The people of Zimbabwe need us

For those members who know me, it's common Knownledge on ATS that I've given passion, dedication and support to the issue of Zimbabwe.

I've written to my MP to highlight the cause, and I shall be contacting him soon to raise the matter in Prime Minister Questions. One shall even be writting to Gordon Brown to give a personal plea for him to help these people.

But, to my fellow members, we together to help solve the crisis in Zimbabwe but just speaking out. I've created a petition on Downing Street to try and get our country to demand intervention.

We can make a change.

Thank you

petitions.pm.gov.uk...

[edit on 19-12-2007 by infinite]

reply to post by infinite


Thanks for posting this. I think people have the perception we do not need another 'iraq'. The big difference is Zimbabweans actually want to be liberated, and have stated so. We should return and fix the country that was ours less than 30 years ago. The conundrum is, how is the UK government going to make a profit from it?

Originally posted by SteveR
how is the UK government going to make a profit from it?

What?

They don't need to. It's not about making money, this is about helping the citizens who are under a dictatorship.

reply to post by infinite


That's the way we see it, yes.

Did you get a reply from your MP, Infinite? I'd be interested to hear what he or she said.

I also think we should give serious consideration to an invasion and start building up support amongst the Commonwealth and in the UN. This is our mess, and we should help to clean it up - for Zimbabwe and Africa, not for ourselves. This was once a nation that could feed most of southern Africa with its crop exports... now its people are starving, the economy is in meltdown and the regime carries out regular and brutal attacks against its opponents.

reply to post by Ste2652


Yeah, Julian Brazier (Member for Canterbury) Did reply to me and shared my concerns. He believes this should be taken to the UN security council and, as you said, the Commonwealth has to act. Writting to him again, as I said, to get this debated in Parliament.

(Drafting a letter to the Prime Minister)

Going to be contacting my MEP's too, get them to bring this to the attention of the European Union and get them to act.

With 24 hours, I've had 62 signatures to the petition on Downing Street

Writting up the letter to the Prime Minister tomorrow

The UK kicked out Ian Smith and put Robert Mugabe in power. I think he should stay, to serve as a reminder of why you shouldn't mess with other countries affairs.

reply to post by Cthulwho


Britain didn't kick Smith out, we REFUSED to invade to support him.

As for your remarks of Mugabe, reminds me of that famous quote by Neville Chamberlain When Nazi Germany started to expand across Europe...

“How horrible, fantastic, incredible it is that we should be digging trenches and trying on gas-masks here because of a quarrel in a far-away country between people of whom we know nothing!”

[edit on 21-12-2007 by infinite]

reply to post by infinite


Indeed. Ian Smith and his regime were extremely worried that British paratroopers would drop out of the sky around Salisbury - they knew they couldn't repel them for long. The moment Harold Wilson publicly ruled out the use of force to get rid of Smith was the moment that all British leverage disappeared. Even if Wilson had only privately decided to not invade and kept up the impression that he might in public we could see a very different country than the mess it's in today.

I've recieved an e-mail from my MEP's;

Caroline Lucas (Green Party)

Dear Daniel,

Thank you for your email, which Caroline has asked me to respond to on her behalf. Please excuse the delay in doing so but Caroline receives vast amounts of correspondence and we cannot always get back to constituents as promptly as we would like.

The situation in Zimbabwe is of grave concern to Caroline, as a passionate advocate of peace and human rights. Like you she is appalled by the suffering imposed by President Mugabe and believes that the EU has a moral responsibility to challenge his regime and hold it to account.

Caroline was outraged at the Portuguese authorities' decision last year, when Portugal held the EU Presidency, to invite Mugabe to attend an EU-Africa summit, with apparent disregard for European Parliament policy advocating a travel ban. She believes that the move totally undermined the EU's sanctions against Mugabe and she condemned the Presidency's actions. MEPs adopted a resolution on Zimbabwe in April 2007, which reinforced its commitment to a travel ban, so Caroline wrote to the Portuguese Prime Minister to object to his actions and to stress that Mugabe's presence would be perceived by many as indicative of EU support for his regime.

Whilst the EU as a whole and individual member states must do more to isolate and condemn the Mugabe regime, it is certainly not in a position to remove the President from power. Rather, Caroline would advocate greater UN engagement with the situation and international agreement on on how best to urgently address the human rights and humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe.

Yet, in May 2007, Zimbabwe was narrowly elected to head the UN's Commission on Sustainable Development, despite EU opposition. Caroline objects to Zimbabwe being allowed to take on this role as she questions the commitment to sustainability of a President that has systematically run down his own country's economy, environment, social protection and political framework. She will continue to call on the EU to press for UN action against Zimbabwe, which has sat, alongside approximately 50 other countries, on the UN's Commission for Human Rights since 2003.

Thank you for taking the time to raise this with Caroline and please do not hesitate to get back in touch if you require any further information.

Nigel Farage (UKIP) just sent me an EU rant instead (which I am not pleased about)

Dear Mr XXXX

Thank you for your message, about the disturbing condition of Zimbabwe,
and expressing hopes that I shall publicise this matter in "the European
Parliament" (EP) and that "Europe" (EU) will intervene.

You should realise, however, that the EU has no powers to intervene and
that the EP is not a parliament, as we understand it, but a consultative
assembly, having no powers to propose, let alone implement, policy.

The EU could assume sovereign status and military power through the
ratification of its "Reform Treaty" (EU-constitution) but this would be
a disastrous outcome, given that the EU is not, and cannot be,
democratically accountable.

The "parliament" may be elected, but it has no general electorate - only
linguistically compartmentalised electorates, which cannot communicate
with one another - and, as a result, it fails the first requirement of
democratic representation, which is a mandate arising from universal
participation in debate.

The other institutions of the EU - and the ones where all the power is
wielded - are not elected at all.

The proper channel for your complaint is, therefore, our own Parliament,
of which, unfortunately, I am not a member.

My MP is planning to raise the issue in the House for me! AH!

Glad to see you're chasing this up, Infinite. Your MEP's reply was interesting, but it's a shame about Nigel Farage's reply derailing the issue. If he'd have said that the EU couldn't do much in the first place without the rant I think that would have been fine

Did your MP say when he/she was going to raise it in the Commons?

reply to post by Ste2652


No, not yet.

I'm going to write to the Church of England too, I live in Canterbury so I can just knock on the Archbishops door

But, I'm currently writing to the Irish President (regarding a different matter), but my letter campaign will be increased too. ATS does not do endorsement or activism, but I might ask