Zimbabwe – The Saga of Roy Bennett
Oct. 23rd, 2009
It may seem odd, but it appears the positive works of one man has positioned him unfortunately at the nucleus of the current political turmoil in Zimbabwe. Roy Bennett, one of the right-hand men of Zimbabwe’s Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai – and an implacable opponent of President Mugabe – has been a major thorn in the side of the Zanu (PF) party, who have in turn been a major thorn in the side of hope for the peoples of Zimbabwe.
The 51-year-old Deputy Agriculture Minister-designate has been arrested multiple times- even as Mr Mugabe was swearing in the Government’s power-sharing Cabinet – on allegations of “terrorism, banditry, sabotage and insurgency”.
Basque senator Iñaki Anasagasti has stated that there needs to be a strong initiative to advocate human rights wherever they are violated which, in his opinion, is occurring in countries having good relations with Spain, including Venezuela.
Representatives Ron Klein (FL-22) and John Mica (FL-7) today introduced in the House of Representatives a bill to preclude companies that conduct business in Iran from receiving U.S. government contracts. The Accountability for Business Choices in Iran Act (ABC Iran Act) will require companies that receive federal taxpayer funding such as stimulus spending, bailout support or contracts, to certify that they do not conduct business in Iran. The bill is based on similar efforts to prevent U.S. government contractors from doing business with Sudan. The Sudan legislation was signed into law in 2007. United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) worked closely with Representatives Klein and Mica on developing this bill and bringing it to today’s introduction. “It is time for companies to choose whether they want to do business with Iran or with the United States, and that is what this bill requires. Current U.S. sanctions do not affect multinational companies that have a heavy presence in the U.S., such as Siemens and Nokia. Now more than ever, the U.S. government must be accountable for every taxpayer dollar that it spends. By continuing to do business with companies that conduct business in Iran, the U.S. undermines its own strategic interests,” said UANI President, Ambassador Mark D. Wallace. 
Half of the most senior Afghan district election officials will be fired, U.N. officials today 
Zimbabwe has gone through the most dramatic decade in her existence under the rule of Robert Mugabe. What was a decade of degradation, what with operation ‘clean sweep’ and fraudulent remittances, of tumultuous elections with violence, disease and starvation abundant, seemed to be near an end with the signing of a unity government. The Zanu-PF and the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) have together sought, in principle, to lift international sanctions and spark an economy long since dead.