NEWS FROM ZIMBABWE

Dear Friends,


The Forum and it's member organisations learnt with shock and sadness of the tragic and untimely death of Susan Tsvagirai, the wife of Prime-Minister Morgan Tsvanigirai on Friday 6.03.09 . We offer our deepest condolences and sympathy to the Prime Minister, his family and friends at this sad time. Included here are a number of other expressions of sorrow at this time.


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In a statement for International Women's Day yesterday, 8.3.09,
our member organisation, Women of Zimbabwe Arise, (WOZA) notes
that as the world commemorated the day, their members found little
to celebrate given the current situation of ordinary women in
Zimbabwe. WOZA sends condolences and mourns the the loss of Susan
Tsvanigirai, 'a mother of the nation' whose untimely death they
describe as 'a shocking blow to the nation and all Zimbabwean
women'. The full statement and a further update on the continuing
trial today, 9.3.09, of the two WOZA leaders, Williams and
Mahlangu, can be read on line via the following link:
http://wozazimbabwe.org/

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The Zimbabwe National Students Union (Zinasu) released the
attached Vanguard Alert Statement of 8.3.09 mourning the death of
'Mother Zimbabwe' . ZINASU notes that 'the nation, Prime Minister
and his family have lost a woman of many talents'.


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In Bill Watch 8/2009, Veritas offers it's profound sympathy to the
Prime Minister and joins the rest of the nation in mourning the
passing of an 'outstanding woman'. There is also an update on
legislation, an overview of the last week in Parliament; including
Prime Minister Tsvangirai's maiden speech; and a note of
outstanding Parliamentary business. Notable is the revival of
Parliamentary Question Time which will take place on Wednesday
afternoons. Additionally, there is notification of the refusal by
the High Court to recognise the SADC Tribunal ruling of 2008 in
favour of farmers facing dispossession under the Land Reform
Programme.


Our member organisation the Media Monitoring Project of Zimbabwe, (MMPZ) issued the attached Weekly Media Update 2009-8 covering the period from 23.2.09 – 1.3.09. MMPZ welcomed the Prime Minister's inaugural statement in Parliament on 4.3.09 promising to facilitate the establishment of more media institutions in the country. MMPZ goes on, however, to review the 'decimated media landscape' in Zimbabwe, the repressive media laws, and the skewed coverage of events by the state broadcaster.


The State of the Education Sector in Zimbabwe is the topic of the attached February edition of the Monthly Briefing Paper issued today, 9.3.09 by The Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU). ZINASU concludes that there are no signs of progress in the country's education sector and there is serious need for the transitional government to sincerely work towards restoring the once prestigious system.


Other recent reports/statements from civil society organisations and international institutions and organisations on Zimbabwe include the following items:


A report describing the role of diamonds in the Zimbabwean economy and their place in the country's repressive governance has been released this month by Partnership Africa Canada (PAC); an organisation which campaigns around conflict diamonds. Entitled 'Zimbabwe, Diamonds and the Wrong Side of History', it describes the militarization of diamond resources and the killing of dozens of unarmed diamond diggers by the police and armed forces. The report concludes with strong recommends to the UN Security Council, South Africa and the Kimberly Process. The full report can be read on the PAC website via the following link:

http://www.pacweb.org/e/images/stories/documents/18_zimbabwe-diamonds_march09-eng.pdf



The latest World Health Organisation's Daily Cholera Update can be found on line at _http://www.who.int/hac/crises/zmb/sitreps/zimbabwe_cholera_update_8march2009.pdf_