Sharpen position towards Zimbabwe

Mellemfolkeligt Samvirke asks the Danish government to Sharpen position towards Zimbabwe.

The crisis in Zimbabwe is sharpening day by day, and it is increasingly clear that president Mugabe and his government carries the major responsibility for the strategy leading to this tragic development. It started with government supported occupations of white farms, following the defeat of the government’s proposal for a new constitution in February. It has developed into a finely tuned campaign of violence, intended to scare voters from supporting anybody but the ruling party.

President Mugabe is trying to tell Zimbabweans as well as the international community that this is first and last an issue of land. Noone will deny that the issue of land is of primary importance. The fact that around 4.000 white farmeres control almost 50% of all agricultural land is certainly a problem, not least when 700.000 small farmers have to share an area the same size. This land is furthermore of lesser quality. The struggle for land was an important force in the liberation struggle, and a reform is a necessity in the struggle against poverty and inequality.

But this must take place in adherence to the law and with full transparency. The government has had legal possibilities of taking over land since 1980, and the laws were improved further in 1985 and 1992. It is true that white farmers have tried to obstruct the process, but it is no less true that the government has chosen not to use the possibilities optimally. Expropriated land has too often been used as a reward to members of government and friends of the ruling party.

Zimbabweans know very well that the reality of Zimbabwe is different from what the president would like to communicate to the world. They experience that the economic crisis is the biggest problem, for themselves and for the country:

• debt has grown to 70% af GNP;  
• inflation is around 50-60% and making life for the poor impossible;  
• unemployment is permanently around 50%;  
• the government is pursuing a costly war with 10.000 soldiers in the Congo;  
• corruption in state owned companies amounts to 15% of the state budget.

Zimbabweans know very well that this cannot be explained with reference to the ’whites’ being the cause. They know that the president and the government must be held responsible. They understand that it is the fear of letting the electorate judge in an honest, free and fair election which makes the government resort to violence and threats in an attempt to maintain power at any cost.

How should Denmark react to the crises? There is no simple answer. Public reports about the president labelling political opponents as enemies of the people and the state and therefore must risk death is evidence of the present political climate. Any critical position taken by the international community towards the Mugabe government will be interpreted as interference in the internal matters, and consequently seen as a conscious effort to undermine the present government.

It is the understanding of MS that democratic forces in Zimbabwe would like to see a continued Danish presence in the country. This is useful in order to make an open and critical dialogue with the government possible, and to support those groups in society calling for change. But it should be clear that the government of Zimbabwe will have to deliver on the following issues:

1. Illegal occupations of farms have to be stopped immediately.
2. A final and realistic date has to be set for parliamentary elections.
3. All parties must be able to campaign without risking violence and intimidation.
4. The opposition must be given free and equal access to the media.
5. The government must accept that the electoral campaign is being monitored and the election itself overlooked by national as well as international observers.
6. The government must accept the active involvement of civil society in the implementation of a land reform, when this has been negotiated.

Minister for Development, Mr. Jan Trøjborg, has reacted by stopping new contracts being signed or being forwarded to the Financial Committee of Parliament. The revision of the Danida strategy has been frozen. MS supports these measures, but we also believe it is necessary to sharpen the position of Denmark. We therefore ask the Danish government to do the following:

• To start an investigation of all sector programmes to clarify which parts could be frozen or stopped without hurting the poor – or to clarify how they could be continued in ways that limit government control.  
• To participate actively in discussions of the possibility of targeting the private fortunes in foreign accounts of the president and members of government.  
• To contribute actively to the implementation of a democratic land reform as soon as the political situation allows.  
• To increase support for representative groups in civil society to provide them with the possibility of monitoring the entire electoral process. 
  Sincerely yours,

Christian Friis Bach
Formand
Bjørn Førde
Generalsekretær