The British Government’s Outrageous Calls to Intervene Militarily in Zimbabwe

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The British Government’s Outrageous Calls to Intervene Militarily in Zimbabwe

Open Letter to the British Foreign Secretary

"We’re Back!" – Fourth Successful Voyage Breaks Through Siege of Gaza

The cholera epidemic that recently broke out in Zimbabwe has been the pretext for renewed attempts to organise to oust Robert Mugabe’s ZANU-PF government, attempts led by Gordon Brown and Foreign Secretary David Miliband. The Prime Minister posed as the unlikely champion of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights when he declared that on its 60th anniversary "we must stand together for human rights and democracy, to say firmly to Mugabe enough is enough". For his part Miliband, speaking ahead of the EU Foreign Minister’s meeting, threatened further sanctions against what he referred to as a "rogue government". A spokesman for the government of Zimbabwe claimed that Britain and its allies were "dead set on ensuring that there is an invasion of Zimbabwe but without themselves carrying it out".

The position taken by the Labour government is that Zimbabwe’s leadership is solely to blame for the economic and political crisis now facing that country and therefore it should go, or be removed from office. It is worth noting that Brown and Miliband do not apply the same principle to Britain, where it is clear that their government has neither the will not the ability to deal with the severe economic and other problems facing this country. Indeed, they disclaim any responsibility for it, claiming that this is a global phenomenon.

The Labour government is now trying to make maximum use of the health problems affecting Zimbabwe, even though cholera is a disease that is on the increase throughout the world and outbreaks have been reported in over 50 countries in the last two years, many of them in Africa. Severe outbreaks of cholera also broke out in Iraq earlier this year, although without the same level of publicity, and with no demand from Britain for the ousting of the puppet government in that country. The outbreak of cholera this year in Zimbabwe is largely due to the dire economic situation in there, and here too can be found the hand of Anglo-American imperialism and its allies. It may also be remarked that in Britain, hospitals are being put on alert in case of widespread epidemics, of flu for example. Indeed, hysteria about epidemics whether in this country or elsewhere has almost become the government’s stock-in-trade to try and prevent the people assessing any serious issue in a sober fashion.

It is evident that there are very serious problems facing Zimbabwe but it cannot be said that they have simply been caused by the weaknesses of the government of Zimbabwe. Like many other countries, Zimbabwe has attempted to chart its own independent course and escape from the legacy of British colonial rule since gaining independence through armed struggle in 1980. But it has been thwarted in particular by the hostile actions of the governments of Britain and the US, which have meddled in Zimbabwe’s internal affairs and refused to honour their legal responsibilities as required by the Lancaster House agreement of 1979, which brought to an end the armed liberation struggle.

The deterioration of Zimbabwe’s economy, which is still dominated by Anglo-American monopolies, has itself been precipitated by the hostile actions of the World Bank and IMF encouraged by Britain and the US, as well as by economic sanctions especially those imposed by the US under so-called Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act. But the British and US governments and their allies have also continued to meddle in the internal affairs of Zimbabwe, especially in its elections and political life, directly financing an opposition movement to its government through the Westminster Foundation, the Zimbabwe Democracy Trust and other similar agencies.

In these difficult circumstances, there have been attempts by the African Union and the Southern African Development Community to find a way forward. Discussions were taking place between all the major political parties until recently when the main opposition party, the MDC suddenly withdrew, leading to a renewed political impasse and the conditions were created for Britain, the US and their allies to launch their new offensive.

A massive propaganda campaign has been waged by the Labour government to demonise the government of Zimbabwe and its leaders but it is Anglo-American imperialism that is chiefly responsible for the dire situation in Zimbabwe and elsewhere in Africa. The British people must themselves to continue to struggle to remove the vestiges of colonial domination in Zimbabwe and create the conditions whereby full reparation can be made for the crimes that have been committed.

Hands Off Zimbabwe!

Respect the Sovereignty of All Countries!

Stuart Littlewood, December 5, 2008

To Mr David Miliband,

You seem like a clever man – Kennedy scholar, something big in Social Justice, then head of Tony Blair's policy unit, now foreign secretary. Tell us, why do so many western politicians have so much trouble coming to terms with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which their countries are obliged to observe? Is it because they haven’t bothered to read it? Or do they simply not care? Either way, they neglect their duty.
 
Understanding the Declaration is really no sweat. A glance at the Preamble is enough to grasp the fundamentals:

• Recognition of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.

• Violence against tyranny and oppression is what happens if these rights are not protected by the rule of law.

• Member States (and that includes Britain) have pledged themselves to promote universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms.

So when you were within home-made rocket range of Gaza recently, Mr Miliband, why didn’t you drop in to see first-hand the deprivation, pain and death your government department has helped inflict on 1.4 million civilians for the last 30 months, tearing up nearly every Article of the Declaration in the process?

Instead, you visited Sderot to "show solidarity" with the people there.

Why is Article 2 such a big problem? This says that everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set out in the Declaration, regardless of race, politics and religion and regardless of the status of the country or territory to which a person belongs. So let’s think Gaza and West Bank… What entitles Israel to take away Palestinians' rights and freedoms and discriminate against them precisely on the grounds of their race, politics and religion? And what entitles Britain to give a wink of approval? 

Why doesn't your department uphold Palestinian rights as vigorously as it upholds Israel’s "right to defend itself" – a right everyone else is equally entitled to – and talk to Palestinian "extremists" as well as Israeli extremists?

