Movement for Democratic Change

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Archbishop Desmond Tutu ashamed of South Africa's failure to tackle Mugabe

Archbishop Desmond Tutu said today he was ashamed of South Africa for failing to stand up to Zimbabwe's president, Robert Mugabe.The Nobel peace prize winner said he was "deeply disappointed" that his own country had betrayed its legacy by blocking firmer action against Mugabe from the United Nations.Archbishop Tutu told the BBC that using force should be an option to get rid of Mugabe.He said he was saddened that his own country had lost the moral high ground and that it appeared not to be on the side of Zimbabweans."I want to say first of all that I have been very deeply disappointed, saddened by the position that South Africa has taken at the United Nations security council in being an obstacle to the security council dealing with that matter," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme."And I have to say that I am deeply, deeply distressed that we should be found not on the side of the ones who are suffering."I certainly am ashamed of what they've done in the United Nations. For the world to say no, we are waiting for South Africa's membership of the security council to lapse and then we can take action."The archbishop said that was an "awful indictment" to a country that had a "proud record of a struggle against a vicious system".He said: "We should have been the ones who for a very long time occupied the moral high ground. I'm afraid we have betrayed our legacy."The veteran human rights campaigner said South Africa had a leadership role as its president chairs the Southern African Development Community.Archbishop Tutu's comments came as the Times published a letter from the foreign secretary, David Miliband, in which he branded Mugabe a "stain" on Zimbabwe and said he "has to go".In the letter, Miliband said: "Any sane person realises that Mugabe's misrule is only spurring Zimbabwe's descent into chaos."If Zimbabwe is to haul itself - with the help it needs and deserves - out of its current meltdown, Mugabe has to go."As long as Mugabe rules Zimbabwe he remains a stain on that country. I acknowledge he is also a stain on the international community, which has not been able to deliver the will of the Zimbabwean people."Zimbabwe is currently suffering from a cholera epidemic which has infected more than 18,000 people. Power-sharing negotiations with the main opposition party the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) - widely thought to have won elections earlier this year - have ground to a halt.The UK government recently joined the US in describing Mugabe as incapable of taking part in the power-sharing deal with the MDC.Mugabe has rejected calls from the US and UK for him to stand down, accusing the two countries' governments of being "stupid and foolish".Miliband said he advocated a sanctions resolution from the UN, blocked last July by Russia and China. He also urged South Africa to do more."It is our strong view that this international crisis requires international attention," he said. "It is obvious to everyone that neighbouring states, especially South Africa, have most to lose from instability in Zimbabwe and most to gain from change. That is why we continue to emphasise their role and responsibilities and to urge them to take action."ZimbabweSouth Africaguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Mugabe defiant as Brown steps up pressure on African leaders to move against him

Robert Mugabe told his ruling Zanu-PF party yesterday that his country was facing a war with Britain but he would never surrender, and "Zimbabwe is mine".The Zimbabwe president's defiant comments came amid escalating pressure from London on Zimbabwe's neighbours to press Mugabe from office. Gordon Brown urged southern African leaders yesterday to distance themselves from Mugabe and described the situation in Zimbabwe as a tragedy."I will never, never, never, never surrender. Zimbabwe is mine," Mugabe told the party's annual conference. "I won't be intimidated. Even if I am threatened with beheading, I believe this and nothing will ever move me from it: Zimbabwe belongs to us, not the British." Brown called on African leaders to "make sure that it is absolutely clear to the people of Zimbabwe that we support those who are the democratically elected politicians".Hours earlier the state-run Herald newspaper reported Mugabe taunting other African leaders, saying they were under American pressure to force him from power but they lacked the courage to do it. "How could African leaders ever topple Robert Mugabe, organise an army to come? It is not easy," he told Zanu-PF's central committee. "I do not know of any African country that is brave enough to do that." Mugabe also sought to portray himself as seeking a political settlement, saying he had written to the leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), Morgan Tsvangirai, inviting him to become prime minister in a power-sharing government. But Tsvangirai threatened to quit power-sharing negotiations yesterday unless the authorities produce dozens of opposition activists who have been abducted and disappeared in recent weeks in what appears to