Botticelli’s Venus is an ‘influencer’ and Italy is not happy

By TRISHA THOMAS and WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS

yesterday

ROME (AP) — The Italian tourism ministry thought it had a sure-fire way to bring travelers into the country: turning a 15th century art icon into a 21st century “virtual influencer.”

The digital rendition of Venus, goddess of love, based on Sandro Botticelli’s Renaissance masterpiece “Birth of Venus,” can be seen noshing on pizza and snapping selfies for her Instagram page. Unlike the original, this Venus is fully clothed. The influencer claims to be 30, or “maybe just a wee bit (older) than that.”

But the new ad campaign is facing significant backlash — with critics calling it a “new Barbie” that trashes Italy’s cultural heritage.

The tourist campaign “trivializes our heritage in the most vulgar way, transforming Botticelli’s Venus into yet another stereotyped female beauty,” Livia Garomersini, an art historian and activist with Mi Riconosci, an art and heritage campaign organization, said in a response to the project last month.

The yearlong campaign, produced by national tourism agency ENIT and advertising group Armando Testa, is estimated to have cost 9 million euros (about $9.9 million), according to ENIT CEO Ivana Jelinic.

Jelinic said that the campaign was designed for overseas markets to attract younger tourists. The online Venus launched in Italy on April 20 and made her international debut in Dubai at the Arabian Travel Market earlier this week

“We liked the idea that it would be a work of art that is timeless,” Jelinic told The Associated Press, adding that Botticelli’s Venus “seemed to us like a immortal icon who could represent Italy well.”

Already the new Venus has been memed mercilessly online, appearing among trash bins, alongside Mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro, and in other less-than godly places.

The criticism extends beyond the use of a masterpiece to the manner in which the campaign was orchestrated, including its use of stock images and other gaffes like a promotional video featuring a winery in Slovenia, used as a stand-in for Italy.

An even greater sin for many is the campaign’s slogan, “Open to Meraviglia” (Open to Wonder), because it mixes English into an Italian tourist campaign even as the country’s government seeks to protect the Italian language as a pillar of its culture.

People watch on a computer monitor the latest Italian Ministry of Tourism nine-million-euro campaign showing Botticelli's Venus depicted as a virtual influencer in Rome, Wednesday, May 3, 203. A nine-million-euro advertising campaign by Italy’s conservative government that has transformed “The Birth of Venus,” painted by Renaissance master Sandro Botticelli in Florence around 1485, into a virtual influencer has met with widespread derision. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

There are other language faux pas.

On the campaign’s website, an automatic translator turned Brindisi, a southern Italian port town, into its literal English definition: “Toast,” according to Matteo Flora, a professor at the University of Pavia. That part of the website has now been obscured.

“Let’s not talk about the creativity point of view,” said Flora, “You may like (the campaign) or not, but on a technical point of view, it has been... a sort of avalanche of problems.”

That includes a failure to secure domains, allowing anyone to snatch the material and mock the project with it.

Flora said the campaign also wasted money. The campaign’s creative team chose to use the “intelligence of human creativity,” rather than artificial intelligence, to build the virtual Venus — but Flora showed how he could quickly come up with a similar campaign using AI at a cost of 20 euros. His social media posts have been shared by thousands of people.

The use of a likeness of Botticelli’s masterpiece has been lambasted by art historians as well, who say it vastly diminishes the beauty and mystery of the 15th century original.

“Perhaps Botticelli would not be happy about this,” said Massimo Moretti, a professor of art history at the University of Rome, Sapienza.

Any use of an iconic image like the “Birth of Venus” risks striking a cultural nerve, marketing experts say.

“The more you try to alter something that’s historic, probably the greater the outcry,” said Larry Chiagouris, professor of marketing at Pace University’s Lubin School of Business.

“People are going to say, ‘You’re changing the culture. You’re changing who we are, because it’s part of our history,’” Chiagouris added.

“I didn’t like the fact that they used the Botticelli Venus like that, since it is a piece of art,” Riccardo Rodrigo, a high school student in Rome, said. “They made it something social friendly to amuse Gen Z, I think it was unnecessary since it can be used just like it is and not modified like they did.”