There also seems to be difficulty with Article 5: "No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment". 10,000 Palestinians, including women and children abducted from their homes, are languishing in Israeli prisons, many without charge or trial. Several reports, including those from Israeli groups B'Tselem, the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel and the Centre for the Defence of the Individual, have alerted us to Israel’s torture of prisoners and detainees.

Humiliating treatment can be seen any time, any day, at any Israeli checkpoint or crossing. And there’s the unforgivable torment of collective punishment meted out to the civilians of Gaza by Israel's devastating siege.

Article 13 promises that "everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state... Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country." No Palestinian has freedom of movement within his homeland in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. As you well know, Israel has seized more than 38% of the West Bank, including prime agricultural land and strategic water resources, and these areas are off-limits to Palestinians. 80% of the West Bank's precious water is now diverted to illegal settlements while Palestinians are strictly rationed or go without.

In Gaza, where the blockade has brought the near collapse of healthcare, even the chronically sick cannot leave for treatment abroad. Students have been prevented from taking up scholarships in the West. Were you stopped from going to university, Mr Miliband?

And the right of return for Palestinians forced to flee their homes by rampaging Jewish (later Israeli) terrorists still waits to be enforced.

Article 17 provides that everyone has the right to own property and no-one shall be arbitrarily deprived of it. Yet confiscation, demolition and displacement – 'ethnic cleansing’ in plain language – continues as Israel pushes ahead with its illegal colonising programme establishing vast settlements and other 'facts on the ground'.

Article 21 gives everyone "the right to take part in the government of his country… The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government..." You and your colleagues extinguished this right by rejecting the people’s choice in fair and square elections in 2006. Why? Anyone who knows the situation knows who the real terrorists are. The decision to refuse to talk with Hamas not only denies Gaza’s citizens of their rights but is unworthy of us.

Please don’t give us excuses about home-made rockets "raining down" on Sderot when countless thousands of Israeli bombs, missiles, grenades, tank shells and dum-dum rounds are routinely blasted into Gaza’s rightly-packed humanity. 8 Palestinians die for every Israeli; and when it comes to children the kill-rate is 11 to 1.

And don’t even mention that captured Israeli soldier – a trained killer – when the Israelis, I hear, kidnapped 330 Palestinians only last month. It would be nice to hear equal concern for the 30+ Palestinian MPs and legislators still under 'administrative detention'. In the UK we create merry hell when police arrest and question an MP for a few hours.

Then there’s Article 23: "Everyone has the right to work". Gaza’s 3,000 fishermen miss out on this one. Israel unlawfully claims control of Palestinian territorial waters and when the fishing boats put to sea they are fired on. Most citizens in the Strip are denied the right to work. Businesses are prevented from bringing supplies in and shipping products out. All attempts to develop their economy are thwarted. Care to guess the unemployment rate, Mr Miliband?

Let’s not forget Article 25: "Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family." That of course is a sick joke to Palestinians. Care to guess the number of children with stunted growth through malnutrition, Mr Miliband?

Finally, Article 28. "Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realised." So what exactly has the international order been doing the last 60 years to deliver Palestinian rights and freedoms?

You are part of that order, are you not Mr Miliband?

- Stuart Littlewood is author of the book Radio Free Palestine, which tells the plight of the Palestinians under occupation. For further information please visit http://www.radiofreepalestine.co.uk

FreeGaza.org, December 9, 2008

The Free Gaza Movement ship "Dignity" successfully broke through the Israeli blockade for the fourth time since August, arriving in Gaza Port at 2:45pm, Tuesday 9 December. The ship carried one ton of medical supplies and high-protein baby formula, in addition to a delegation of international academics, humanitarian and human rights workers. Three earlier missions made landfall in Gaza in August, October, and November through the power of non-violent direct action and civil resistance. The Free Gaza ships are the first international ships to reach the Gaza Strip in over 41 years.

Ewa Jasiewicz, a Free Gaza organiser, journalist, and solidarity worker, pointed out that, "Tomorrow is International Human Rights Day, and it's high time the world turned its rhetoric on human rights into reality. We mounted this mission to give our solidarity to the people of Palestine and to highlight the strangulating conditions Israel causes in besieged Gaza. The inhumane effects of this siege threaten to stunt an entire generation – both in terms of physical and mental growth due to malnutrition, terrorization by bomb attacks, incursions and the use of sonic booms – but also in terms of the generation of students which have won places at academic institutions around the world but cannot fulfil them, and those undermined on the ground in Gaza by a lack of food, medicine, electricity, materials, and the peace and space to make use of them in."

For over two years, Israel has imposed an increasingly severe blockade on Gaza, dramatically increasing poverty and malnutrition rates among the 1.5 million human people who live in this tiny, costal region. The World Bank recently warned that the entire banking system in Gaza may soon collapse resulting in "serious humanitarian implications". Already, over eighty percent of Gazan families are dependent on international food aid in order to feed their children.

Lubna Masarwa, another Free Gaza organiser and the current delegation’s leader, pointed out, "The Palestinians of Gaza don't need charity. What they need is effective political action that changes their lives and ends the Occupation. We can't bring electricity to Gaza on our boats. We can't import freedom of movement or safety. But we can get into Gaza and we are intent to keep coming. We will come again and again and again until the world breaks its silence and we shatter this siege once and for all."

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For More Information, please contact:
(Gaza) Caoimhe Butterly, +972 598 273 960 / sahara78@hotmail.co.uk
(Gaza) Lubna Masarwa, +972 505 633 044 / lubnna@gmail.com
(Cyprus) Ramzi Kysia , +357 99 081 767 / rrkysia@yahoo.com