be a renewed campaign of intimidation by Mugabe. Tsvangirai also called for fresh elections if a coalition government was not put in place soon. The missing include Jestina Mukoko, one of Zimbabwe's most prominent human rights activists, who was snatched from her home at night two weeks ago, as well as officials and activists from MDC. Tsvangirai accuses Zanu-PF and the security forces of illegal abductions."In the past two months more than 42 members of the MDC and civil society have been abducted and their whereabouts are still unknown," said Tsvangirai. "The regime is conducting a ... targeted national terror campaign to undermine the MDC's support within Zimbabwe and the work of pro-democracy and human rights organisations. He said that the situation could no longer continue. "The MDC can no longer sit at the same negotiating table with a party that is abducting our members, and other innocent civilians, and refusing to produce any of them before a court of law. Therefore, if these abductions do not cease immediately, and if all the abductees are not released or charged in a court of law by 1 January 2009, I will be asking the MDC's national council to pass a resolution to suspend all negotiations and contact with Zanu-PF."Mukoko's disappearance has caused particular disquiet in Zimbabwe. The 51-year-old head of the Zimbabwe Peace Project was taken at 5am by men in plainclothes who would not give her time to dress. Two children were left in the house. Mukoko built a reputation for being thorough in her reports detailing the actions and impact of Mugabe's regime, from its use of violence to terrorise voters to the impact of spreading starvation. The high court has ordered the police to find Mukoko but no action has been taken. Tsvangirai, who is in semi-exile in Botswana after the Zimbabwean government refused him a travel document, remains gloomy about the prospects of implementing a power-sharing agreement with Mugabe agreed three months ago. It stalled after the president insisted that Zanu-PF control all the most important cabinet posts, including security and finance. "We are saddened by the fact that he is still trying to stay in power at all costs and reduce MDC to a junior partner in the new government ... the Mugabe regime has wilfully and repeatedly broken the letter and the spirit of this agreement," said Tsvangirai."The people of Zimbabwe cannot be expected to continue living under such appalling conditions indefinitely. Therefore, this negotiation process must now be confined to a specific timeframe in which all the outstanding issues are addressed ... if this cannot be achieved then an internationally supervised presidential election must be conducted in an environment that is conducive to a free and fair poll."Tsvangirai accused Mugabe of killing Zimbabweans through neglect and incompetence in order to hang on to power. "The situation in Zimbabwe, particularly from the humanitarian perspective, is now worse than at any time in our country's history," he said. "Cholera is now rife throughout the country, starvation stalks almost every Zimbabwean family and education and healthcare now exist only for the elite."The UN said yesterday that the death toll from the cholera outbreak had risen to 1,123 out of nearly 21,000 reported cases. Some doctors say the real toll is probably much higher. The UN says it expects to have to feed about 5 million people, nearly half the population, because of the collapse of agriculture in Zimbabwe.The economic implosion continued as the central bank issued a 10bn Zimbabwe dollar note today worth about £13. Its value is likely to be wiped out within days. Two weeks ago the bank released a Z$100m note that was worth about £33 the night before it hit the streets but £5 a day later.The government has not released inflation figures since July when it was officially put at 231m%. Economists say inflation at the end of last month was running at about 40 sextillion%.ZimbabweHuman rightsForeign policyguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Bodies pile up as Mugabe wages war on diamond miners

The young miner already recognised the sound of dogs as a terrifying harbinger of death but the dull thud of the helicopter blades was something new. Minutes later a Zimbabwean air force helicopter swept over the hundreds of fleeing illegal diamond miners and mowed down dozens with machine-gun fire. After that the police arrived and unleashed the dogs that tore into the diggers, killing some and mutilating others. The police fired teargas to drive the miners out of their shallow tunnels and shot them down as they emerged. How many died in the assault two weeks ago is not clear but the miners say it was at least scores. Some bodies remain unclaimed and unidentified in Mutare hospital mortuary."First we heard the helicopter and we knew it wouldn't be good but I thought it would just deliver soldiers," said the young miner, a former student who gave his name only as Hopewell. "Then it came over us and started shooting. There was a man next to me, he had been digging near me, and the bullet went right through his head. Everyone was in panic. People ran but they didn't want to leave their finds behind so they were stopping to grab them and getting