Zuma's Beliefs

Does anybody know what Jacob Zuma, the new leader of the African National Congress, thinks about (i) HIV, and (ii) Zimbabwe?

Neighbouring Continents — Worlds Apart

Gordon Brown, his proxy Baroness Amos, and the leaders of Africa may be too weak to stand up to Robert Mugabe, but at least the German Chancellor Angela Merkel has spoken out against Zimbabwe's dictator, who has been in Europe this weekend for the EU-Africa summit, despite having been banned from entering the EU since 2002:

"The current state of Zimbabwe damages the image of the new Africa. Because this is so, we must take the chance here, in this framework, to put all our efforts together into strengthening democracy.

"We don't have the right to look away when human rights are trampled on. Intimidation of those with different opinions and breaches of the independence of the press cannot be justified."

Not that such words will make any more of a difference than our own Prime Minister's boycott of the meeting. Especially considering how South African President Thabo Mbeki is reported to have accused Merkel of being out of touch with the political situation in Zimbabwe. Quite what situation he was thinking of is anybody's guess — perhaps that of Zimbabwe as a world leader, with the world's highest inflation rate (what is variously reported as 8,000-15,000%), highest death rate (21.76 deaths/1,000 population — more than that for Sudan (14.39) and Iraq (5.26) combined!), highest number of AIDS orphans (1.6 million, almost one in four children, have now lost at least one parent to HIV), highest unemployment (at least 80%), and fastest-shrinking economy?

Unsurprisingly, the summit in Lisbon has now ended without any agreement being reached on the key issue of trade. The EU wants to replace expiring trade accords with temporary Economic Partnership Agreements by the end of the year, when a waiver by the World Trade Organisation on preferential trade arrangements for developing countries expires. However, anti-poverty groups have criticised the EPAs for failing to provide protection for Africa's poor farmers and its fragile industry.

America Leads Where Europe Fails

At a time when Europe is relaxing its sanctions against Robert Mugabe in order to permit him to have his say at the European-African summit in Lisbon, congratulations should go to America for imposing new travel and financial sanctions on another three and a half dozen people with ties to Zimbabwe's 83-year-old president, including the offspring of some prominent Zimbabweans studying in the US, whose visas will be revoked.

The Zimbabwean people deserve more than Europe's half-hearted support and their misery must not be allowed to continue. If you have not yet signed The Difference petition calling for the British government to do everything in its power to increase pressure on the dictator and his ZANU-PF regime, please take a moment to do so.

Another Victory For Mugabe

So, predictably, despite being subject to a European visa ban, Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe is to attend next week's summit of European and African leaders in Portugal. Gordon Brown had threatened to stay away from the talks if Mugabe was allowed to participate. However, a number of African leaders, who still hold Mugabe as a hero of the struggle that brought independence to his country in 1980, had threatened to boycott the summit if Mugabe was barred from attending. Britain is now expected to send a junior minister or diplomat instead.

Supposedly to discuss issues such as trade, climate change and AIDS, the Lisbon summit is now certain to be overshadowed by the question of human rights violations in Zimbabwe, where elections are due to be held in March. Once again, Mugabe wins and the people of Africa lose — not that the dictator will be in the least concerned about that.

Zimbabwe Petition Pressure Mounts

Every Saturday afternoon for the last five years, protestors have held a vigil outside the Zimbabwe Embassy in the Strand — with its colourful banners, singing and dancing, the group is easy to spot and welcomes new members! Tomorrow we will join one of the largest demonstrations ever to mark five years of protest against human rights abuses by the Mugabe regime and to campaign for free and fair elections in the country. Along with the Zimbabwe Vigil Coalition, we will be presenting a copy of The Difference petition to Kate Hoey MP, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Zimbabwe, to hand to the Prime Minister.

