Date: Tue, 11 Jul 2000 23:24:49 -0700
To: "Australian government":;, "British government":;,
"Canadian government":
;, "South African government":;,
"US government":;, Commonwealth:;, "NG organisations":;,
"African press":;, "Foreign press":;
From: Zimbabwe Crisis
Subject: ZimCrisis#83 -- Subscription Policy for Governments, Politicians, NGO's and Press
Dear member of parliament / politician, civil servant, activist or journalist,
As you can see from the distribution list, this message is only being sent to the various governmental, non-governmental and press organisations I have been sending e-mail messages to over the last couple of months. I'd appreciate your taking the time to read it, as I am trying to be mindful of *your* time, and if you have any feedback I'd be happy to receive and address it.
Now that the election in Zimbabwe is over, a predictable event has occurred -- the international community has lost interest. The period leading up to the election was finite, and so could be focused upon. The period after the election is indefinite and unknown. While this loss of interest is unfortunate, it is, to a certain degree, understandable. For the politicians, they have problems in their own back yards that need addressing. For the press, there are too many bombings, rapes and murders to fit into one news broadcast or between the covers of a single newspaper.
There is also, of course, the fact that international public opinion often has very little, if any, effect on dictators and their tyrannical regimes. Although Mugabe has been a murdering tyrant for at least the last thirty years, we need only look to the better known Saddam Hussein for an example of the limits of international power. Therefore there is relatively little the international community can do to bring Mugabe into line with common law and common decency, so there's not much point in my pestering you to the point where you'd be happy if Mugabe's henchmen sorted me out.
The main body of my readership continue to be interested in what is happening in Zimbabwe, and I will continue to disseminate the information they seek. I would like to continue to keep you informed as well. The majority of you have not communicated with me (and I did not expect you to) but some have asked to be removed from this mailing list. My policy has been clearly stated at the bottom of every message I have sent out. I feel I need not explain the reasons for the policy, as I believe them to be obvious.
I suspect that many of you have resorted to simply deleting my messages without reading them, either automatically or manually. That is your prerogative. If you feel I have wasted your time and abused the easy and cheap access that e-mail allows, I apologise.
I would like to offer a compromise.
Archives of my releases have been available on the Web for a few weeks. If you are genuinely interested in some of the issues, they are all at http://www.niner.net/zimcrisis , including releases that I have chosen not to send to you. What I propose to do is to send you a weekly summary of the previous week's releases, along with links to the Web site. I then encourage you to click on the links to get the details.
Occasionally there may be exceptions, such as vital and immediately important issues which I will bring to your attention directly, but I will be selective in making that decision. There may also be times, as there have been in the past, when I think that one group should receive a message, but not another. This is why I divided my list of press contacts into those from Africa and those not.
My hope is that you will recognise my attempt to be more mindful of your time, and will do the people of Zimbabwe the honour of giving them some of your time. I also hope that the plight of Zimbabwe will not be too far from the front of your minds, so that when the issue comes up (either in cabinet, caucus, policy or editorial meetings, or in government to government talks) you will be more informed and better able to make decisions that are for the benefit of the Zimbabwean people, and not for the benefit of the ruling elite who have hijacked the country, the economy and your country's foreign aid for their own personal gain.
Thank-you for your time and, again, please feel free to contact me if you would like to give me some feedback.
Craig
Zimbabwe Crisis Mailing List
http://www.niner.net/zimcrisis
This is currently a manually administered mailing list. To subscribe or unsubscribe, send your request to DELETED. Personal requests for removal will be carried out immediately. Requests from governmental, political or press organisations (or their representatives) will be treated less favourably. The purpose of this list is not necessarily to redistribute published news reports. Rather, it is intended to distribute reports from or directly affecting people in Zimbabwe. If you have seen something before, I apologise. Hopefully that will not be a regular occurrence. Any reports from respondents that are relayed to the mailing list will be done so anonymously.
