Archbishop
Thabo Makgoba calls for UN arms embargo on Zimbabwe
Statement from the
Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, the Most Revd Thabo Makgoba, 23 April 2008
The plight of the people of Zimbabwe is heart-breaking. Already
bruised, broken and crushed by oppression and economic hardship before the
elections, they are now even more divided, despondent and, in many cases,
hopeless than they were before. At a time of growing global hunger, their
situation is particularly acute - four million Zimbabweans depend on food aid
and NGOs are reporting that in some areas political violence is making it
difficult to supply food.
After the March 29 elections we were told that if there had to be a second
round of voting in the presidential election, it would be held within 21 days.
That date has now passed, and every day that goes by without the release of
presidential election results erodes yet further any
remaining trust people may have in the electoral process.
From the church in Limpopo
Province, we receive
reports that the influx of Zimbabwean refugees is steadily growing. Within Zimbabwe, those
who have benefitted from Zanu
PF rule are locked in fear of what may happen to them; those who support the
opposition live in fear of retribution for voting against the government.
It is distressing to South Africans that our rulers, whom we know to be
compassionate people, currently appear to many beyond our borders as heartless
and unmoved by the suffering of Zimbabweans. We recognise
that the imperatives of acting as honest brokers in a mediation impose
constraints on our leaders. However, our failure to communicate our reverence
for the dignity of every individual threatens the success of our diplomacy just
as surely as would the perception of bias. I appeal to President Thabo Mbeki
urgently to seek creative ways of reaching out to our neighbours
to reassure them that we care about them deeply.
As a church committed to fighting the arms trade in Africa and the world, we
strenuously oppose the sale and transport of weapons to Zimbabwe. We
commend the successful efforts of the Bishop of Natal, the Right Revd Rubin Phillip, and the Diakonia
Council of Churches to prevent a consignment of weapons for Zimbabwe from being
offloaded in Durban, and I intend consulting with my brother bishops in Namibia
and Angola on ecumenical action to prevent the shipment from being transported
through their countries.
On the basis that a heavily-armed Zimbabwe
would threaten peace, security and stability in southern Africa,
we call upon the Security Council of the United Nations to impose an arms
embargo on its government. We appeal to the South African Government to support
such an embargo. We will ask our sister churches in countries which are also
members of the Security Council to urge their governments to do likewise.
The Most Revd Thabo Makgoba
Archbishop of Cape
Town
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