This is not the first time that Zanu PF (Robert Mugabe's ruling party) has attempted what might be seen as an "ethnic cleansing". In the mid-late '80s, Mugabe unleashed his Cuban-trained 5th brigade on the Matabele peoples in the South of the country, committing genocides on a scale that rivals any in Kosovo or Rwanda.
Zimbabwe is made up of several different ethnic and racial groups. The Shona speaking ones are the Karanga, the Mazezuru, and the Manica. There are also the Ndebele (Matabele), Tonga, Batoka, N'dau Then there are the Asians, Coloureds (mixed people) and Whites. Mugabe is of the Mazezuru as are all his cabinet, all his ministers, actually anyone in his government or party of any importance -- coincidentally of course!
Many of the people who own farms today bought them legitimately after independence at fair market value, many of them are fourth generation Zimbabweans who embraced the hand of reconciliation that Mugabe offered at independence. Why is he choosing to take the land back now when he's had twenty years with willing co-operation from the British and the white farmers?
I could go on and on but I hope that you can see that the race issue is a non-issue in the state of affairs in Zimbabwe. Mugabe is losing his grip and is merely playing his last ace, the race card (the colonial past) -- and it's failing to impress the average Zimbabwean, so he's forcing it on us, with violence and intimidation. 60% of the population is below the age of 40, well-educated and looking for a future, a job, trade and industry, not a subsistence small land-holding.
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