Another piece from the Guardian on the Zimbabwean imbroglio. I hope someone
finds it useful.
Hamjatta
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Relations with Zimbabwe
Relations between Britain and Zimbabwe have reached a new low after the
foreign office recalled its high commissioner in Harare. The Guardian's
foreign editor, Edward Pilkington, traces the causes of the row
Friday March 10, 2000
Why was the high commissioner recalled?
The British government took the move in protest at the impounding of a
diplomatic bag at gunpoint by the Zimbabwean authorities. Under diplomatic
protocol, that's considered a breach of British sovereignty. Peter Hain, a
minister in the foreign office with responsibilities for Africa, said: "This
is not the act of a civilised country." He also accused Zimbabwe of being
"paranoid" about the outside world.
Have the British and Zimbabwean governments always been at loggerheads?
Far from it. The British government was recently widely criticised for its
decision to reopen sales of arms parts to Harare, which had been unofficially
banned in Britain following Zimbabwe's involvement in the Congo war that has
engulfed central Africa at the cost of tens of thousands of lives. Despite
fierce internal opposition within the British government, Downing Street
agreed to allow the resumption of sales of parts for the Hawk MK60 and 60a
fighter jets, which can carry bombs, rockets and cannon and are being used in
the Congo. Critics of the arms sales claimed that it made a mockery of New
Labour's claim to have an "ethical foreign policy".
So why have the two governments moved from enjoying apparently friendly
relations to open hostility?
Underlying tensions could be seen before the resumption of arms sales was
announced. Last October, when the president of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, was
on an official visit to Britain, he was greeted by a demonstration of gay
activists complaining about his government's discrimination of homosexuals.
After the protest, Mr Mugabe reportedly accused the British cabinet of being
run by gays. This week's spat over the opening of a diplomatic bag is likely
to create a longer-standing rift between the two governments, resulting from
a clear breach of international protocol as laid out in the Vienna Convention.
Why did Zimbabwe open the bag, knowing it would cause such trouble?
They said they suspected the cargo contained campaign material for parties
opposing Mr Mugabe and for Zimbabwe's white farmers. This goes to the heart
of two of Mr Mugabe's most urgent concerns, some would say obsessions. In
recent months, the president has organised a clampdown on opposition groups,
most notably the independent press. Several newspaper editors have been
arrested and imprisoned. He has also been waging a campaign against the
country's white farmers.
What is the white farmer issue all about?
In the past two weeks, hundreds of white-owned farms have been occupied by
black squatters claiming the land as their own. It is widely believed that
the squatter campaign is orchestrated by the government through the Central
Intelligence Organisation, its secret service. Since Mr Mugabe came to power
in 1980, he has made clear his intention to expropriate the white farms. He
says this is a matter of justice, because many of the farms were themselves
snatched from black people during British colonial rule, when the country was
called Rhodesia. He refuses to grant any compensation to the white farmers,
and says if there is to be any payment, it should come from Britain
Do most Zimbabweans approve of Mr Mugabe's policy on white farms?
Last month, Mr Mugabe put the issue of redistributing white-owned land to a
referendum. Zimbabweans voted against the proposal. Now he says he will
ignore the referendum result, and go ahead with the expropriations anyway.
There are fears that this could have a disastrous impact on the country's
already fragile economy. Inflation is running at 60%, unemployment at 50% and
there are severe shortages of fuel. As many of the white farms are in the
tobacco-growing region of Zimbabwe - an important earner of foreign currency
- that could make matters much worse. That, and the on-going Congo war which
is bleeding the country dry.
What is the cause of the Congo war?
Put most simply, Mr Mugabe has come to the rescue of his fellow president,
the leader of the Congo, Laurent Kabila. With them stands Angola. But against
them are lined up thousands of well-armed rebels attempting to overthrow Mr
Kabila, backed by the governments of Rwanda and Uganda.
How much is this civil war costing Zimbabwe?
Harare has devoted by far the greatest number of troops to defend Mr Kabila -
11,000, at a cost of about £1m a day. The drain on Zimbabwe's resources is
rapidly turning it from being the "hope of Africa" into a country sinking
into poverty.
Useful links
Labour's ethical foreign policy: special report
Zimbabwe: special report
hkanteh
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