Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-07-04-Speech-4-167"
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"en.20020704.8.4-167"2
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".
Mr President, like Parliament, the Commission is most concerned about the dangerous political situation and social polarisation in Zimbabwe.
Violence and oppression continue, the opposition has, to all intents and purposes, been crushed, civil society and an independent press no longer exist and, of course, there is the issue of the highly adverse impact of the land redistribution policy on food security, especially for the most vulnerable sections of the population and, may I say, for workers on large farm holdings.
The problem is the political and social crisis, the humanitarian disaster which is at the top of the Commission's agenda; as you know, the European Union undertook at the General Affairs Council in June to respond generously to calls by the United Nations for action on the humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe and other countries in the area. In addition, the Union is pushing for the farm reform procedure to be revised in accordance with the guidelines in the proposal contained in the United Nations development programme.
The humanitarian crisis has taken on huge proportions. The Commission, for its part, has already set the procedure for responding to demands for food aid in motion and has earmarked a total of EUR 55 million for the area. These funds will be managed by the World Food Aid Programme and non-governmental organisations. We are, of course, doing the best we can, but we know from reports that the Zimbabwean government is making political capital out of the food crisis. We have emphasised in our contacts with the Zimbabwean authorities that aid must be given to everyone facing a humanitarian emergency, irrespective of their political persuasions, and we have reiterated the need for food to be distributed impartially.
Of course, numerous members referred to what we too have stressed, i.e. that Zimbabwe was a food-exporting nation and that the current food shortage is mainly the result of misguided policies and only due in part to the drought. If order to prevent a repetition of the crisis and the situation from worsening in forthcoming years, the government really must review its macroeconomic and sectoral policies, in order to get the country back on the road to a more stable economy and development.
The Commission accompanied the United Nations development programme mission to Zimbabwe to examine the farm reforms and expressed its wish to support transparent and fair reforms predicated on the needs of the poorer sections of the population. It also emphasised the particularly useful role which neighbouring countries can play by exerting pressure. However, in order to deal with this situation, priority has to be given to resolving the political conflict through negotiation, so as to put an end to the violence. Only if the rule of law is restored will there be any chance of changing the situation and resolving the pressing problems in Zimbabwe, which is why I should like to highlight the action we are taking to find a political settlement to the crisis, to contain the violence and support democracy.
After so many unsuccessful attempts at mediation and the deterioration in the situation in Zimbabwe, we understand that people are sceptical as to whether or not these initiatives will succeed. However, it is very important to understand the particular significance of contacts established between the European Union troika and the Southern African Development Community or SADC. The troika has tried to support international initiatives to manage the crisis in Zimbabwe. We need to give these efforts some time before condemning them. During the troika's mission, our partners in the SADC insisted that European Union sanctions had had the opposite effect. Even though we do not share this view, we need to seriously reconsider if our objective is to support regional efforts to deal with the crisis in Zimbabwe. The European Union imposed specific sanctions on 20 members of the governing party by refusing visas, freezing assets and suspending bilateral ministerial contacts. Because the dialogue has ground to a halt and violence continues in Zimbabwe, most groups in Parliament propose that the Council should impose further sanctions. The Commission realises that the Zimbabwean authorities are endeavouring to undermine the reliability of the ban on visas. However, the advantage of extending this ban to other people should be examined in relation to the damage which this might inflict on the Union's contacts with the SADC.
It is for these reasons that, come what may, we must continue to support the initiative of the Southern African Development Community and to monitor events and re-examine our policy towards Zimbabwe after the summer recess. Of course, our support for the people of Zimbabwe will continue under our programmes in the humanitarian aid sector."@en1
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