The Uffizi Galleries, which houses Botticelli’s “Birth of Venus” in Florence, declined to comment on the campaign.

For the creators of the campaign, however, any press is good press.

“It has become so viral,” said Jelinic of ENIT, adding that “web users have made her come alive” even when placing the new Venus in unglamorous places.

“I find (it) interesting in terms of social communication,” Jelinic said. “Our campaign is more appealing than (critics) want to admit.”

Tourism officials plan to expand the campaign through the use of billboards as well as video screens in airports and railways.

____

Grantham-Philips reported from Washington, D.C.

 

NEWSBULLETIN: THE RAPE OF BOTTICELLI'S VENUS

Martin Anders Tukker

Apr 28, 2023

this newsbulletin was made for the facebook group FLORENCE ESSENTIALS FUNGUIDE (https://www.facebook.com/groups/51981...) and reports on the new Italy promotion that does not get many Italians excited...

UN Experts Warn Saudi Arabia to Execute 3 Opponents of Neom Project

TEHRAN (FNA)- Three members of a Saudi Arabian tribe opposed to the kingdom’s Neom megacity project have been sentenced to death, according to over a dozen UN rights experts.

The men are from the Howaitat tribe, which inhabits the desert area in Northwestern Saudi Arabia where the futuristic megacity is under construction, presstv reported.

The experts, who advise the UN human rights council, said the three men face the “imminent risk of execution”.

“Despite being charged with terrorism, they were reportedly arrested for resisting forced evictions in the name of the Neom project and the construction of a 170km linear city called The Line,” they said in a statement.

The three men – Shadly Ahmad Mahmoud Abou Taqiqa Al-Huwaiti, Ibrahim Salih Ahmad Abou Khalil Al-Huwaiti and Atallah Moussa Mohammed Al-Huwaiti – were reportedly sentenced to death on August 5 last year and their sentences were upheld on appeal on January 23, the statement said.

“Under international law, states that have not yet abolished the death penalty may only impose it for the ‘most serious crimes’, involving intentional killing”, the experts said, adding, “We do not believe the actions in question meet this threshold.”

According to their statement, three other members of the Huwaitat tribe were also sentenced to between 27 and 50 years in prison.

The experts lamented that all six had been charged under an “overly vague” 2017 anti-terrorism law.

They also demanded that Saudi authorities investigate allegations that some of the detainees had been tortured to extract confessions, and review their sentences.

“Any statement that is proven to have been made as a result of torture is inadmissible in any proceedings,” they said.

The group is made up of a body of voluntary independent experts who serve the UN human rights system but do not speak on behalf of the bloc, The Guardian reported.

The experts also raised concerns about the Neom project as a whole, amid accusations from rights groups of serious abuses being committed.

Saudi authorities are allegedly illegally displacing Huwaitat tribe members from their homes in three villages, often without adequate compensation, and violently cracking down on those who peacefully oppose or resist eviction.

In 2020, a Huwaitat tribe member was shot dead after he refused to give up his land for the project.

“These actions would certainly amount to forced evictions, which are prohibited under international law as a violation of the right to adequate housing,” the experts said, adding, “The actions also constitute flagrant violations of the rights to freedom of expression and access to information.”

Any companies, including foreign investors, involved in the project should “ensure they are not causing or contributing … serious human rights abuses”, the experts said.

Africa: Clean Hands, Healthy Lives - Increasing Investments in Hand Hygiene in Africa

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tap water drought

5 MAY 2023

Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Addis Ababa)

PRESS RELEASE

A Call to Action By Dr. Jean Kaseya, Director General, Africa CDC

Hand hygiene practices are critical in reducing the transmission of infections, particularly during disease outbreaks such as Ebola, SARS, Influenza, and currently, COVID-19. Improving hand hygiene can also reduce the occurrence of diseases like diarrhoea and respiratory infections, which are major causes of morbidity and mortality in Africa. Furthermore, healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in Africa can be prevented through improved hand hygiene practices. However, the continent faces significant challenges in promoting hand hygiene due to the lack of access to clean water and sanitation facilities.

This year's commemoration of world hand hygiene day provides the continent with an opportunity to take stock and define the next steps for Africa's progress in improving hand hygiene as well as monitoring and evaluating hand hygiene interventions.

The World Health Organization (WHO) states that 50% of healthcare facilities worldwide lack basic hygiene, while approximately 32% of healthcare facilities in Africa do not have access to hand hygiene facilities at the points of care. The joint report from UNICEF and WHO reveals that 839 million individuals and 38% of schools continue to lack essential hygiene facilities across the continent. In urban regions, 50% of the population lacks access to these services, compared to 70% in rural areas, highlighting significant disparities.

Access to hand hygiene remains a luxury in many parts of the African continent. Hand hygiene must be entrenched as a routine clean care habit for everyone and especially in health care facilities, schools, crowded public spaces, camps, and prisons.

Despite the challenges that Africa faces in promoting hand hygiene, progress has been made in recent years. In accordance with the "African Common Position on AMR". there is an urgent need to improve the proportion of healthcare facilities implementing infection control and prevention programs. This strong political push by the African Union Heads of State and Government to control antimicrobial resistance in Africa outlines the commitment to increase access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene in healthcare facilities, schools, households, and community settings.

Similarly, the Africa Regional Directors of the AU, FAO, OIE, WHO, and UNEP in a joint call to action, highlight the need for political leadership, joint campaigns, multisectoral collaborations for infection prevention and control (IPC) and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) at regional, national, and sub-national levels.

The continent has demonstrated decisive leadership in addressing public health issues, through the Africa CDC New Public Health Order roadmapwith a strong commitment to address deeper structural public health deficiencies at national, regional and continental levels. These continental commitments position Africa on the pathway towards achieving African Union Agenda 2063 aspiration one on health-related targets for a prosperous Africa based on inclusive growth and sustainable development.

The COVID-19 pandemic presented an enormous logistics challenge for the continent and exposed Africa's vulnerabilities in ensuring access to the availability of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and other IPC commodities needed by healthcare workers across the continent.

Local manufacturing of Alcohol-Based Hand Rubs (ABHR) in Africa has experienced a significant surge, driven by the ingenuity and resourcefulness of the continent's innovators dedicated to promoting hand hygiene. African entrepreneurs have leveraged indigenous knowledge and local resources to develop affordable and effective hand sanitisers, addressing the increasing demand for such products.

Investing in hand hygiene practices can bring immense benefits. Notably, across the African Union Member States, public awareness campaigns and collaborations with local communities have effectively promoted hand hygiene practices.

Incorporating hand hygiene education into school curricula and community programs fosters a lasting culture of hygiene. Engaging community leaders, religious institutions, and local organizations strengthens the message and encourages them to champion hand hygiene in their communities. Merging these strategies significantly contributes to raising awareness and recognising hand hygiene as a vital component in disease prevention.Top of Form

A Call to Action

As we continue to recover from the challenges posed by COVID-19 and the emergence of new pathogens, we must recognize the urgency of increasing investments in hand hygiene.

Today, I call on Africa Union Member States to put in place the much-needed political commitments, domestic financing and infrastructure, and legal backing through policies, standards and enforcement mechanisms. Governments, policymakers, the private sector, Civil Society organizations, international partners, academia, communities and individuals must collectively step-up efforts in prioritizing hand hygiene as a critical component of disease prevention and control.

By prioritizing hand hygiene, we are taking a proactive step in safeguarding the health and well-being of millions across our continent.

I encourage Member States to leverage the lessons learned and adequately invest in good infection prevention and control practices in healthcare facilities to limit the transmission and spread of infections and protect Health Care Workers (HCWs).

Hand hygiene is not just a personal responsibility, but a collective one.

Hand hygiene cannot remain a luxury, but a fundamental human right for a healthier Africa.Together we can accelerate ACTION!

Read the original article on Africa CDC.

Syrians still fear building collapses three months on from quakes

Northwestern Syria is also in desparate need of aid, say locals and UN officials.

By Ali Haj Suleiman and Husam Hezaber
Published On 6 May 2023

Idlib, Syria – “Since the earthquake, the spectre of death under the rubble still haunts us,” said Ahmed Mazloum, a 43-year-old father of five, who lives in the city of Idlib.

Three months on from the devastating February 6 earthquakes that hit northwestern Syria and southeastern Turkey, which killed more than 50,000 people and left thousands more homeless, Mazloum is still worried about the home he lives in with his parents and his brother’s family.

The house has been classified as unsuitable for habitation by a committee of engineers in opposition-controlled northwestern Syria, due to damage to the infrastructure of the building, as well as cracked walls, which now require partial demolition and reinforcement.

The earthquakes destroyed numerous homes in northwestern Syria, but even the ones still standing are often in poor condition [Ali Haj Suleiman/Al Jazeera]

“We have had no choice but to stay in the house but I couldn’t afford the cost of the repair, which amounts to more than $2,000. Additionally, there are no tents available in the shelters, and I can’t afford to buy one,” says Mazloum.

“I have placed some supports on the ceilings to protect them from collapsing, but a few stones fall on us every now and then.”

Mazloum’s family is one of hundreds in the area living in houses deemed by experts to be unsafe for habitation.

During the earthquakes, almost 2,000 buildings collapsed, and shortly after, more than 4,000 were marked as unsafe and uninhabitable structures, resulting in an estimated economic loss of $1.95bn, according to the Syria Response Coordination Group, a local humanitarian organisation.

Others lost their sources of income as a result of the quakes.


The earthquakes have also exacerbated the challenges facing the healthcare sector in northwest Syria, as many facilities were damaged and taken out of service.

The sector was already suffering from a severe shortage of equipment and healthcare workers after 12 years of war against the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad.

“Over the past three months, most of the medical reserves in the region have been consumed, in addition to the loss of efficiency of many already dilapidated medical devices, especially X-ray, CT scan, and MRI machines,” said Dr Zuhair al-Qurrat, the top health official in Idlib.

Medical facilities, already struggling because of a 12-year war, have been damaged as a result of the earthquakes [Ali Haj Suleiman/Al Jazeera]

Al-Qurrat told Al Jazeera the loss of several healthcare personnel, including technicians and administrators, had affected the performance of the healthcare sector, which already faced a shortage of trained medical staff.

Additionally, 42 medical facilities have been damaged to varying degrees, ranging from 20 percent to 50 percent.

The level of international assistance received by the healthcare sector has been scarce, covering only 25 percent of the actual medication and equipment needs, according to al-Qurrat.

“We are currently unable to treat cancer patients who used to receive treatment in Turkish hospitals, which have stopped accepting patients [from Syria]. The same applies to heart patients in need of surgical procedures,” said al-Qurrat.

UN assessments

A high-level delegation from the United Nations conducted a visit to northwestern Syria on Wednesday to assess the overall situation three months after the earthquakes, as well as to observe camps for displaced people and to evaluate the immediate and necessary relief needs that need to be addressed.

The area was already home to millions of people who have escaped from government-held areas of Syria.

“Almost everyone in northwest Syria was affected by the earthquake and we know that more than 4,500 people have sadly lost their lives. More than 10,500 people were injured and more than 100,000 were displaced” said David Carden, the UN’s deputy regional humanitarian coordinator for the Syria crisis.

Carden told Al Jazeera that, despite the earthquakes, the 2023 Syria humanitarian response plan was badly funded and had only received 7 percent of the funding it needed.

“The key issue is funding, and we do appeal to all our donors to ensure we get the financial support to do our jobs because we heard today that the need in this camp is massive, and the lack of services are due to a lack of funding,” said Carden

.

A high-level United Nations delegation visited northwestern Syria this week to assess the post-earthquake situation [Ali Haj Suleiman/Al Jazeera]

International aid is able to enter northwestern Syria through the Bab al-Hawa and Bab al-Salam border crossings with Turkey, in accordance with the United Nations Security Council resolution issued in January of this year.

The resolution allows for the entry of humanitarian assistance across the border without the need for approval from the Syrian government, but has to be renewed every six months.

“We will do everything we can to ensure that the crossings remain open and not just Bab al-Hawa but Bab al-Salam and al-Rai, because these are crucial lines for the people of Syria, and we want to ensure that those crossings remain open both for the shipment of humanitarian aid and supplies and for the people,” said Carden.

