"Zimbabwe political rivals back major reform; Country votes on referendum for new constitution" by Angus Shaw | Associated Press, March 17, 2013
HARARE, Zimbabwe — Full scale presidential and parliamentary elections are slated for July to end a shaky and dispute-ridden coalition government formed by regional leaders after the last violent and disputed national polls in 2008.
There were no immediate reports of violence Saturday after disturbances between rival youth groups on Friday....
The proposed constitution reduces the entrenched powers of Zimbabwe’s president and includes a range of democratic reforms demanded by regional mediators in Zimbabwe’s decadelong political and economic crisis....
The draft constitution reduces presidential powers to pass authoritarian decrees and paves the way for a National Peace and Reconciliation Commission on past violence and human rights violations.
It also strengthens the bill of rights to protect all Zimbabweans from ‘‘torture, cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment or punishment’’ that would be enforced by a new Constitutional Court with powers above the main existing highest court of appeal, the Supreme Court.
A judge going to be in the hole with you?
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"Police round up Zimbabwe women’s group" by GILLIAN GOTORA | Associated Press, February 16, 2013
HARARE, Zimbabwe — A women’s activism group said Friday that Zimbabwe police fired tear gas and used batons to disperse Valentine’s Day marchers, herding 195 demonstrators into a police precinct. Later 25 were treated for injuries.
The Women of Zimbabwe Arise leader Jenni Williams said all but one — who was accused of indecent exposure — were released without charge.
The group traditionally marks Valentine’s Day with marches in Harare and the second city of Bulawayo to give out red roses and teddy bears as symbols of peace and love in a nation troubled by years of human rights violations and economic meltdown.
Williams said protesters marched to government buildings to peacefully voice concerns about women’s rights in the proposed new constitution.The group regularly protests social injustices, cost of living increases, and food shortages. Under the nation’s sweeping security laws, public gatherings require police clearance.
Amnesty International said the police action coincided with a government announcement that set March 16 as the date for a referendum on the constitution, followed by elections later this year.
Amnesty’s Southern Africa director Noel Kututwa said continuing attacks by police on Zimbabwean human rights defenders cast doubt on the country’s ability to hold credible polls.
Elections coming up anyway.
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Related: Zimbabwe police arrest ruling party officials, top lawyer
Politics doesn't seem to matter much when you are hungry:
"Farmers in Zimbabwe face decline in harvests" by Angus Shaw | Associated Press, January 18, 2013
HARARE, Zimbabwe — An organization mostly made up of displaced white farmers in Zimbabwe said Thursday that corn harvests are forecast to decline by tens of thousands of tons despite recent rains and that the nation’s troubled economy will again rely on costly food imports and donor handouts.
The Commercial Farmers Union said Thursday that production in the former breadbasket remains in turmoil. It said black farmers resettled on formerly white-owned farms seized since 2000 are “in dire straits” because they do not have necessary financing.
Union head Charles Taffs said collapsing rural infrastructure might be helped by a new financial recovery plan by former farmers who do not expect to regain their seized farms....
The collapse of the rural economy is causing mass migration to already stressed towns and cities, he said.
Farm dam walls have not been maintained, fencing has been uprooted, and conservation laws are openly disregarded with drastic environmental consequences, Taffs said.
His organization has drawn up a broad recovery program to restore the value of land against which loans could be obtained by the new farmers and former owners would provide support and advice drawn from long years of experience.
“People are starving in this country. It is time to act. We can’t wait,” Taffs said.
The farmers’ proposals call for foreign funding for an issue of bonds to pay compensation to farmers who lost land and the creation of a Land Bank where the bonds, redeemable later, and title deeds would be deposited and made available as capital for new farmers.
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