-Caveat Lector- <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/"> </A> -Cui Bono?- http://www.the-times.co.uk/news/pages/tim/2000/04/06/timfgnafr01005.html April 6 2000 AFRICA Janine di Giovanni in Victory Block, Zimbabwe Listening to terror at end of a phone THE voice of the elderly farmer was shaking with terror. "Can you hear them beating at the door? Can you hear their drums? They're calling for me to come out. They've got sticks and golf clubs . . . "They keep calling, but I'm not going . . . if I go, they'll manhandle me." The frightened man was interrupted by the sound of loud voices and pounding and, in the distance, rhythmic drumming. Then the cracking sound of something being knocked over. "Now they're breaking down the door," he croaked. "I have got to go . . . I'm going back to lock myself in the kitchen . . . I'm getting scared." Then JJ Hammond, 67, a white farmer who has been held hostage by an angry mob of pro-Mugabe Zanu-PF supporters demanding to take over his land, rushed to barricade himself and his wife Marge, 51, in their kitchen. His only protection against the mob was kitchen utensils. Since Monday night, when Mr Hammond and his family hosted a dinner party at his tobacco farm, Chidikhamwezi, he, along with his wife, and his black farm labourers, have been held hostage by the large mob who call themselves "veterans" of the independence war. Shortly before dawn on Tuesday, negotiators - white farmers who speak Shona, the tribal dialect - managed to get the shocked dinner guests released, leaving the Hammonds and their workers alone to stave off the crowd. The roads near the farm have been blocked; no one is allowed in or out. Mr Hammond, who has farmed this land for years and is known locally as a "tough character" has barely slept. Instead, he has paced the floors of his farmhouse, moving from room to room and drawing back curtains to look out of the windows. He finally decided the safest place was the sturdy kitchen. According to Neil Hammond, one of JJ's four sons, who also lives on the compound: "They are banging on doors threatening to kill - it's bloody terrifying." Yesterday afternoon, as the intruders began to break down the kitchen door, Mr Hammond and his wife retreated to the bedroom, barricading that door behind them. The mob took only minutes to break that down and drag Mr Hammond out. He was rescued by another white farmer. As night fell, he was back indoors with his wife, doors reinforced. They have food for a few days, but no electricity, water or telephone. The veterans have cut them all. As the siege reached its 48th hour, the Hammonds are refusing to budge. "We're scared but there's no way we're leaving," Neil Hammond says. "This is my farm, this is my family and I'm staying." -- ----------------------- NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ----------------------- ________________________________________________________ 1stUp.com - Free the Web® Get your free Internet access at http://www.1stUp.com <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soap-boxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
