- Archbishop Pius Ncube, one of the most trenchant critics
of President Robert Mugabe, yesterday urged Britain to shed its post-colonial
"complex" and take the lead in denouncing the "evil"
of Zimbabwe's regime.
-
- Britain has been reluctant to confront Zimbabwe directly,
preferring to work behind the scenes to persuade African countries and
the European Union to increase pressure on Mr Mugabe.
-
- Officials argue that if Britain becomes too prominent,
it would encourage Mr Mugabe's policy of playing the race card and presenting
Zimbabwe's crisis as a dispute with its former colonial ruler.
-
- But the Most Rev Ncube, the Roman Catholic Archbishop
of Bulawayo, argued that Britain's silence played into Mr Mugabe's hands.
-
- "Mugabe has got Britain where he wants them. He
blames the evil on Tony Blair but it is he who perpetrates evil on his
own people.
-
- "We should not allow him to hoodwink everybody.
He is 100 per cent responsible for the suffering of the people."
-
- Urging Britain to "stand strongly", the archbishop
said Mr Mugabe cared about what London said despite his bluster.
-
- He said Mr Mugabe used to delight at shopping in London.
"He admires Britain secretly. Listen to how he expresses himself.
His accent is unique among Africans.
-
- "Mugabe knows what is right. He got a good Catholic
education, which is against oppression. But he is too embarrassed, too
proud to own up to the fact that he has done evil."
-
- The archbishop was also critical of the silence of South
Africa's President Thabo Mbeki, calling him "a disappointment".
-
- Archbishop Ncube, one of the few Zimbabwean religious
figures ready to denounce Mr Mugabe openly, reserved some of his strongest
words to chastise world Churches for failing to stand up to Zimbabwe.
-
- Accusing Mr Mugabe of using food shortage as a political
weapon, to starve opponents and feed those who vote for him, he asked:
"What would Jesus Christ say if he were here today?
-
- "Would he keep quiet when people are being held
to ransom? The Churches are betraying Jesus Christ. They must speak out
- all of them. People must speak up when people are suffering."
-
- The archbishop hinted that the England cricket team should
not play in Zimbabwe this year.
-
- "In a healthy situation, politics and sport should
be separated," he said.
-
- "But in an unhealthy situation... all occasions
should be used to make a protest against a government as evil and oppressive
as that of Zimbabwe."
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- © Copyright of Telegraph Group Limited 2004. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/07/22/
wzim22.xml&sSheet=/news/2004/07/22/ixworld.html
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