2008 Press Releases
Food Aid Suspension Could Hurt 4 Million Zimbabweans
U.S. ambassador urges high voter turnout, vigilance by election observers
By Stephen Kaufman, Staff Writer
Washington -- Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) whose aid activities in Zimbabwe were banned by President Robert Mugabe’s government have estimated that up to 4 million people will be hurt by the suspension of food assistance.
In addition, the Mugabe government’s campaign of violence and intimidation against the opposition “has made a travesty” of the upcoming June 27 presidential runoff election, according to the U.S. ambassador to Zimbabwe.
Speaking to reporters on a conference call from Harare June 13, Ambassador James McGee said that with the June 6 suspension of food aid, “people are going to be hungry in a very, very short period of time.” The ban, which many observers see as a tactic to pressure Zimbabweans to support Mugabe at the ballot box, comes on top of a weak harvest in a country that has been heavily reliant on food assistance.
“Typically, we don’t see food insecurity kicking in until August. We’re expecting to see it as early as late this month or early July,” McGee said.
He added that without the assistance, the average Zimbabwean now may be eating only one meal or less per day.
The ambassador said the United States has lodged a diplomatic protest against the government for its June 6 hijacking of food meant for hungry schoolchildren that was instead distributed at a rally by the ruling ZANU-PF party. (See “Zimbabwe Government’s Theft of Children’s Aid Is “Unconscionable (http://www.america.gov/st/democracy-english/2008/June/20080612175438esnamfuak0.8762323.html ).”)
“The most defenseless, the people who are least able to care for themselves, young children, were being denied food for purely political purposes,” he said.
U.S. diplomats have tried to meet with Zimbabwean officials, including President Mugabe, but have found it difficult to arrange such meetings over the past three weeks, he said. Embassy staff members also have been investigating reports of political violence against supporters of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
“It is very, very obvious that there is political intimidation, there is thuggery, there is outright theft, murder, happening here in Zimbabwe right now,” McGee said.
The ambassador said he visited a religious hospital in Mutoko June 12 where some 25 to 30 people reportedly were recovering from attacks by ZANU-PF supporters.
“The fear was palpable there,” he said, adding that the head doctor of the hospital was reluctant to divulge any information on the patients. McGee said that so far 3,000 people have been injured so badly that they have required hospitalization.
McGee relayed how, outside the hospital, a police sergeant discussed violence he had witnessed firsthand, such as “people being taken from their homes, beaten, homes being burned [and] granaries being burned.” Between 20,000 and 30,000 have been displaced from their homes in the countryside and forced to sleep in the bush. With winter and freezing temperatures arriving in the country, “this is absolutely inhumane,” McGee said.
Along with losing their homes, the displaced people will not be allowed to vote June 27 unless they are willing to risk further violence and intimidation and return to their wards.
The ambassador said this is one of several reasons why as many election observers and monitors as possible are needed for the June 27 vote.
He said between 400 to 500 observers from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and 70 to 80 from the African Union now have confirmed their participation.
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said June 9 that the United States is providing several million dollars to assist monitoring efforts in order to encourage more observers and provide them with the resources to do their job.
Ambassador McGee said the observers “need to be on the ground as rapidly as possible, out in the countryside doing two things: Number 1, demonstrating to the people of Zimbabwe that they’re going to be protected, that they’re working to end the violence in this country, and Number 2, that the people’s vote will be protected.”
The United States is concerned that there will be “massive ballot box stuffing” to guarantee a Mugabe victory. Already there are reports that lower-ranking police officers are being forced to vote for ZANU-PF by filling out postal ballots in front of superior officers who are regime supporters. Also, McGee said, one of the intimidation tactics, especially in the countryside, has been to force voters to say they are illiterate so they would require ballot assistance.
“So we’re going to have a lot of illiterate people if ZANU gets their way on Election Day, and that’s why we need observers out there to ensure that these types of tactics do not happen,” he said.
But turnout will be key, he said, and called on the people of Zimbabwe to “make a stance” and brave the possibility of violence in order to bring about a truly representative government.
“There’s an old adage, I’m told, here in Zimbabwe that says you can only kill me one time. The people are starting to stand up and say, ‘Despite the violence, despite the intimidation, we need a change in Zimbabwe,’ and I’m hearing more and more people say this will not deter them from voting their hearts,” he said.
The transcript ( http://www.america.gov/st/texttrans-english/2008/June/20080613171239eaifas0.9756586.html ) of the conference call is available on America.gov.
(This is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://www.america.gov)
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