shot ... The police were waiting for us with the dogs. I was lucky. A dog ran for me but there was this woman, she was slower than me and it attacked her. I don't know what happened to her. I went back to my diggings a few days later but she hasn't come back."The police and military have for weeks been conducting a bloody campaign, which Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights has described as "resembling a war", to drive thousands of illegal miners out of a recently discovered diamond field that some in the industry believe might be the richest in years. The miners say hundreds have died. The opposition Movement for Democratic Change says it has the names of 140 people killed although there is common agreement that many have been buried without a word. The diamond fields around Chiadzwa, about 20 miles north-west of the town of Mutare in Zimbabwe's eastern Manicaland province, are a collection of shallow tunnels and open gullies dug out after the discovery of gems close to the surface two years ago set off the rush. Thousands of illegal diggers moved in - estimates run between 10,000 and 30,000 including foreigners from across southern Africa - spending days or even weeks to discover only tiny diamonds worth no more than a couple of hundred US dollars. But that is several months' pay for many Zimbabweans as their country collapses under the weight of hyperinflation. Many of the miners are professionals, such as teachers and civil servants, who have abandoned jobs that do not pay enough to feed their families. Others are students who have dropped out of university in the hope of making a quick fortune and subsistence farmers whose land has not produced a crop in years. And some have got very rich. Mutare, on the border with Mozambique, has taken on the air of a frontier town filled with brash young men touting US dollars and an air of menace. The hotels are filled with miners and dealers. Luxury cars prowl the streets. Shops have filled with imported goods sold for American dollars and South African rand. Spend any amount of time in a hotel bar and periodically someone will approach with diamonds for sale. The governor of Zimbabwe's central bank, Gideon Gono, has estimated there are more than 500 syndicates handling more than $1bn a month in illegally dug diamonds that are swiftly smuggled out of the country.Now Zimbabwe's government, or at least members of its discredited ruling elite, are apparently trying to take control. The military and police have moved in to try to drive the illegal diggers out of plots the miners say are claimed by Grace Mugabe, the president's wife, and Joice Mujuru, the vice-president. Both areas are now known by the women's names. Legal and opposition political sources in Mutare say the prime mover behind the military assault is the Zimbabwean air force chief, Perence Shiri, the former commander of the notorious Fifth Brigade which massacred about 20,000 people in Matabeleland in the mid-80s. Shiri oversaw the bloody military campaign of beatings and killings in Manicaland earlier this year that terrorised voters into supporting Robert Mugabe in June's presidential election. He sent the helicopter gunships into the diamond fields three weeks ago. The police were already letting loose ferocious dogs, killing some miners and maiming others. One police tactic is to use teargas to drive them out of the tunnels, causing stampedes in which some have been crushed. The miners say that in some cases the police shoot down the men, blinded by teargas, as they flee. One described how there is shooting nearly every day and particularly at night. "There were three of us mining together. In the night a policeman came and shot my friend, twice in the chest. We ran away but came back. He was still alive. We carried him to a hospital but he died," he said. A policewoman working in Chiadzwa said she saw a pile of 50 bodies after one helicopter attack. "There were a lot of bodies. They were piled up. I don't know what happened to them. Some of the dead are just buried secretly," she said. "Miners are killed every day. The orders to the police are to shoot them if they find them digging but many of the police do not want to carry out those orders. These are ordinary people like us."The situation has got so bad that some miners are now arming themselves and fighting back. The state-run press has reported that several police officers have been killed in shoot-outs.But none of that deters the men who continue to work the diamond fields. "The risks are worth it," said Hopewell. "Some miners have run away but most of us don't leave for long. We hear stories of giant diamonds. I've already sold enough to make more money than I have made in five years. I have bought food for my mother and father. I have bought a television and a DVD from South Africa. Next I will buy a car. If they don't kill me," he says, and laughs. A De Beers subsidiary held the exploitation rights to the fields but let them expire in 2006 because, according to industry sources, it believed the diamonds to be of poor quality. A British firm, African Consolidated Resources, bought the rights but it was ousted by the government when large quantities of high quality diamonds were discovered a short