Whether enough supplies are able to get through to rebuild the extensive damage across northwestern Syria is another question though.

Many here will not be able to rebuild without external aid.

Continuing aftershocks remain a major concern for Mazloum, who spends his time monitoring the light bulb hanging from the ceiling to ensure it is stable and not shaking, as he no longer trusts his body’s ability to detect tremors after the trauma he experienced in the earthquakes.

“I am not only afraid for myself but also for my children and my mother in case another earthquake occurs. How will I quickly get them out of the house?” Mazloum asks.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA

KASHMIR IS INDIA'S GAZA
China, Pakistan mention Kashmir in a joint statement

ANI
7 May, 2023

Chinese foreign Minister Qin Gang (left) and Bilawal Bhutto at the fourth round of Pakistan-China Strategic Dialogue in Islamabad. 

(Photo Credit - Twitter/PPP)

Islamabad [Pakistan], May 7 (ANI): Just a day after Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was rebuked by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar at the SCO Foreign Ministers meeting, China and Pakistan mentioned Kashmir in their joint statement.

The joint statement was issued after the fourth round of the Pakistan-China Foreign Ministers’ Strategic Dialogue led by Bilawal and Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang.

“Both sides underscored the importance of maintaining peace and stability in South Asia, and the need for resolution of all outstanding disputes. The Pakistani side briefed the Chinese side on the latest developments of the situation in Jammu and Kashmir,” read the Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs press release.

However, the Chinese side reiterated that the Kashmir dispute was left over from history between India and Pakistan and should be properly and peacefully resolved in accordance with the UN Charter, relevant Security Council resolutions and bilateral agreements.

“Both sides opposed any unilateral actions that further complicate the already volatile situation,” added the release.

This comes after Jaishankar slammed Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s “weaponising terrorism” remarks.

“Victims of terrorism do not sit together with perpetrators of terrorism to discuss terrorism. Victims of terrorism defend themselves, counter acts of terrorism, they call it out, they legitimise it and that is exactly what is happening. To come here and preach these hypocritical words as though we are on the same boat,” he said while addressing a press conference by the Presidency after SCO Council of Foreign Ministers.

He was answering questions on India-Pakistan ties including a question from a Pakistani journalist.

Answering a question about the terror incident in Jammu and Kashmir on Friday, where five soldiers lost their lives, Jaishankar said there was a shared feeling of outrage, Jaishankar said, “They are committing acts of terrorism. I don’t want to jump the gun on what happened today but we are all feeling equally outraged. On this matter, the terrorism matter, I would say that Pakistan’s credibility is depleting faster than even its Forex reserves.”

“As a promoter, justifier and I am sorry to say, spokesperson of a terrorism industry which is the mainstay of Pakistan, his positions were called out and they were countered, including at the SCO meeting,” he said.

India has consistently raised the issue of Pakistan’s continued support to cross-border terrorism and terrorist infiltration. It has said that the people of Jammu and Kashmir have borne the brunt of this terrorism campaign for decades and continue to do so.

He also brushed aside Pakistan’s objections to India hosting G20 tourism working group meeting in Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir in May.

“I don’t think there is a G20 issue to debate with anybody, certainly not with a country which is nothing to do with G20. Jammu and Kashmir was, is, will always be a part of India. The G20 meetings are held in all the Indian states and Union Territories, so it is completely natural that it is held there,” Jaishankar said.

 (ANI)

BOLSONARO RATES

Lula Slams Brazil’s Interest Rates Saying They Hold Nation Back

Caio Rinaldi
Sat, May 6, 2023 


(Bloomberg) -- President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva renewed his criticism of Brazil’s central bank for failing to lower borrowing costs, saying Brazilian society can no longer stand the Selic benchmark rate at 13.75%.

“I have no problem with the central bank, I disagree with its current policy,” Lula told reporters in London on Saturday. “Those who agree with an interest rate this high, come out and publicly defend it. I don’t agree with it.”

Brazil’s economy is gaining momentum and workers must have access to credit, otherwise economic growth may be hampered, he said.

“Brazilian retailers, businesspeople, workers no longer stand this interest rate,” Lula said.