During last week's Conservative Party conference, almost 1000 people signed our petition, including a large number of MPs and MEPs such as Dan Hannan (pictured, right), with the total number of signatories now standing at 1100. However, we must continue highlighting this issue. For, as William Hague noted in his endorsement of our campaign: "The Zimbabwean people deserve our full support and their misery must not be allowed to continue."

Hague on Mugabe's Knighthood

"Zimbabwe stands as a monument to the truth that while the power of a good government to do good is not infinite, the power of a bad government to do bad knows no limits."

Repeating calls he made in yesterday's Human Rights Commission fringe meeting, William Hague has not only echoed calls for tougher sanctions against Mugabe's regime in Zimbabwe, but has just told the conference the dictator "Still enjoys an honorary knighthood from Britain. It is time it was stripped from him."

To much applause, he has also pledged that the next Conservative government will enact legislation that will require all future governments to submit any proposal for passing more powers to Europe to a national referendum.

If all these policy commitments prove sufficient to motivate those who would traditionally be inclined to support the Conservative Party to get out and vote, then Gordon Brown might find a closer fight on his hands - when he does pluck up the courage to announce a general election - than the opinion polls might presently suggest.

The Shadow Foreign Secretary has endorsed The Difference campaign, saying:

"I fully support The Difference magazine's campaign urging greater international action on Zimbabwe.

Robert Mugabe is a repulsive dictator who has brought devastation to his country for twenty-seven years and it is time for the international community to take firm and concerted measures against his regime. The European Union should apply additional European sanctions to Zimbabwe without delay: widening the scope of the EU asset freeze and travel ban to include all relatives and business associates of members of Mugabe's ZANU-PF party, and subjecting the Governor of Zimbabwe's Reserve Bank to similar sanctions would be a clear signal of our intent. Beyond the EU, Zimbabwe's neighbouring countries, in particular South Africa, must also join the rest of the international community in pursuing a clear strategy to resolve the crisis.

The Zimbabwean people deserve our full support and their misery must not be allowed to continue."

Conference Rush on Zimbabwe Petition

I had been thinking of going to the "fixing our broken society" debate at 2.30, but now realise the afternoon has flown by without my noticing - such has been the interest from people wanting to sign The Difference petition calling for tougher sanctions against Mugabe's regime in Zimbabwe! Literally hundreds have been coming forward to sign, a good number sharing their recollections of the country, one even having served for eight months in Zimbabwe's army because he didn't read the small print when he went to live there for two years!

If you haven't yet signed the petition, follow the link at Zimbabwe: Will Anybody Help? to do so online.

(Someone has just told me that the debate was excellent, with a number of contributors receiving standing ovations.)

Why the Silence on Zimbabwe?

"Why is there such a crushing international silence on the outrages in Zimbabwe? Is it because a defeated and damaged people cannot get onto the streets in sufficient numbers for the western media to have good pictures? Is that what it takes to get western governments these days active and concerned about such flagrant abuses of human rights?"

Reflecting on all the noise being made over Burma, John Redwood asks some pertinent questions about the international community's media-driven foreign policy. Echoing sentiments expressed on this blog yesterday, he concludes, "Will someone in western governments please do something? Will the UN wake up from its slumbers and show it has the diplomatic skills to mobilise the international community against this evil?"

Majority Favour Military Intervention

Here are the results of our last poll on military interventionism abroad. From the total number of votes, it is clear that far fewer of you than usual were prepared or felt able to express an opinion either way. However, of those that did do so, a majority were at least in favour of the principle of intervening to prevent genocide or to defend the human rights of others, even if not everyone agreed whether the conditions for intervention had been reached in either Sudan or Zimbabwe. I wonder whether anyone thinks such an approach should be taken to protect the freedom of those protesting against two decades' oppression by the military junta in Burma...?

In 2000, British troops salvaged the UN operation in Sierra Leone. Should we now take military action in either Darfur or Zimbabwe?

Yes, both.  36% (8 votes)

Only Sudan.  5% (1 votes)

Only Zimbabwe.  27% (6 votes)

No, neither.  32% (7 votes)

Total voters for this poll: 22

Make sure you take our new poll on the review of self-defence legislation.

