MEMORANDUM SUBMITTED BY THE FOREIGN AND
COMMONWEALTH OFFICE
GENERAL
1. The Government would wish to work with
the Zimbabwe Government on a wide range of issues including economic
development, land reform, human rights and the rule of law, regional
political stability and security.
2. General elections, already delayed from
April, must be held in Zimbabwe soon. Parliament was dissolved
on 11 April and the Constitution obliges President Mugabe to hold
elections within four months. Clearly it is important that they
should not be postponed and should be free and fair. We also want
to see the GoZ ask for international monitoring to ensure their
transparency; our EU partners have agreed to provide monitors,
and we are urging others to do so. Tension is rising as the elections
approach. An opposition march in Harare was attacked by Zanu/PF
party members on Saturday 1 April, leaving demonstrators injured.
We have condemned the attack. Farm invasions continue, some resulting
in violent demonstrations. We have urged the government to respect
the rule of law and the rights of all Zimbabweans. We regret that
the police have been unable to enforce the court order to end
the invasions.
3. The Zimbabwe economy suffers from high
inflation, depleted foreign exchange reserves, serious fuel shortages
and high unemployment, made more difficult by Zimbabwe's intervention
in the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
4. UK/Zimbabwe relations have deteriorated
as President Mugabe has increasingly used Britain as a scapegoat
for economic and political setbacks. The problem has been highlighted
by the farm invasions. We have made strenuous efforts to maintain
openings for constructive dialogue, most recently at the EU/Africa
Summit in Cairo on 3 to 4 April; and have invited President Mugabe
to send a delegation to London to discuss our concerns. He has
agreed and we are discussing dates with the Zimbabweans.
DETAIL
The Economy
5. Zimababwe has a well educated population
and is rich in natural resources. Yet the economy is close to
collapse. Essential reforms include effective budgetary discipline,
flotation of the Zimababwe dollar, the lifting of state subsidies
and wider privatisation. We regularly urge the GoZ to re-engage
in discussions with the IMF and other IFIs aimed at introducing
a programme of significant economic reform. We are concerned at
the impact that farm invasions may be having on investors' confidence
and economic prospects.
UK Development Assistance
6. The UK currently has an annual development
programme to Zimbabwe of £12 million. DFID's Country Strategy
Paper (CSP) outlined five areas of focus: the promotion of economic
growth to benefit the poor; good governance and support for human
rights; enhancing the ability of poor people to access land, resources
and markets; health and education; and the sustainable management
of physical and natural resources. The over-arching aim is to
benefit poor Zimbabweans. We have therefore made clear that we
would be willing to contribute to a substantially enhanced programme
of assistance if the GoZ introduced an economic reform programme.
7. Given the current Government's economic
record, we have increasingly focussed our assistance programme
on the work of NGOs. We have faced calls for a reduction or suspension
of the programme, but will resist actions that would hit the poorest
sectors of the Zimbabwean people, 70 per cent of whom live below
the poverty line. DFID will keep their support under close review.
Land
8. We believe Zimbabwe needs land reform.
We have consistently said we are ready to support a programme
which is transparent, fair and cost effective and which forms
part of a wider Zimbabwe Government programme of poverty reduction.
We have already contributed £44 million to land reform in
Zimbabwe. DFID are currently looking at a number of proposals
submitted by the private sector and NGOs. But we have considerable
reservations about progress on land reform to date. We are concerned
at reports that land that has been transferred has been acquired
by political allies of President Mugabe and may no longer be under
cultivation. We are particularly concerned at recent invasions
of land by "war veterans" which we believe have been
inspired by President Mugabe's Zanu/PF party as part of a programme
aimed at retaining power at the forthcoming general elections.
9. President Mugabe has tried to force the
issue by amending the Constitution to include a clause calling
for compulsory acquisition of land for re-settlement. This was
decisively rejected by the people at a referendum in February.
Mugabe then tried again. On 6 April, Parliament passed the measure,
containing the same wording, as an amendment to the current constitution.
We reject the notion that Zimbabwe's constitution can impose obligations
on the UK. This clearly goes against the principles agreed by
the international donors and the Zimbabwe Government at the Land
Conference held in Harare in September 1998.
