Mugabe paranoia closes NGO relief efforts in Zimbabwe

AFP/Washington Times:

Zimbabwean authorities have revoked operating licenses for nongovernmental organizations in a crackdown on groups that officials say are planning to oust longtime President Robert Mugabe, state television said yesterday.
"The government has annulled registration certificates of all NGOs in order to sift out those seeking to force regime change in Zimbabwe," the state broadcaster Zimbabwe Television said.
"As pro-opposition and Western organizations masquerading as relief agencies continue to mushroom, the government has annulled the registration certificates of all NGOs in order to screen out agents of imperialism from genuine organizations working to uplift the well-being of the poor," according to the announcement.
Private aid and civil groups have increasingly been the target of governments around the world. Russia, Uzbekistan, Burma and other countries in recent years have issued new registration laws, restricted activities and even shut down domestic and foreign-based NGOs considered hostile to the regime.
The Zimbabwean television report said Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu made the announcement at a meeting of ruling-party supporters in the second-largest city of Bulawayo.
"The opposition has of late been aligning itself with anti-government religious groups under the umbrella of the 'Save Zimbabwe Campaign,' " the report said.
"Rallies held under this banner have seen supposed prayer meetings turning into violent illegal gatherings."
Zimbabwean authorities have in the past accused Western powers of using NGOs and aid agencies to channel funds to the country's main opposition group, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
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Feeding his people is not a high priority for this despot. The NGO's are probably the least of his worries when it comes to security. Where they are a problem is in the mind of a genocidal despot who is intent on starving his enemies to death. Every mouthful of food provided thwarts his objective of death on the cheap.