In a joint article with the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, in The
Times today, Dr Williams says that by destroying a country once held up
as a beacon of hope, Mr Mugabe has destroyed the hopes of people
throughout Africa. The continent can’t afford more failed states, mass
hunger, contempt for the rule of law. And how much more painful it is
when a country has been held up as a sign of promise, he says.
Half of Zimbabwe’s population is now in danger of starvation, cases of
cholera have risen to 75,000, killing one in 20, and Aids remains a
mass killer. Schools are closed and thousands of health workers are
fleeing the country.
Announcing a joint appeal for aid to the starving, cholera-stricken
people of Zimbabwe, he and Dr Sentamu say that the humanitarian tragedy
could not be worse.
They write: We know that there is no quick solution to this; and we
know that there will be no serious solution as long as Robert Mugabe
remains in power and refuses to accept the verdict of his people in
last year’s election. Lives can still be saved; and more importantly
hope can be sustained if we continue to support the Church in Zimbabwe
as a vehicle of promise and a guarantor of the human dignity so
fearfully insulted by the current regime.
The Times
Post published in: News