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Zimbabwe NEWS MEDIA
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Background: The UK annexed Southern Rhodesia from the [British] South
Africa Company in 1923. A 1961 constitution was formulated
that favored whites in power. In 1965 the government
unilaterally declared its independence, but the UK did not
recognize the act and demanded more complete voting rights for
the black African majority in the country (then called
Rhodesia). UN sanctions and a guerrilla uprising finally led
to free elections in 1979 and independence (as Zimbabwe) in
1980. Robert MUGABE, the nation's first prime minister, has
been the country's only ruler (as president since 1987) and
has dominated the country's political system since
independence. His chaotic land redistribution campaign, which
began in 2000, caused an exodus of white farmers, crippled the
economy, and ushered in widespread shortages of basic
commodities. Ignoring international condemnation, MUGABE
rigged the 2002 presidential election to ensure his
reelection. Opposition and labor strikes in 2003 were
unsuccessful in pressuring MUGABE to retire early; security
forces continued their brutal repression of regime opponents.
The ruling ZANU-PF party used fraud and intimidation to win a
two-thirds majority in the March 2005 parliamentary election,
allowing it to amend the constitution at will and recreate the
Senate, which had been abolished in the late 1980s. In April
2005, Harare embarked on Operation Restore Order, ostensibly
an urban rationalization program, which resulted in the
destruction of the homes or businesses of 700,000 mostly poor
supporters of the opposition, according to UN estimates. ZANU-PF
announced in December 2006 that they would seek to extend
MUGABE's term in office until 2010 when presidential and
parliamentary elections would be "harmonized."
Borders: Botswana 813 km, Mozambique 1,231 km, South Africa 225 km,
Zambia 797 km
Population: 13,009,530
GDP per capita: $262.74 per capita
Capital with population: Harare - 1,184,169
Largest city with population: Harare - 1,184,169
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