Brief list of helpful sites on the issue:
- Zimbabwe Crisis Mailing List Archives -- http://www.niner.net/zimcrisis
- Comprehensive news updates -- http://www.1freespace.com/beetee
- Offers of and requests for help for Zimbabweans -- http://pub9.ezboard.com/boffersofhelp
- Commercial Farmers' Union -- http://www.mweb.co.zw/cfu
- Movement for Democratic Change -- http://www.in2zw.com/mdc
- Zimbabwe Democracy Trust -- http://www.zimbabwedemocracytrust.org
- BSAP Pursuit of Zimbabwean Criminals -- http://www.bsaphq.f9.co.uk
To: "Australian government":;, "British government":;,
"Canadian government":
;, "South African government":;,
"US government":;, Commonwealth:;, "NG organisations":;,
"African press":;, "Foreign press":;
From: Zimbabwe Crisis
Subject: ZimCrisis#83 -- Subscription Policy for Governments, Politicians, NGO's and Press
Dear member of parliament / politician, civil servant, activist or journalist,
As you can see from the distribution list, this message is only being sent to the various governmental, non-governmental and press organisations I have been sending e-mail messages to over the last couple of months. I'd appreciate your taking the time to read it, as I am trying to be mindful of *your* time, and if you have any feedback I'd be happy to receive and address it.
Now that the election in Zimbabwe is over, a predictable event has occurred -- the international community has lost interest. The period leading up to the election was finite, and so could be focused upon. The period after the election is indefinite and unknown. While this loss of interest is unfortunate, it is, to a certain degree, understandable. For the politicians, they have problems in their own back yards that need addressing. For the press, there are too many bombings, rapes and murders to fit into one news broadcast or between the covers of a single newspaper.
There is also, of course, the fact that international public opinion often has very little, if any, effect on dictators and their tyrannical regimes. Although Mugabe has been a murdering tyrant for at least the last thirty years, we need only look to the better known Saddam Hussein for an example of the limits of international power. Therefore there is relatively little the international community can do to bring Mugabe into line with common law and common decency, so there's not much point in my pestering you to the point where you'd be happy if Mugabe's henchmen sorted me out.
The main body of my readership continue to be interested in what is happening in Zimbabwe, and I will continue to disseminate the information they seek. I would like to continue to keep you informed as well. The majority of you have not communicated with me (and I did not expect you to) but some have asked to be removed from this mailing list. My policy has been clearly stated at the bottom of every message I have sent out. I feel I need not explain the reasons for the policy, as I believe them to be obvious.
I suspect that many of you have resorted to simply deleting my messages without reading them, either automatically or manually. That is your prerogative. If you feel I have wasted your time and abused the easy and cheap access that e-mail allows, I apologise.
I would like to offer a compromise.
Archives of my releases have been available on the Web for a few weeks. If you are genuinely interested in some of the issues, they are all at http://www.niner.net/zimcrisis , including releases that I have chosen not to send to you. What I propose to do is to send you a weekly summary of the previous week's releases, along with links to the Web site. I then encourage you to click on the links to get the details.
Occasionally there may be exceptions, such as vital and immediately important issues which I will bring to your attention directly, but I will be selective in making that decision. There may also be times, as there have been in the past, when I think that one group should receive a message, but not another. This is why I divided my list of press contacts into those from Africa and those not.
My hope is that you will recognise my attempt to be more mindful of your time, and will do the people of Zimbabwe the honour of giving them some of your time. I also hope that the plight of Zimbabwe will not be too far from the front of your minds, so that when the issue comes up (either in cabinet, caucus, policy or editorial meetings, or in government to government talks) you will be more informed and better able to make decisions that are for the benefit of the Zimbabwean people, and not for the benefit of the ruling elite who have hijacked the country, the economy and your country's foreign aid for their own personal gain.
Thank-you for your time and, again, please feel free to contact me if you would like to give me some feedback.
Craig
Zimbabwe Crisis Mailing List
http://www.niner.net/zimcrisis
This is currently a manually administered mailing list. To subscribe or unsubscribe, send your request to DELETED. Personal requests for removal will be carried out immediately. Requests from governmental, political or press organisations (or their representatives) will be treated less favourably. The purpose of this list is not necessarily to redistribute published news reports. Rather, it is intended to distribute reports from or directly affecting people in Zimbabwe. If you have seen something before, I apologise. Hopefully that will not be a regular occurrence. Any reports from respondents that are relayed to the mailing list will be done so anonymously.
Brief list of helpful sites on the issue:
- Zimbabwe Crisis Mailing List Archives -- http://www.niner.net/zimcrisis
- Comprehensive news updates -- http://www.1freespace.com/beetee
- Offers of and requests for help for Zimbabweans -- http://pub9.ezboard.com/boffersofhelp
- Commercial Farmers' Union -- http://www.mweb.co.zw/cfu
- Movement for Democratic Change -- http://www.in2zw.com/mdc
- Zimbabwe Democracy Trust -- http://www.zimbabwedemocracytrust.org
- BSAP Pursuit of Zimbabwean Criminals -- http://www.bsaphq.f9.co.uk
