Conflict over land and power prevails in the lead up to the Zimbabwean general election.
Against a background of electoral intimidation and fraud, Robert Mugabe's Zanu PF party faced real opposition for the first time in the Zimbabwean elections of 2000. The elections are to be held on 24 and 25 June 2000.
RTÉ News reporter Richard Downes spent a week with Zimbabwean farmers, both rich and poor, to find out if conflict in the country is really about land or power, or both. German tobacco grower, Heinrich Von Petzold, is one of the three biggest tobacco growers in the world. Benson Zamarra on the other hand farms 6 acres.
On the eve of Zimbabwe's elections, President Robert Mugabe attacked the opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change, labelling them 'white stooges'. Meanwhile, an MDC parliamentary candidate is reported to be in a coma, after being attacked by Mugabe's supporters.
The battleground in these elections has been the rural heartlands, with President Mugabe accusing the white farmers of being colonisers, while the government is trying to use the land invasions as a smokescreen for widespread intimidation ahead of the elections.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 23 June 2000. The reporter is Richard Downes.