African Interventionism

"Blair's 'ethical foreign policy' is a long-forgotten memory, sacrificed upon an invasion undertaken without UN sanction."

Do not miss the Ugandan-born Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, in today's Observer, calling for "the sanctions and campaigns that brought an end to apartheid in South Africa to be applied to the Mugabe regime":

Zimbabwe cannot any more be seen as an African problem needing an African solution - it is a humanitarian disaster...

The time has come for Mr Brown, who has already shown himself to be an African interventionist through his work at the UN in favour of the people of Darfur, finally to slay the ghosts of Britain's colonialist past by thoroughly revising foreign policy towards Zimbabwe and to lead the way in co-ordinating an international response...

Like Idi Amin before him in Uganda, Mugabe has rallied a country against its former colonial master only to destroy it through a dictatorial fervour. Enemies are tortured, the press is censored, the people are starving and meanwhile the world waits for South Africa to intervene. That time is now over.

Let us know what you think — and, if you're going to the Conservative Party conference, watch out for our stand, where we'll have a copy of our Zimbabwe petition.

China's Lucky Eights

At 8pm on 8th August 2008, China will showcase itself to what will probably be the world's largest television audience. In response to international pressure and a threatened boycott, the country yesterday announced that it is to withdraw all its support for Robert Mugabe's regime in Zimbabwe except humanitarian aid. The largely unpublicised move represents a significant shift for Chinese foreign policy and holds out hope that they will also soon start making concessions over their support of the Sudanese regime.

Here are the results of our recent poll, which showed a surprisingly high level of support for the boycott proposed by Conservative MEP Edward McMillan-Scott. Keep an eye on the sidebar in the coming days for our next poll!

Should British athletes boycott the Beijing Olympics?

Yes  16% (18 votes)

If no improvement nearer the time  12% (14 votes)

No  72% (82 votes)

Not sure  0% (0 votes)

Total voters for this poll: 114

Ncube Discredited: Scandal or Smear?

Zimbabwe's Archbishop Pius Ncube, outspoken critic of Mugabe has either become the target of an official smear campaign to discredit him, or has most regretfully made the kind of mistake that destroys anyone in the public eye and brings the Church's reputation into disrepute. One hopes it is a case of the former.

This is what NewZimbabwe.com is reporting:

ZIMBABWE'S state-run media has published what it said were photos of Roman Catholic Archbishop Pius Ncube in bed with a woman, a day after the outspoken critic of President Robert Mugabe was sued for adultery.

The scandal has dominated radio and television news on Zimbabwe's state-owned stations, beginning on Monday when a state TV crew filmed Ncube being served with the lawsuit.

On Tuesday, the government-owned Herald and Chronicle newspapers ran the photos under the headlines "Pius Ncube Shamed" and "Pius in Sex Scandal." Several photos showed a man identified by newspapers as Ncube removing his clothes and lying in bed with a woman.

The two dailies said the photos were from a security camera hidden in Ncube's bedroom in Bulawayo by a private investigator hired by Onesimus Sibanda, who is suing Ncube for allegedly having a two-year sexual affair with his wife, Rosemary Sibanda.

Adultery is illegal in Zimbabwe.

Military Intervention in Zimbabwe

"Where a population is suffering serious harm, as a result of internal war, insurgency, repression or state failure, and the state in question is unwilling or unable to halt or avert it, the principle of non-intervention yields to the international responsibility to protect." [Article 1(B) of the Core Principles of the International Responsibility to Protect Doctrine, adopted at the United Nations 2005 World Summit]

According to the CIA World Factbook, Zimbabwe's death rate is four times greater than Iraq and 50% greater than Sudan — an incredible level of deaths, which are largely preventable. With inflation now running at 15,000% and the American Ambassador predicting it could hit 1,500,000% by the end of the year and with the failure of up to 95% of the crops, it is clear that Mugabe's Zanu PF regime either doesn't care about its people or is deliberately engaged in a course of conduct designed to subjugate an entire nation.