dig under the surface. Theoretically the diamond fields were then taken over by the state-owned Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation but the illegal diggers moved in so fast it was unable to assert control. Some economists speculate that Zimbabwe's rulers look on the diamond fields as a new source of US dollars now that the country's foreign reserves have largely been spent and the collapse of agriculture, industry and tourism means there is little new money coming in. But given the bitter experience of recent years Zimbabweans have little reason to believe that if the ruling elite gets control of the diamond fields, the revenues will be used to rescue the country.ZimbabweHuman rightsguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Zimbabwe on brink of collapse as outbreak of cholera spreads

The situation in Zimbabwe may soon "implode" as a cholera outbreak spreads and basic services collapse, South African leaders and a group of international statesmen warned yesterday.On the eve of talks in South Africa between Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party and opposition rivals, South African leaders sharply upgraded their crisis assessment and warned of Zimbabwe's imminent collapse if urgent action was not taken.About 6,000 people have contracted cholera in recent weeks, according to the UN, and almost 300 have died. A chronic shortage of medicine has sent hundreds of people south to seek treatment in South Africa. "Unless this root cause of the political absence of a legitimate government is solved, the situation will get worse and may implode and collapse ... It is now an urgent matter, because people are dying," said South Africa's caretaker president, Kgalema Motlanthe.Three eminent statesmen representing a group called the Elders, which was established last year to tackle international issues, said Zimbabwe was in a far worse position than previously thought.The team - the former UN secretary general Kofi Annan, former US president Jimmy Carter and Graça Machel, the rights activist and wife of Nelson Mandela - had planned to visit Zimbabwe last weekend to assess the humanitarian situation but were refused visas by the government. Instead they remained in South Africa talking to aid groups, refugees and civil society leaders.Carter told reporters yesterday: "The entire basic structure ... is broken down. These are all indications that the crisis in Zimbabwe is much greater, much worse than we ever could have imagined."The country has been locked in political stalemate since presidential elections in March when Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change, defeated Mugabe in the first round of voting. Tsvangirai pulled out of the June run-off however due to violence and intimidation of his supporters, allowing Mugabe to claim victory. Attempts to agree a power sharing arrangement have foundered as Mugabe insisted on keeping most of the ministries for his Zanu-PF party. In the meantime, the economy has disintegrated and the health system is close to breakdown. Four big hospitals, including two in Harare, have effectively closed their doors to new patients owing to a shortage of basic supplies and running water, the Elders said. Even women needing caesarean sections are being turned away.Machel said it was clear that the state could no longer offer basic services and was failing its people. "We have a sense that either the leadership doesn't have a clear picture of how deep the suffering is of their own people, or they don't care," she said.The African National Congress leader, Jacob Zuma, who is likely to become South Africa's president next year, expressed concern about the cholera outbreak and said the ANC would send a delegation to Zimbabwe to assess the situation. "We are dealing with a situation that is affecting the lives of people," he said.South Africa has already threatened to withhold £18m in food aid to Zimbabwe unless a political solution is found. Zuma and Motlanthe tried to increase the pressure on Mugabe and Tsvangirai to implement a power-sharing agreement and address the growing humanitarian crisis. But unless Mugabe makes concessions, Tsvangirai will be left in a difficult position, forced to choose between accepting a weak position in government and holding out, leaving the country's dire socioeconomic situation to worsen. Annan said that leaders of the Southern African Development Community had not yet put enough pressure on Zimbabwe to find a political solution. "I think it is clear that SADC should have done more," he said after meeting Zuma and Motlanthe yesterday.The Elders said they were shocked by the stories they had heard coming out of Zimbabwe. "It is not just the extent of Zimbabwe's humanitarian crisis, but the speed of deterioration in the past few weeks that is most worrying," said Annan. "The scale, depth and urgency of the situation are under-reported."The cholera epidemic has been caused by the collapse in the water and sanitation infrastructure. Cases have been reported in nine of the country's 10 provinces. Fatality rates are well above the international emergency rate of 1% due to a lack of drugs and medical assistance.Zimbabweguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds