@LifeChemist

Sorry, I'm going to drop another news article. There's more 'freestyle' debate on black mens forum: 'regarding land ownership by whites in Zim.'

Anyway, the interference is not just millitary, it's on every level; diplomatic, political, economic.......



[align=center]Donnelly leaves Zim a defeated, dejected man [/align]
By David Samuriwo


‘SIR Brian Donnelly, the outgoing British ambassador, leaves Zimbabwe a defeated and dejected man. The so-called master spy, who dismally failed to live up to his reputation, will be leaving the country in July this year after three years of combat in which he failed to win a single battle.

To the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, Sir Donnelly's assignment to Zimbabwe would have been much simpler than engineering the bloody disintegration of Yugoslavia had he known how to play his cards. But alas! As soon as he set his foot on Zimbabwean soil, the man blundered endlessly till he exposed himself as the master spy who really never was.

In Blair's opinion, splendid groundwork had already been done for Sir Donnelly by his predecessor, Peter Longworth. Longworth was deeply involved in the transformation of the labour movement, namely, the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) into the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) that went on to pocket 54 seats in the parliamentary elections in 2000. Sir Donnelly's most important brief was to ensure that President Robert Mugabe lost the presidential poll. If by any chance President Mugabe won the polls, which he did anyway, a change of government would have to be effected through mass protests.

His bleeps and blunders are too numerous to chronicle but a glimpse into some of these is not only interesting but amazing. As a purported seasoned intelligence officer, Sir Donnelly decided to pull a big one in the commercial farming area of Mhangura. This particular area was ideal for his clandestine operation because of the large population of diehard Rhodesians who formerly occupied vast tracts of land there. In his operational brief, Donnelly wanted to create an impression of lawlessness and chaos on the commercial farms.

Two light aircraft carrying foreign journalists and photographers were hired and paid for by Sir Donnelly. In the meantime, commercial farmers in the area had spread word to their labourers that war veterans and some Zanu-PF youths were coming to loot farm machinery, food and any other valuables. Even their lives were in danger, the labourers were told.

The farm workers were then advised to grab anything they could get hold of in lieu of their packages which the farmers said they would never be able to pay as they were being pushed off the land. There started the false drama which was captured and flashed all over the world by the journalists and photographers hovering in the air in hired planes. Meanwhile, Sir Donnelly smiled all by himself.

The then governor of that province, Cde Peter Chanetsa, was not amused. He phoned Sir Donnelly and openly told him that he was now sending the Air Force of Zimbabwe to come and shoot down the two light aircrafts that were taking pictures and filming a stage- managed looting spree. Minutes after this conversation, the planes disappeared from the skies. Probed by the Press on whether he had talked to Governor Chanetsa on that particular day, Sir Donnelly was evasive. He could neither deny nor confirm the telephone conversation.

Another gaffe in Sir Donnelly's three-year romance with Zimbabwe was the exposure by The Sunday Mail, despite persistent denials by his staff, that the embassy was funding a non- governmental organisation, Amani Trust, which has strong links with the opposition MDC.

On numerous occasions, embassy spokesperson Sophie Honey coolly denied it. During the height of MDC mass protests, Amani bought several residential houses in the high-density suburbs of Glen Norah, Kuwadzana and Budiriro. The premises were then used as safe houses by MDC hit squads and other fugitives.

Unfortunately for Sir Donnelly, Sunday Mail reporters intercepted one such cheque with an amount of $3,6 million payable to and deposited into the Amani Trust account. As usual, spokesperson Honey tried the impossible by making a public pronouncement that distanced her embassy from the safe houses but at the same time admitting that the cheque had indeed come from the British embassy.

The British and Commonwealth Office in London got angry and demanded an explanation from Sir Donnelly on the circumstances surrounding the leakage of the cheque which The Sunday Mail reproduced on its front page on October 13 2002.The revelation embarrassed the British government, which had in the past strongly denied funding opposition politics. Sir Donnelly then sent e-mails to various embassies and high commissions exonerating himself from the fiasco but irreparable damage had already been done to his person and the British government. He became an instant joke in diplomatic circles.

The British ambassador was also caught with his pants down when he interfered with the distribution of drought relief food in Insiza district. This eventually prompted President Mugabe to give him a chilling warning. The President warned that if he continued with such activities, he would be kicked out. National security organs immediately announced that they were placing him under close surveillance 24 hours a day.

Sir Donnelly was alleged to have telephoned non-governmental organisations distributing food aid in the drought-stricken Insiza district directing them to distribute food in areas where the MDC would be holding rallies in preparation for a parliamentary by-election following the death of MDC Member of Parliament George Ndlovu.

Minister of State for Information and Publicity in the President's Office Professor Jonathan Moyo had no kind words for him. "We will not accept that. Mr Donnelly, please stay away from our politics. Leave Insiza alone. We know that he was involved in the destabilisation of Yugoslavia and is attempting to do that here. Let it be known that he will never do a Milosovic in Zimbabwe".

The Zanu-PF candidate went on to win the hotly contested seat.

Professor Moyo described Donnelly as a person who never promoted understanding among citizens of Zimbabwe. Neither has he improved relations between Britain and Zimbabwe. In fact, he has done a lot of damage to relations between the two nations.

It is no secret that Sir Donnelly's brief was to effect a change of government in Zimbabwe. At one time addressing a seminar for the Centre for Peace Initiatives in Africa (CPIA) in Vumba, Donnelly openly stated that the only solution to Zimbabwe's problems was a regime change. In order to strengthen that capacity for regime change, Sir Donnelly made attempts to mould the Zimbabwe Liberation Platform (ZLP) into a political party.

ZLP, which is led by disgruntled former Zanla forces High Command member, Wilfred Mhanda, would receive funding from the Fredrick Ebert Stiftung. Apparently, Sir Donnelly's thinking was that since Mhanda was a high-ranking former freedom fighter, it would be easy for him to make inroads into the formidable Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association (ZNLWVA), a staunch ally of the ruling Zanu-PF party, and rally its membership behind the new political party. Again, this plot failed to take off the ground as the ZLP, as Sir Donnelly later found out, was only a small group of outcasts lining their pockets with donor funds.

Sir Donnelly will also be remembered for his role in co-ordinating white commercial farmers, foreign and some sections of the local media in derailing the Abuja Accord, which had set parameters to be observed in the country's land reform programme. He periodically released statements purporting that the Zimbabwe Government was not adhering to the accord when, in fact, his embassy was busy organising stage-managed farm occupations. He finally stunned the nation when he said the Abuja Accord was merely a gentleman's agreement and could be thrown into the dustbin anytime the British government felt the interests of their kith and kin — the commercial farmers — were not being adequately addressed.

Personally, I feel this is where the outgoing British ambassador lost the game totally. Here was an opportunity provided on a silver platter by the international community for the British government to play a major role in Zimbabwe's land reform programme but, unfortunately, it was handled by a man who lacked wisdom and foresight. As a result, the British are now just mere spectators in a game in which they were supposed to be the key players.

For Donnelly, the Zimbabwe Government had either to bow down to the demands of the white commercial farmers or face the consequences in the form of a regime change through organised mass protests. Neither happened and Sir Donnelly leaves this beautiful country with his head bowed down and tail tucked between his legs. ‘

Zimbabwe Herald