(22 Mar 2000) Shona/English/Nat

The standoff between white farmers and illegal squatters in Zimbabwe - many of whom are independence war veterans - has intensified with several more farms being occupied.

One farmer was struck on the head with an axe as squatters forced themselves into his home.

The squatters say they are frustrated at the government's inability to divide the farms amongst poorer people.

Zimbabwe police say they have not yet received orders to evict thousands of government supporters who continue to defy a court order to leave white-owned farms.

Squatters such as these, who have occupied more than 600 farms in the past month, say they will resist any attempts to evict them.

Although the government says it respects the court ruling to evict the squatters, it has done little to encourage the war veterans to comply with it.

SOUNDBITE: (Shona)
"The reason why we are here is that we want land. We have been staying on one or two hectares of land. We are suffering from hunger".
SUPER CAPTION: Obert Kamuchetu, Independence War Veteran

In colonial times, blacks were forced off their ancestral lands.

White settlers, who are still in the minority, own the bulk of the most fertile land.

The land question was a major cause of the guerrilla war which led to Zimbabwe's independence in 1980.

SOUNDBITE: (English)
"We come up to a point where we think if this Constitution - which was supposed to give the government some powers or some ways to distribute the land evenly, equally, or each one according to his capabilities, to all citizens whether white or black. If that cause is defeated then you see we don't find ourselves with an option."
SUPER CAPTION: 'Big Boy' Mupagore, Independence War Veteran

White farmer Jerald Smith was attacked in his home on Sunday by a group of war veterans armed with axes and clubs.

After leaving hospital he told reporters that the land question comes at a time of crisis for the government.

SOUNDBITE: (English)
"It's just, it's a political thing and nobody must kid themselves that it is anything else. It is a last minute ditch by this government to intimidate people. What you have to ask yourself is, there's legislation put in place which they could have put in 20 years ago to take farms away from farmers without compensation - that legislation's been going through parliament right now. So you have to ask yourself why are these people on the farms at this time when this legislation's going through and it is actually going to happen. And the answer to that is they are there to intimidate."
SUPER CAPTION: Jerald Smith, Farmer

Zimbabwe is suffering from a fuel shortage and the economy is faltering.

About four and a half thousand white farmers own eleven (m) million hectares of Zimbabwe's prime agricultural land.

In contrast about one (m) million blacks own 16 (m) million hectares, often in drought-prone regions.

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