The British Community in Zimbabwe
10. We have no precise figures for British
nationals in Zimbabwe. They are not obliged to register with the
High Commission. We believe there may be up to 20,000 UK nationals.
Dual nationality is not permitted under Zimbabwe law. There may
be others who opted for Zimbabwean citizenship at Independence
but who might, nevertheless, regard themselves as British if their
future was threatened by appropriation of their land or economic
hardship such as non-payment of their pensions. Any non-British
nationals who chose to come to the UK would be subject to immigration
rules. We have a Consular Contingency Plan, as we do for most
countries in the world, but have no plans to evacuate our nationals
at present.
Arms sales and Export Licensing Policy
11. The conflict in the DRC began on 2 August
1998. Zimbabwe's military intervention started on 10 August when
her forces intervened on President Kabila's side to prevent rebel
forces taking Kinshasa. Zimbabwe has since stepped up her military
deployment to some 15,000 troops.
12. We worled with our EU partners to produce
three Declarations on 11, 19 and 27 August calling for an end
to the fighting and talks between the parties to end the conflict.
The United Nations was also engaged, calling on 31 August for
an immediate cease-fire and the withdrawal of all foreign forces.
Although the situation stabilised, the fighting continued until,
on 18 January 1999, five countries including Zimbabwe agreed on
a cease-fire.
13. The EU issued a statement on 17 February
commending the OAU's and SADC's peace efforts led by President
Chiluba of Zambia. The rebels did not agree to stop fighting.
Subsequently, the United Nations adopted UNSCR 1234 on 9 April
1999 calling for an end to the fighting and the withdrawal of
foreign forces. President Chiluba and the Southern African Development
Community (SADC) spent several more months trying to broker an
agreement. This lead to the signing of the Lusaka Cease-fire Agreement
by all states parties on 10 July 1999 and by the rebel groups
in August 1999. The EU welcomed the cease-fire and called upon
the rebels to join its signatories. The Agreement covered the
establishment of a Joint Military Council (JMC) to implement the
cease-fire. UNSCR 1258 of 6 August welcomed the signing of the
cease-fire and authorised the deployment of 90 UN military personnel
to liaise with and assist the JMC and to inform the Secretary-General
of progress. The 90 strong UN MONUC mission started deploying
in September 1999 but progress towards establishing the JMC was
slow. Its first full meeting was eventually held on 11 October.
Further UNSCR's extended the mandate of MONUC until 31 August
2000 and its expansion to 5,537 military personnel to monitor
the implementation of the cease-fire.
14. We have considered all applications
to export defence equipment to Zimbabwe since her intervention
in the DRC against our national criteria and those in the EU Code
of Conduct, taking into account the risk that the equipment might
end up in the DRC. Where there was no clear risk that the equipment
might end up in the DRC. Where there was no clear risk that the
equipment would be deployed in the DRC and where the proposed
export did not contravene the criteria, we were prepared to grant
licences. We also instigated discussions with EU partners on a
coordinated approach to arms sales to the region. Following inter-Departmental
discussions, the terms of a tightened policy towards the export
of defence equipment to countries intervening in the DRC was announced
by the Prime Minister on 9 February.
Human Rights
15. Though the record is by no means as
serious as in many other African countries, there have been abuses
of human rights in Zimbabwe. The Army arrested and tortured two
journalists in February 1999. Torture, mainly beatings, is used
by an understaffed and untrained police force to extract confessions
of criminal guilt. Reports of official investigations into the
activities of the Fifth Brigade in Matabeleland in the 1980s have
not been published. Both are the subject of the court proceedings
in Zimbabwe to try to force the Government to publish them. We
raise our concerns at any abuses which come to our notice with
the Zimbabwe authorities. The Foreign Secretary has discussed
with the Commonwealth Secretary-General other ways in which the
Commonwealth and its members might become constructively engaged.
He will raise this matter at the Commonwealth Ministerial Action
Group (CMAG) when it meets in early May.
16. We are actively involved in supporting
human rights and good governance projects, for example, promoting
freedom of expression and the free media. We provide equipment
and research material to NGOs, working to improve access to the
law.
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