"Around the world people are watching with horror the worsening
situation in Zimbabwe. World leaders are debating what can be done to
alleviate suffering in the face of a Government seemingly so determined
to bring misery on its own people. Monday’s meeting of EU Foreign
Ministers will decide whether to extend targeted measures against key
figures in the Zimbabwean regime.
"The deteriorating situation in Zimbabwe is a further illustration of
the mis-rule of Zimbabwe’s rogue government. The economy is in
free-fall.
Education and health systems have failed. Public infrastructure is in
terminal decline and the government is unwilling and unable to look
after its own people. Five million people – two-thirds of the
population – will require food aid by the end of this month. And now
the country has been hit by a cholera epidemic that has so far affected
around 13,000, killed over 500 and has crossed the border into South
Africa. The true picture is more than likely to be worse. This is a
direct result of the abuse, neglect and corruption of a Mugabe regime
which long ago lost respect and in March’s elections lost its
legitimacy.
"The urgent imperative is to alleviate the immediate suffering of the
Zimbabwean people. Britain is providing humanitarian aid, including the
£10 million we announced last week. But the humanitarian response does
not provide a sustainable solution to Zimbabwe’s problems. The
Zimbabwean people deserve a government truly capable of instituting
reform. The agreement of
15 Sept provided a glimmer of optimism, but the refusal of the regime to honour its content has dashed hopes for change.
"We are working with our international partners including members of
the UN Security Council to address the situation. There is now domestic
and international clamour for change. Only yesterday, Kenyan Prime
Minister Odinga expressed his clear view that Mugabe’s time was up. And
today, Archbishop Desmond Tutu reinforced that view and spoke of the
‘gross violations’ committed by Mugabe. Zimbabwe’s neighbours, regional
powers, African leaders and the parties in Zimbabwe should know that
there is massive international support for any collective effort to
bring a real change to Zimbabwe: change that gives the people of
Zimbabwe the government they need, deserve and voted for. The people of
Zimbabwe have suffered too long. The Government and people of Britain
stand ready not just to provide humanitarian aid to them but to be
their partners in restoring a semblance of decency to a country that
has gone from relative prosperity to unmatched decline."