David Miliband

Foreign Secretary

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Friday 19 December, 2008

Zimbabwe: Rhetoric and Reality

The UN Security Council re-started its engagement with Zimbabwe on Monday - not a moment too soon.  The cholera (and now anthrax) that threatens neighbouring countries is proof if any were needed after 4 million refugees that the Zimbabwe crisis is a crisis for the whole of southern Africa. The Security Council is not yet close to taking action - divisions are still too deep.  But the rhetoric of Mugabe that cholera is 'over' is gut-wrenching when you read the reports of what is actually happening in the country.  For a flavour of reality see the two FCO bloggers , Grace Mutandwa and Philip Barclay

Posted at 16:18 19 December 2008 by David Miliband  |  Comments[10]

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mugabe is a evil man who needs to be stopped from killing zimbabwean people but the whole world is watching not doing any thing about it. all i want to know when is us or britain stop him like saddam. zimbabwean people here in the uk are destitute. they do not know the future. no one in the world wants to help. PLEASE HELP ESPECIALLY THE CHILDREN FROM THIS EVIL MAN.

Posted by sithandazile nkomo on December 19, 2008 at 06:41 PM GMT #

The plain fact of the matter is the international community has failed to take any meaningful action to make Mugabe accountable for the suffering he has brought the Zimbabwean people. While there is broad agreement within the EU of the severity of the situation, European leaders have failed to bring the regional leaders on side, and SADC and the SA president are clearly happy to take a laissez faire approach and let the situation fester, a shocking indictment on their commitment to democractic principles. The same, is, broadly speaking, true of Burma, where China and India are far too passive. I feel that in such cases multilateralism is frankly useless, where one country's efforts to do good is blocked by others, with the result that nothing ever happens.

Posted by Andy Herring on December 20, 2008 at 12:39 AM GMT #

Britain blindly followed America into Iraq to rid the world of Saddam. Saddam was terrorising his people, and killing thousands. Robert Mugabe is now doing exactly the same thing in Zimbabwe. Why not send troopes into that country and rid the world of another monster leader. It is clear that he is not going to leave in any other way. Clerly sanctions do not work. Diplomatic moves are not going to work. Get rid of him by force. Even Archbishop Tutu makes the same suggestion.

Posted by John Holt on December 20, 2008 at 11:11 AM GMT #

I have been looking for an official response to the accusations that the cholera epidemic is a result of an imperialist plot to change the regime via germ warfare- I cannot believe that the information minister of Zimbabwe has been able to level such an absurd accusation in the 'international court' of the media without the most severe backlash from open democracies. We all know that Mugabe has to go, but every day passes and he still seems to be there, causing fresh outrages. Indeed I think his own policy is to scorch his own country to a wasteland before he has to leave it and so the very time we think is usefully spent in diplomacy is actually of more use to Mugabe. I wonder how many innocent lives 'quiet diplomacy' is actually worth, especially when we seem to have failed to use it elsewhere.

Posted by Dave Warren on December 20, 2008 at 07:47 PM GMT #

Pity they had no Oil America and the UK would have moved in by now.

Posted by treborc on December 21, 2008 at 10:01 AM GMT #

Mr Holt, I would suggest that in many ways the premiership of Mr Mugabe in Zimbabwe has in most ways been far -worse- than that of Mr Hussein in Iraq.

Posted by Francis J.L. Osborn on December 23, 2008 at 05:12 PM GMT #

The fact of the ongoing epidemic of cholera is appalling. The death toll is rising, accounting for more than thousand victims, and the majority of them are children. And what's more, the number of virus infected population doubles every two weeks. As it was justly mentioned by the Foreign Secretary the epidemic is extending throughout the southern parts of the continent, and might spread itself even further. What strikes me most is Zimbabwean government's negligence, the way they exercise this passive genocide, doing nothing, just watching their people suffering every single day of their life, dying from the epidemic, the epidemic that could be easily ceased if common efforts are summoned.....

Posted by Louisa on December 26, 2008 at 04:37 PM GMT #

Unlike others I wouldn't take Mugabe's words into consideration. I don't know how it happened so that he became president, one thing is absolutely clear-he's sick, and sick people should be sent to hospital. In any case, he must be accountable for his cruel actions; to bring him to the international court in Hague will be the best option for all. The another astonishing thing is that the UN wastes too much precious time on undue discussions, although I always vote for debates, but in this case not just time, but many people's lives are running out. Wish authorities were aware of it......

Posted by Louisa on December 26, 2008 at 04:57 PM GMT #

What is it going to take for the International community to remove this man from power? It is now clear, as if proof were needed, that he doesn't care in the slightest for the welfare of his people. Sanctions and other measures are not working. Send in the troops as this is the only way. What is actually stopping the EU and the US from doing so?

Posted by Philip Brett on January 01, 2009 at 12:52 PM GMT #

Mr. Miliband: Zimbabwe problems, have to be solved regarding the rhetoric and other problems are getting over with.

Posted by DENNIS JUNIOR on January 22, 2009 at 07:31 AM GMT #

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