Mugabe ICC referral never considered: France

There have been calls for Mugabe to be hauled before the ICC to answer to charges of committing crimes against humanity, overseeing the massacre of innocent civilians and doing nothing to avert a humanitarian crisis that saw more than 4 000 people die of cholera in 2008. Several human rights groups have argued that organised violence including murder, torture and rape and other forms of persecution such as the denial of access to food that Mugabes previous government launched against supporters of the political opposition had become widespread or systematic enough to meet the definition of crimes against humanity laid down in the Rome Statute that established the ICC.

But Kouchner said the question of the International Criminal Court referral has never arisen in the case of Zimbabwe. No State party to the Rome Statute and no judicial State party have intended to describe the crime as genocide, crime against humanity or a war crime, Kouchner said in a statement to the French Senate last week.

200 murdered

More than 200 Zimbabweans mostly supporters of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirais MDC-T party were killed in the violence that accompanied the disputed June 2008 presidential election run-off controversially won by Mugabe after the premier pulled out in protest. The West, led by former colonial master Britain and the United States, responded by sponsoring a draft United Nations Security Council resolution calling for sanctions against Zimbabwe but the move was vetoed by China and Russia. While the Council issued its first statement on Zimbabwe, condemning election violence on 23 June, it failed to adopt the draft resolution the next month that would have called for an arms embargo and financial and travel restrictions against Mugabe and thirteen senior officials.

France also added its voice last week to the list of countries calling for a speedy resolution of the power-sharing dispute between Zimbabwes political parties, with Kouchner urging regional mediators to emphatically ensure an end to the long-running conflict in Harare. Kouchner said the international community was particularly vigilant with regard to the situation in Zimbabwe where bickering by Mugabes Zanu (PF) and the MDC-T is threatening a fragile coalition government they formed last year. He urged South African President Jacob Zuma, who is mediating in the dispute between Mugabe and Tsvangirai on behalf of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), to take decisive action to resolve the dispute.

Rule of law

France and all Western countries therefore emphatically urge Zimbabwean parties as well as the facilitator South Africa acting on behalf of the SADC to ensure the implementation of the global political agreement (GPA) of September 15, 2008 which includes the restoration of the rule of law, Kouchner said. Mugabe, Tsvangirai and Deputy Premier Arthur Mutambara signed the GPA in September 2008 leading to the formation of the government of national unity in February last year. The administration has done well to halt rampant inflation and set the economy on the recovery path but its efforts continue to be hampered by unending squabbles over full implementation of the GPA and failure

to attract direct foreign investment.

Zumas mediation effort has failed to unlock the political logjam in Harare, with the two main parties agreeing to disagree on the contentious issues of appointments of provincial governors, the Attorney General and central bank governor. Mugabe has also refused to swear in Tsvangirai ally Roy Bennett as deputy agriculture minister while the PMs MDC-T party is also unhappy by what it says is selective application of the law to target its activists and officials.

On the other hand, Zanu (PF), which insists that it has met all its obligations under the GPA, accuses Tsvangirai of not keeping a promise to lead a campaign for lifting of Western visa and financial sanctions against the partys top leaders.