Posted on 09/07/2001 7:14:14 PM PDT by Clive
BRITAIN defended its compromise with Zimbabwe over the invasion of white-owned land last night in the face of criticism from Zimbabwean farmers and opposition activists.
A day after Britain promised millions of pounds to help fund a "fair, just and sustainable" redistribution of land in Zimbabwe, Baroness Amos, the Foreign Office minister responsible for Africa, said the real test of the agreement would be what happens on the ground.
Lady Amos told BBC Radio 4's PM programme: "It is up to Zimbabwe to deliver now. What we have is a way forward." Under the terms of the accord negotiated by Commonwealth ministers in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, Zimbabwe has promised to "restore the rule of law" after 18 months of land invasions, violence and intimidation.
Zimbabwe said yesterday it would move swiftly to implement the accord. But, as the gaps in the agreement became apparent, several Zimbabwean opposition leaders and white farmers dismissed the deal as worthless.
Welshman Ncube, secretary-general of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, said: "This is just a public relations exercise for Mugabe for the international arena."
With presidential elections due in April, opposition activists fear that Mr Mugabe will not halt political violence and intimidation. Mr Ncube said: "We are unhappy with this declaration. Mugabe has been saying all along that the rule of law exists. Who is going to determine the commitment to a return to the rule of law?"
In Britain, Francis Maude, the shadow foreign secretary, said: "We need to be very sure that this deal is not just a ploy to get Mugabe accepted into next month's Commonwealth summit and to appease those calling for Zimbabwe's suspension from the Commonwealth."
Critics say the Abuja communique - negotiated by ministers from Britain, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, South Africa, Australia and Jamaica - rubber-stamps the wholesale invasion of farms that have taken place during the past 18 months of political violence.
Don McKinnon, the Commonwealth Secretary-General, said the agreement was "a very good start", but admitted that it did not "turn the clock back" on the invasions. About 5,000 farms - representing about 88 per cent of white-owned land - are officially gazetted for "fast-track" expropriation, which Zimbabwe's Supreme Court has declared illegal.
Under the Abuja deal, Zimbabwe promised that there will be no further occupation of farms and squatters will be moved from farms that are not listed for seizure (but only when land becomes available to resettle them).
Harare also vowed to speed up the process of removing from the list many farms that do not meet government criteria. But within hours of making this commitment, the state-controlled Herald daily said the government had added a fresh batch of 232 white-owned farms to its list of land to be seized.
The move, while not a blatant breach of the accord, cast doubt on whether Zimbabwe is committed to its promise to carry out a rational land reform policy "within the law and constitution of Zimbabwe".
The Commercial Farmers' Union, which represents the interests of its 3,500 mainly white members, officially welcomed the Abuja accords as a "landmark". But several prominent members were privately horrified.
A respected farmer said: "There is no change. More than 85 per cent of commercial agriculture will be taken for resettlement. That's not a solution to the country's economic and social problems. That is the status quo, and that is disaster."
Another farmer, whose land has been occupied, said: "It's not worth the paper it is written on."
Most of these farmers were born right there in Zimbabwe
Self-contradictory nonsense. Britain aka Pontius Pilate.
Ya think so?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.