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Group: Zimbabwe Govât Uses Food As Weapon
EFL Ap from NewsdayZimbabweâs government is using food as a weapon, denying it to political opponents as nearly half its people face starvation, Human Rights Watch said Thursday. HRW is criticizing a socialist regime run by a black dictator; most NGOâs donât do that. The group said the government and ruling party punish opponents by manipulating the supply and distribution of subsidized food, as well as the registration of people eligible for international relief. In a 51-page report, the New York-based group said corruption and profiteering are rampant at the governmentâs Grain Marketing Board, which oversees distribution of most staple food. It said officials divert large quantities of grain at tremendous profit to the black market and neighboring countries. "Select groups of people are being denied access to food," Peter Takirambudde, executive director of the groupâs African division said in a statement. "This is a human rights violation as serious as arbitrary imprisonment or torture."
Yes, its not to hard to figure out what you are busy at. The report also criticized international donors for preventing international food aid from going to black farmers who received land confiscated without compensation from white farmers under Zimbabweâs controversial land reform program. However, Richard Lee, regional spokesman for the U.N. World Food Program, said he was unaware of any such conditions imposed by donors. There was an article about a week ago about a South African minister being held hostage at a farm in Zimbabwe for taking unauthorized pictures. I have not seen any follow-up. I speculate that the pictures were of a farmer who didnât need any food aid due to actual crop life on his plantation. Human Rights Watch, aid workers and political analysts in Zimbabwe said people without ruling party membership cards are routinely denied access to government-subsidized food and often prevented from registering to receive international relief. "No party card, no food," said John Makumbe, a political analyst at the University of Zimbabwe. Thatâs not much of a barrier; any fifteen year old in the US can fake an ID card. The government and state-controlled press have reported 40 deaths from malnutrition in the second city, Bulawayo. No figures are available for the rest of the country. "We expect the situation is much worse in other areas, particularly in Matebeleland north and south," said Makumbe, who also advises the Famine Early Warning System monitoring food supplies in the region. Human Rights Watch said the government compounded food shortages and consolidated its control by preventing private merchants, the opposition party and all but a handful of aid groups from importing grain. More than 220,000 tons of grain imported by the government have simply vanished, according to diplomats in Zimbabwe. Maybe the truck drivers got hungry on the drive. In Martin Stantonâs book about the US military efforts assisting with humanitarian relief in Somalia, he said that the Somali food convoy drivers were notorious for feigning a breakdown so that they could sell their load to local thugs after the rest of the convoy moved on. Human Rights Watch said it appears grain bought by the government abroad was diverted to foreign markets and the local black market, where reports indicate ruling party politicians and favored businessmen can make a 220 percent profit. Thatâs a superior return on investment unless the payment is in Zimbabwe currancy. The group said the grain board is run by former police, military and intelligence officials who report directly to Mugabeâs Cabinet in what Makumbe and other analysts called the militarization of key government industries and ministries. The government blames food shortages on prolonged drought and donor withdrawal. However, Lee, the WFP spokesman, said drought has eased in the region, and donors have not withdrawn humanitarian aid. They might be hinting at the fact that Kadaffy stopped giving them free oil. This oil was probably retailed at an infinite mark-up percentage. Britain, Zimbabweâs former colonial ruler, committed a further $8.5 million Thursday to emergency food aid after receiving assurances that politics would not interfere with the handouts. In what form were those assurances? Human Rights Watch said the government often uses war veterans and ruling party militants, groups blamed for the widespread violence and intimidation, to distribute food. International relief organizations such as WFP have strongly resisted government attempts to take over food distribution, Human Rights Watch said. Relief groups have briefly suspended operations in some areas because of government interference and threatened to pull out entirely if the government persists in trying to politicize food aid. But I bet the government provided "assurances" that the interference would stop. However, the government still punishes opponents by manipulating the list of people eligible for international aid, said Human Rights Watch. Makumbe said party officials and traditional leaders are instructed to exclude opponents from the lists. Lee acknowledged there had been interference, some of it serious, but said the vast majority of incidents were minor. Charamba, Mugabeâs spokesman, called Human Rights Watch a tool of the British government and dismissed the report as an attempt to support the hardline anti-Mugabe position of Australia, Britain and Canada. "We donât even dignify it by denying it," he said. When a regime starts calling Canada hardline, you know that regime is very far from reality. Here are links to several other World Wire articles (various sources) of interest concerning Africa: A. Smugglers use tankers to steal Nigerian Oil. B. Boys Bond in West Africa Child Trade (includes more details about the children found performing hard labor in Nigerian rock quaries). C. Libyans Hope for New Start After Sanctions Lifted. D.Old Secrets Return to Haunt ANC. Posted by: Super Hose 2003-10-24 |
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