Little wonder that Archbishop Pius Ncube of Bulawayo, previously nominated for the Nobel peace prize for his work in Zimbabwe, yesterday called upon Britain to "raid Zimbabwe and remove Mugabe." Regrettably, given that Britain is already overstretched in Afghanistan and Iraq, his country will probably look in vain to Britain for its deliverance. Furthermore, given the UN's record in Sudan, it is unlikely that any call to invoke the International Responsibility to Protect would produce any result either. Will anybody help?

Shocking Zimbabwe Update

Remember Robert MacDonald, the Zimbabwean farmer who was lucky to escape with his life after three days torture and having to witness the murder of his 28 farm workers? Cross Rhythms has an update on his family's situation: his sister-in-law and nephew were travelling in a mini-bus and they were stopped at a roadblock. Everybody in the mini-bus was shot dead.

The reason? Claiming that more people are dying in Zimbabwe than Iraq and Darfur put together, Robert says, "The soldiers haven't been paid for two years, and they pillage, they rape; they murder, they raid the farms wherever they can get a bit of food. They kill and take for themselves. You know there's no law and order left in the country anymore."

If David Miliband wishes to prove his worth as our new foreign secretary, he should act on the recommendations of the International Crisis Group. If you have not already signed our online petition calling for tougher sanctions on Zimbabwe, please take a moment to do so now.

Mugabe & Co.

"The conventional wisdom is that Zimbabwe is at the point of imminent economic and social collapse, and that this will trigger widespread unrest and deep-seated political change. Such wishful thinking does not intersect with rational analysis."

The head of the Brenthurst Foundation, which seeks to strengthen Africa's economic performance, suggests that President Robert Mugabe is still popular among his followers because political patronage has opened up opportunities for instant wealth for a small number of Zimbabweans. He argues that "the worst sanctions currently aimed at Zimbabwe are not the ones leveled by America and Europe against Mugabe and his leadership or the voluntary cutbacks on donor assistance" and only when the internal economy has been so destroyed that the depreciating local currency gives in to dollarisation will arbitrage opportunities disappear and there be any real prospect of change in Zimbabwe.

If he is right that progress in mediating a peaceful resolution to the crisis depends on the appetite of Zimbabwe's elite for change and the extent of their desperation, then it is all the more crucial that current sanctions also be applied to family members and business associates of those already being targeted, as called for in our petition.

Turning a Blind Eye

“I was dragged out of the farmhouse and tied to a tree. I was tortured and beaten for three days until they thought I was dead; then they took me to a river and threw me out on the banks. I had a broken leg, broken arm, massive lacerations to my head, my nose was broken, my kidneys were severely damaged. Because of the trauma I still have a swollen heart.” It is not until I ask what became of the farm workers that the tears begin to fall. “They were rounded up and put into a hut. The door was locked and it was burnt down while they were inside. There were 28 people. They were my colleagues, my dear friends,” he pauses for a moment and then says, more quietly, “eight of them were children.” He is keen to stress the point that Mugabe’s violence is colour blind. “The white farmers that have perished are in the minority,” he says. “The majority of people Mugabe has killed are black people, his own people.”

If you haven't yet read the interview with Robert MacDonald, Life after death, in this month's issue of The Difference magazine, then make sure you do. More importantly, if you have not yet joined our campaign, Zimbabwe: Will Anybody Help?, please take a moment to do so. For as the Life after death article concludes:

Like many who are aware of the situation in Zimbabwe, MacDonald finds it hard to stomach that the rest of the world is turning a blind eye to the horrendous death toll. “More people die in Zimbabwe per week than anywhere else in the world, but there is no oil. Today oil is the currency for action.” He continues: “The UN has done nothing besides wag its finger. In years past, many people in Zimbabwe regarded Britain as their motherland, and tens of thousands gave their lives in the two world wars, but now they feel abandoned. It could be so different if Britain was willing to take a formal, positive role in spearheading international condemnation and driving the EU’s response. Extending the EU’s economic sanctions could make all the difference.” The ball, it seems, is firmly in our court.