The central bank held rates steady for the sixth straight meeting on Wednesday, frustrating the government’s calls for the monetary policy to be loosened.

Central bank president Roberto Campos Neto was called out by Lula. “He has no commitment to Brazil. He is committed to the previous administration and those who benefit from high interest rates,” Lula said.

Lula was in London for King Charles III’s coronation ceremony and met Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Friday before heading back to Brazil on Saturday.

Thousands of Israelis protest government legal change plans

yesterday

1 of 7
Israelis protest against plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to overhaul the judicial system in Tel Aviv, Saturday, May 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Tens of thousands of Israelis gathered Saturday for a demonstration against a contentious government plan to overhaul the judiciary, demanding the changes to be scrapped rather than delayed.

The protests have been held on a weekly basis for most of the year and they continued despite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announcing in March that he was postponing the proposals to reach a compromise agreement.

Organizers of the protests, now in their 18th week, say they want to ramp up the pressure on Netanyahu’s government and lawmakers after the parliament resumed its work this week following a month-long recess.

In Tel Aviv, Israel’s commercial hub and epicenter of the protests, protestors held a large banner addressing Netanyahu that read, “You will never be a dictator!”

The plan would give Netanyahu, who is on trial on corruption charges, and his partners in Israel’s most hardline coalition in its history the final say in appointing judges. It would also give parliament, which is controlled by Netanyahu’s allies, authority to overturn Supreme Court decisions and limit the court’s ability to review laws.

The plan plunged Israel into one of its worst domestic crises, ripping open longstanding societal rifts and creating new ones. While the freeze in the legislation eased tensions somewhat, Netanyahu’s allies are pushing him to move ahead on the overhaul. The talks underway, meant to forge a path out of the crisis, do not appear to have produced any results.

Broad swath of Israeli society, including business leaders and the booming tech sector have criticized the proposed changes. Military reservists threatened not to show up for duty if the plan was approved. Tens of thousands of people, largely secular, middle-class Israelis, have regularly joined mass protests against the plan.

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M
Bona Mugabe’s $8m home, assets exposed in divorce angers Zimbabwe

Revelations about multimillion-dollar assets linked to the Mugabe family have triggered outrage just weeks after an Al Jazeera exposé on Zimbabwean elite and money laundering.

Bona Mugabe

5.5.2023
by Reuters

Harare, Zimbabwe – This week, it was revealed that Bona Mugabe, the only daughter of Zimbabwe’s pioneer President Robert Mugabe, owns vast swathes of land in premier residential areas in the capital Harare, 21 farms, an $8m mansion in Dubai, and a fleet of luxury cars. And more.

The assets, named during ongoing divorce proceedings between the younger Mugabe and her former airline pilot husband Simba Chikore, have triggered outrage in the Southern African country.

Mugabe, 33, and Chikore, 46, have been married for nine years. But earlier this year, Mugabe filed for the nullification of their union, citing irreconcilable differences.

Chikore, who is contesting the divorce, insists he is entitled to joint cusody of the couple’s three children and part of the assets the pair jointly acquired, should the Harare court grant the request.

The acrimonious separation has shone the light on the staggering wealth accumulated by the longtime Zimbabwe ruler’s family, with court documents seen by Al Jazeera indicating that there is an $80m real estate portfolio in the ex-president’s family.

Chikore also listed numerous cars, including an $800,000 Rolls Royce and three Range Rovers, as some of the assets the family owns. Bona’s lawyer, Fungai Chimwamurombe,  confirmed the properties’ authenticity in the court papers to the press.

Zimbabweans this week angrily took to social media to protest the shocking revelations about the Mugabe family wealth.

“This is how dirty Mugabe was. Just a tip of the iceberg. Imagine what his other kids and himself own, his uncles, aunts, rats, dogs and friends,” one Facebook user, Gideon Baba Tyler Mtetwa, wrote.

‘Unconstitutional distribution of wealth’

Musa Kika, a lawyer and executive director of the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum, said Chikore’s claims, if proven to be “accurate and true”, would suggest unconstitutional distribution of wealth “on account of proximity to political power”.

