against an Arab Spring type of revolution.
    Police spokesman Paul Nyathi on Saturday said they had recovered some property looted during the protests.


    Zimbabwe has been the scene of anti-government protests

    Police used batons, tear gas and water cannons in running battles with anti-government demonstrators on Friday, despite a court order that the protest could take place. President Robert Mugabe warned opposition leaders against attempting an Arab Spring type of revolution, according to the state-run Herald newspaper.

    Frustrations over Zimbabwe's rapidly deteriorating economy are boiling over in this once prosperous but now economically struggling southern African country. Police have often used tear gas, water cannons and open violence to crush anti-government protests, which have become a near-daily occurrence.

    http://www.independent.ie/world-news...-35000543.html

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    Mugabe loses protest ban in court...

    Zimbabwe court overturns protest ban in Harare
    Wed, 07 Sep 2016 - Zimbabwe's high court overturns a two-week ban by police on demonstrations in the capital Harare, despite a stern warning by President Robert Mugabe.
    The challenge was brought by activists, who are opposed to President Robert Mugabe and his government. They described the court's ruling as "a brave judgement", coming days after President Mugabe, 92, condemned a previous court ruling allowing a demonstration that turned violent. Zimbabwe has seen a wave of protests recently over the declining economy.

    No 'Arab Spring'

    On Wednesday, Zimbabwean High Court judge Priscilla Chigumba ruled that the ban on protests was illegal. She said that the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law was important to democracy, Stan Zvorwadza, one of the activists who challenged the ban, told the BBC he welcomed the verdict, adding that he and demonstrators wanted to protest peacefully about the mismanagement of the country.


    An opposition supporter runs during a protest in Harare, Zimbabwe.

    He was represented in court by Tendai Biti, a lawyer and former finance minister, who told the BBC it proved Zimbabwe's courts were independent. "My clients can now demonstrate today or tomorrow. This is a brave judgement," Mr Biti said. President Mugabe at the weekend criticised a court which had given permission for an anti-government protest at the end of August. It turned violent when police ignored the court order and tear gassed demonstrators.

    Mr Mugabe said the judges had showed a reckless disregard for peace, and warned that they should not dare to be negligent when making future decisions. The president has recently warned protesters there would be no Zimbabwean uprising similar to the "Arab Spring". He has routinely blamed the country's economic problems on sabotage by Western critics of his policies - which include the seizure of white-owned commercial farms to be given to black people.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-37300780

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    Mugabe's party starvin' opposition...

    Mugabe's Zanu-PF 'blocking food aid' amid Zimbabwe drought
    Thu, 08 Sep 2016 - Zimbabwe's ruling party is accused of deliberately withholding aid from opposition supporters in areas facing starvation because of drought.
    The country's human rights commission said opponents of President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party had been told they would never get any food aid. The government has not yet commented. Mr Mugabe declared a state of disaster in February, with the government estimating that four million people would need food aid by January 2017. "Ruling party members were the major perpetrators in violations linked to distribution of food," Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) chairman Elasto Mugwadi told media in the capital, Harare, detailing the findings of the investigation.


    Farmer inspects his dry land

    Mr Mugwadi said huge numbers of people had been affected by the alleged tactic, without giving exact figures. The government says half the rural population faces starvation. The allegations, coming from a constitutionally established body, are especially significant given the role food distribution plays in election campaigns in the country, says BBC Zimbabwe analyst Stanley Kwenda.

    Elections can be won and lost on the basis of how food aid is distributed, he adds. Zimbabwe has endured two years of failed rains, with this year's problems linked to the El Nino weather pattern. Elections are due to take place in 2018.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-37306514

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    Waltky totally hijacked mah thread


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