Caroline Spelman Joins Our Campaign

Caroline Spelman MP, shadow secretary of state for the Department of Communities and Local Government, backs The Difference's call for tougher sanctions on Zimbabwe.

"The world is ringing its hands about the situation in Zimbabwe. Uncertain what would actually work to bring an end to human rights abuses, politicians in the developed world seem paralysed by inaction.

The Church in Zimbabwe has bravely mounted resistance to President Mugabe's cruel regime and our aid agencies are finding it is only by working through the churches that they can have confidence that food and other essential resources reach the people who most need it.

This brings alive for us today what it means to face persecution and we record our respect and admiration for our brothers and sisters in Zimbabwe who face real threats to their lives for doing the right thing."

If you haven't already done so, don't forget to sign our online petition!

Zimbabwe: Will Anybody Help?

Britain is faced with a choice. We have a unique opportunity to stand alongside the people of Zimbabwe as they attempt to reclaim their democratic rights, and we can make a difference.

EU sanctions are beginning to bite on key people in the Mugabe regime, people who are not prepared to back the President if this will damage their own financial interests. However, by using "sleeping partners" in EU countries and transferring assets into the names of other members of their family, the targets are able to avoid sanctions. It is vital that the EU moves to close this loophole by expanding the measures to include relatives and business associates of the Mugabe government, but at present there are no moves to do this.

The highly respected International Crisis Group, which has been monitoring the situation in Zimbabwe, has devised a specific set of recommendations for EU countries. You can play your part by writing to your MP and MEPs, pressing for the adoption of these measures, in your own words or using our sample letter. Please also sign The Difference petition, which will be sent to the Prime Minister, the Minister for International Development, and Peter Mandelson, the EU's Commissioner for External Trade, calling for Britain to use its influence to bring about these changes.

Campaign resources:

• Sign the online petition
• Download a sample letter to send to your MP and MEPs
• A website to find your MP's address
• Another to find your MEPs' addresses
• The ICG policy document, including their recommendations

Thank you in advance for helping us to make a difference in Zimbabwe. As Amnesty International pointed out yesterday in their annual report on human rights, "Marches, petitions, virals, blogs, t-shirts and armbands may not seem much by themselves, but by bringing people together they unleash an energy for change that should not be underestimated ... People power will change the face of human rights in the 21st century."

Mugabe Makes Mockery of UN

Despite suffering from gross economic and agricultural mismanagement, rampant inflation and acute food shortages, Zimbabwe has been approved to head the Commission on Sustainable Development, the United Nations body charged with promoting economic progress and environmental protection.

The chair traditionally rotates among regions of the world and it was Africa’s turn to chair the commission, but the continent's choice of Zimbabwe as its candidate has amazed and disappointed Western nations and human rights organisations.

Quite frankly, the decision is incredible, making a mockery of and seriously calling into question the credibility of the whole organisation. This blog has noted recent failings in the UN over decisions on Iran, Uzbekistan and Sudan, but this latest compact proves beyond doubt that the intergovernmental body is no longer fit for any purpose.

Forgive and Forget?

The leader of Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change, Morgan Tsvangirai, says President Robert Mugabe should get immunity from prosecution in order to encourage him to step down.

Despite his repeated arrests and recent mistreatment, the opposition leader says "Retribution is no solution," adding that no amount of retribution would compensate for the costs and the pain of Mugabe's rule.

However, this is not the first time such an offer has been extended, so there is no reason to suppose the ruling Zanu-PF party is ready to abandon the dictator just yet, especially since they have only just given their backing for Mugabe to run as their candidate in the 2008 presidential elections.