“If proven to be true and accurate, this goes against the spirit of our Constitution. Our Constitution requires equitable distribution of the finite resource of land and expressly states in section 293(2) that ‘the State may not alienate more than one piece of agricultural land to the same person and his or her dependants’,” Kika told Al Jazeera. According to him, the term “alienate” includes both leasing and selling of land.

Steven Chuma, youth interim spokesman of the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), Zimbabwe’s main opposition, said the divorce case had proven that the land reform exercise was “never about landless majority but was meant to self-enrich leaders of the post-colonial state.”

The land reform exercise was a controversial campaign in the early 2000s by the older Mugabe who seized land from white farmers for apparent redistribution to landless Blacks.

Critics accused him of reallocating the lots to friends and allies then, and the allegations have resurfaced again.

“The one man, one farm principle has been thrown into the dust bins by the ZANU-PF [ruling party] looting committee,” Chuma told Al Jazeera.

‘Looting par excellence’

The latest revelations come barely two weeks after outrage due to shocking disclosures of large-scale gold smuggling by individuals affiliated with Zimbabwean government officials and the ruling party in an Al Jazeera documentary.

The four-part documentary, The Gold Mafia, was filmed by Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit (I-Unit), based on dozens of undercover operations spanning three continents and thousands of documents.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who toppled the late strongman in a 2017 military coup, has been the subject of scrutiny in recent months, with some questioning his role in the gold looting scandal.

Uebert Angel, a cleric appointed ambassador by Mnangagwa, was caught on camera offering to use his diplomatic position to smuggle millions of dollars and launder funds for Al Jazeera undercover reporters posing as Asian reporters.

And now, some Zimbabweans are calling for similar investigations to ascertain how Mugabe’s daughter ended up with a vast array of assets.

“As much as Simba did well to list those properties as a settlement plan, it did reveal something to the world,” said Garikai Mazara, a former media personality. “It does not need one to be a rocket scientist to see that the properties listed by Simba Chikore were crudely acquired. So it is my fervent hope that the presiding judge in the divorce settlement, after dispensing with the case, will have the presence of mind to ask how those properties were acquired. And then recommend for a judicial enquiry. Killing two birds with one stone, it is not without precedent.”

Others queried how much wealth the Mugabe family had accumulated over the years.

“21 farms they own, what of the parents then? Looting par excellence! The liberation war was a waste of time if it birthed this system!” one Facebook user Eric Knight wrote.

“Many Zimbabweans were shocked today with the amount of land owned by Bona Mugabe in Borrowdale. This is how land has been stolen from Zimbabweans by ZANUPF corrupt politicians. The Government request land from council, then it is transferred to ZANUPF corrupt politicians,” journalist Hopewell Chin’ono wrote.

 

Others attacked Mugabe for being hypocritical while he was alive and in power.

“This divorce has opened a can of worms that Robert Gabriel Mugabe was a hypocrite and pseudo Pan Africanist … he was a man who failed to practise what he was preaching on Black empowerment as he openly said 1 man 1 farm, yet he was behind the scenes looting vast amounts of land,” tweeted one Kerina Mujati.

 OPINION

OPINION,

Kais Saied’s Tunisia is becoming a failed state

After just a few years of being governed by Saied, the Tunisian state is already struggling to fulfil some of its essential responsibilities.

Haythem Guesmi
Published On 5 May 2023

Ennahdha party supporters wave the Tunisian flag during a demonstration against Pesident Kais Saied in Tunis on October 15, 2022. [File: Fethi Belaid/AFP]

The April 18 arrest and consequent imprisonment of Tunisia’s main opposition leader, Rached Ghannouchi, the head of the Ennahdha party and former speaker of the dissolved parliament, was the latest and perhaps the most definitive sign of the country’s swift descent into dictatorship under President Kais Saied.

Indeed, by arresting Ghannouchi, an 81-year-old man, on the 27th day of Ramadan, one of the holiest nights in the Islamic calendar, and holding him for 48 hours without access to a lawyer, Saied announced in spectacular fashion that he will not hesitate to trample on the human rights of his critics or the rule of law in his country to eliminate all opposition to his authority.

