Harare/Brussels, 17 October 2002: Deep
divisions in the international community about the response to Zimbabwe’s crisis are playing into President Robert Mugabe’s
hands. Foreign media emphasis on the plight of white farmers also helps the
regime’s ‘liberation’ rhetoric – reinforcing the erroneous but widespread
belief in Africa that the West is concerned about Zimbabwe only because white property interests have been
harmed.
A new report from the International Crisis Group,
Zimbabwe: The Politics of National Liberation and International Division, says that the
split between – broadly – Africa and the West has paralysed international efforts to
help break the political impasse in Zimbabwe before it results in widespread deadly violence or
possible state collapse. This has damaged perceptions of Africa
and weakens the New Partnership for Africa’s Development
(NEPAD) and the African Union (AU).
The report seeks to emphasise
the very real problems in Zimbabwe – including the risks to southern African stability
and rising humanitarian costs of the crisis. Zimbabwean human rights groups are
now reporting torture rates that are among the highest in the world while
government policies have turned a drought into a food emergency, and the regime
is blatantly using food as a political weapon against opposition supporters.
One ZANU-PF official is quoted in the report, saying "We would be better off
with only six million people, with our own people….We don’t want all these
extra people". Malnutrition rates are rising sharply and more than 6.7 million Zimbabweans
are expected to need food aid by the end of the year.
John Prendergast, Co-Director
of ICG’s Africa Program, said: "The policy
division between the West and Africa has emboldened the ruling party and undermined
the international response to the crisis in Zimbabwe. The skewed emphasis by much of
the international media on the plight of the white farmers has also given
Mugabe's revolutionary rhetoric greater resonance in many African quarters,
rather than putting a spotlight on the egregious human rights abuses, the
dismantling of democratic institutions, the use of food as a weapon, the
destruction of the rule of law and the lack of security for private
investment".
Among the measures
recommended by ICG are targeted sanctions that are better enforced and extended
beyond ZANU-PF’s leadership to include the regime’s commercial supporters and
bankers and family members, particularly those studying in the West.
The report also details a
much more nuanced two-track diplomatic strategy for the United States and the
European Union of strong and public actions to isolate the regime while quietly
engaging with and applying back-stage pressure on key African states and SADC
to encourage more resolute action.
MEDIA CONTACTS
Katy Cronin (London) +44.20.86.82.93.51 –
email: [email protected]
Ana Caprile (Brussels) +32-(0)2-536.00.70
Jennifer Leonard (Washington) +1-202-785 1601
This report and all ICG reports are available on our website
www.crisisweb.org
