Posted on 08/24/2002 2:49:01 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
The earth summit, which begins in Johannesburg on Monday, is essentially about the need to forestall our planet's destruction by human avarice and neglect. Next door there is a country which is being destroyed by human avarice and neglect. That country is Zimbabwe and the perpetrators are Robert Mugabe and his henchmen.
In the middle of this summit exploring sustainable development will be Mugabe, who is simultaneously destroying the environment, taking productive land out of production and condemning millions of black Zimbabweans to poverty and famine. As host, President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa is desperate for a successful gathering. Mugabe could devalue the whole thing.
It is worth recalling what is happening in Zimbabwe. Six million Zimbabweans are threatened with starvation; 3,000 farmers are being evicted from their farms; 1.5 million black farm workers and their dependants are being thrown off farms; farmland is lying unproductive while famine and starvation grow unchecked; the rule of law is being ignored; human rights are being violated. I saw all this when I went to Zimbabwe last month. You cannot see it and do nothing.
Yet the fact that Mugabe is getting away with murder has not bestirred our government. Its inaction is a damning indictment of its foreign policy. What is the difference between ethnic cleansing, or state murder and torture, in Kosovo and in Zimbabwe? Why was the government so keen to act in Kosovo and yet is so inactive on Zimbabwe? Mugabe is every bit as evil as Milosevic. So why is our government afraid to stand up to this despot? Zimbabwe is not some distant country of which we know little. We know it very well and we owe it our support.
Mugabe can taunt us with accusations of postimperialism. Nobody except his most ardent supporters in Zimbabwe believes him. When I visited, many people - black and white - told me that while they understood that Britain couldn't act alone they looked to us for leadership. We must stop being afraid of our postcolonial shadow. The world has moved on. We have a moral responsibility to be involved.
Jack Straw told the Today programme that he is doing all he can. He must know that the EU targeted sanctions are too little too late, and that suspension from the councils of the Commonwealth is cosmetic. He complains that there is nothing more that can be done, and that I have offered no constructive suggestions. Let me try again.
Effective international action must primarily involve the African states neighbouring Zimbabwe, particularly South Africa. They are currently unwilling to act. We must seek to persuade them that it is in their interests to do so. There is much constructive discussion of international partnership with Africa. Such partnership must include action to resolve the crisis in Zimbabwe.
Tony Blair had a chance at the G8 summit in Canada in June to tie international investment in Africa to good governance and the restoration of democracy in Zimbabwe. He ducked it. Zimbabwe was not even mentioned in the communiqué. He should now make it clear that our commitment to deliver finance will depend on Africa delivering on Mugabe.
Blair has another opportunity at the earth summit. On September 2 he will share the platform with Mugabe. Blair must condemn him in the clearest terms and refuse to appear on the platform with him. Mugabe is an illegitimate leader and the prime minister should treat him as such.
Blair should then call on member countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to acknowledge the grave damage that is being done to the region by Mugabe. He should seek their commitment to securing fresh and genuinely fair elections in Zimbabwe and to restoring human rights. To talk about sustainable development in Africa while ignoring Zimbabwe would be self-deluding and he should have no part in it.
Blair should make clear that, while he is happy to participate in the wider agenda of the summit, in the absence of firm commitments by SADC countries on Zimbabwe he will not participate in the parts of the agenda relating to Africa. Nor will he agree any parts of the final communiqué that relate to African development.
This would bring pressure to bear on Mugabe. Of course it is upfront and uncomfortable and we will be accused of seeking to divert the summit. We all want to see the summit succeed, but it must be on the basis of shared values and not cynical political manoeuvres. If Mugabe is allowed to strut this world stage unhindered, the summit will be corrupted. Britain must have the courage to take the lead.
Michael Ancram is shadow foreign secretary
ancramm@parliament.uk
I'd love to see that, however management has phased out the bump lists for keywords- and I'm having trouble adapting to the improved system.
I'd love to see Mugabe's whole government take a tumbrel ride to Dr. Guillotine's invention, but I bet they'll slip away with millions looted from aid when the country collapses.
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