Saied’s use of trumped-up charges and arbitrary detention to silence his leading political opponent was eerily reminiscent of the tactics used by Tunisia’s former dictator Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali to keep his critics in check. As such, last month’s events convinced many in the country that Tunisia today is not any more democratic or free than it was under Ben Ali.

In fact, Saied now appears to be posing a bigger threat to Tunisia’s future than Ben Ali ever did. Saied is even more aggressive and unhinged than his predecessor in his quest to stifle dissent and consolidate power, and unlike Ben Ali, he is not afraid to attack and erode the very foundations of the Tunisian state to further his agenda.

The president is following scorched earth policies that are eliminating opposition of any kind, widening polarisation, accentuating racial tensions, promoting tribalism and eroding the public’s trust in independent institutions. He is, step by step, turning Tunisia into not only a dictatorship but also a failed state.

Since assuming absolute power in a 2021 coup, Saied has slandered, criminalised and jailed his critics and political opponents. He put a target on the backs of sub-Saharan migrants and broke all cooperation, trust and even communication between civil and political forces.

By questioning the independence and objectivity of the judiciary and targeting judges who refuse to bow down to him, Saied also disarmed the only remaining power in Tunisia that could have checked his power and turned it into yet another tool to attack his rivals. He also made Tunisia’s leading and once relatively independent news organisations into puppets and started using them in his undemocratic and inhumane attacks on opposition politicians and other critics of his presidency.

Thanks to Saied’s regime, gone are the days when such institutions as the Independent High Authority for Elections or the Tunis Afrique Presse (TAP) news agency were considered trustworthy and independent.

After just a few years of being governed by Saied, the Tunisian state is already struggling to fulfil some of its essential responsibilities, such as providing security, basic services and a stable political environment for the Tunisian people.

In the last few years, for many Tunisians, power blackouts and water shortages have become a daily struggle. The mismanagement of resources and the inability to provide necessities such as food, water and housing have caused widespread social anxiety and political disenchantment. This erosion of trust in the state further deepened as it became clear that Saied and those in his regime prioritise their interests over the public good.

Saied’s power grab has also promoted profound political instability and eliminated all systems of checks and balances – something that will inevitably result in the complete breakdown of the rule of law if left unaddressed. His relentless suppression of all political opposition and refusal to establish a constitutional court, meanwhile, has all but guaranteed that a swift and painless transition back to democracy will not be possible.

Today, there is nothing but uncertainty and instability in Tunisia’s future. For example, if the president, who is known to be suffering from chronic illness, passes away suddenly, there is no way of knowing how the resulting constitutional void would be filled or what would happen to the country.

There is also the growing risk of conflict and violence stemming from Saied’s erratic and authoritarian governing style and refusal to share power. The ever-deepening environment of fear, distrust, lawlessness and impunity is not only encouraging domestic acts of violence but also external interference.

Indeed, Saied’s regime is already unable to efficiently control and protect Tunisia’s borders. Internally, the growth of criminal violence and the lawlessness with which the security apparatus oppresses Tunisians testify to the breakdown of the state’s integrity and the widespread desperation crippling the people. In Saied’s Tunisia, the ubiquity of urban crime, the femicide crisis and prevalence of human trafficking have instilled a sense of insecurity and disorder that is hard to shake.

In his quest to consolidate power, Saied is also eroding Tunisia’s sovereignty. Convinced of Saied’s utility as an ally in the fight against undocumented immigration, the Italian government has lobbied local and international powers on behalf of his regime, undermining the sovereignty and independence of the Tunisian state and weakening the influence of the opposition in the process. By supporting Saied’s regime, both Italy and France have made it clear that Tunisia’s borders, laws and future feasibility as a democracy are irrelevant to their fight against undocumented immigration. Desperate for international support and an IMF loan, Saied is taking any help he can get from anyone, not considering the future consequences of his alliances and choices. 

Ghannouchi’s imprisonment was the latest sign that Saied has not only transformed Tunisia into a dictatorship but also put the country on the path to becoming a failed state. If Saied is not persuaded to roll back his attacks on Tunisia’s democracy, its loss may prove irreversible – with tragic consequences for the people of Tunisia and the region.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.

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  Haythem Guesmi

  Haythem Guesmi is a Tunisian academic and writer.