The leader of thousands of squatters in Zimbabwe who have illegally occupied hundreds of white owned farms has urged his supporters to resist government orders to move. The Chairman of the War Veterans Association, Chenjerai Hunzvi, told his supporters that they should stay put until it became clear that the government's resettlement plans were working and that white farmers were co-operating. The Zimbabwean Vice President, Joseph Msika, had earlier pledged that squatters would be moved to 200 government designated farms under a land transfer programme beginning today. He said that the government's immediate target was to acquire 20 farms in each of Zimbabwe's eight provinces.
Black peasant farmers led by the veterans of the country's war of liberation began occupying hundreds of white-owned farms in February. Five farmers were killed at the peak of the farm invasions and in a wave of pre-election violence that claimed at least 31 lives, mostly opposition supporters. Last month the government selected 804 farms for compulsory acquisition.
