Does Tsvangari believe that only God will remove Mugabe too?

Pulling out is a bad move for Tsvangari and democracy and the security situation. All that sacrifice to get to within five days of the election is now thrown away. This is a huge disappointment. To prevent violence in the remaining five days they are about to ensure it continues for the next five years.

At some point you have to bite the bullet - and persevere. The MDC's decision to contest the run-off has arguably resulted in the deaths of 70 people. What did they die for? So they can whimp out at the last minute. If they aren't going through with a farce, why did they start going through with it on March 30th after Mugabe had rigged the first vote? What did they think would happen? If they weren't prepared for the violence then they should have called it off then - not now when 70 of their supporters are dead. The MDC leadership is weak compared to the unity of ZANU (PF) and it shows. Mugabe is running rings around these amateurs. I hate to see this happen.

As we continue to detail the security apparatus that keeps Mugabe in power I draw our reader's attention to a couple of police reports on their website.It's just breath-taking. The Police Commissioner - pictured during a staged photo-op on some ZANU-PF Orwellian named "Villages 1 and 2" of a "Resettlement Area" (that's him in uniform with track shoes on, centre) - hardly inspires the confidence of the international community, let alone the millions of people he is actively persecuting. The prefix Comrade, as I understand it, marks him as a ZANU (PF) member.Highlights:
An unholy alliance has been forged between MDC(T) and several civic groups
[...]
have rabidly become anti-government
[...]
UK and USA who heavily sponsor the destabilisation crusade in Zimbabwe
[...]
the heinous activities by the misguided opposition
[...]
MDC in their selfish efforts to gain political power
[...]
All this is sabotage, a manifestation of sheer hatred of Comrade Robert Gabriel Mugabe's government
[...]
and Justice Paradza, a criminal fugitive now based in New Zealand were also lined up to come back and take over judiciary functions

An overtly political document, the police report paints themselves as instruments of ZANU (PF). The supposed MDC documents in the annex that openly talk about bribing election officials seem obviously bogus to me. It's bullshit, but I note it says Mrs Mugabe may be planning to take her children to Malaysia. It also says that the Reserve Bank is being looted before the regime collapses. Mugabe is to be sent to the Hague. All through it is talk of "our friends" the British, Americans and Australians. The classic Mugabe evil trio. Like Mugabe himself might have penned it in places, like the bit about inviting in "former Rhodesian security forces" and white farmers will be "coming back to their farms" and the black people since resettled there will be given "a maximum of 10 hours notice to vacate the houses" for the incoming white farmers. Fabrication from begining to end. And this is concocted by the police.
And no reports whatsoever of the violence from ZANU (PF) operatives and gangs, whatsoever, because they are co-ordinated by the police. Co-ordinated or condoned by officials like the improbably named:The war mantra Mugabe once employed against the White government is now being applied to his own people as if they were the enemy. Ever since 1980s select Zimbabweans have been dealt to as deemed politically necessary, but now it seems that a majority of the population is now in this enemy camp.

Bush militarism with cult overtones and Zimbabwe. Perhaps that was what ended that great Empire so long ago. Then again, maybe that was how it was created. Maybe I've been reading too much Wilbur Smith. Will the new one that takes its name go the same way? I note the government websites feature a banner of the Zimbabwe ruins - they are looking eerily similar to what they are doing to the country right now.

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And we welcome aboard Auckland media studies scholar, Phoebe Fletcher, as a co-blogger. Her first post is below.