Zimbabwe Report
USa to reassess relations with Zimbabwe again
by Scott MorganSaturday, September 3, 2005
The status of the relations between the United States and the Republic of Zimbabwe continue to ebb and flow between normalcy and outright hostility. The status of the relations were seen by many pundits as gradually improving since the mid-term elections that were held earlier this year and won by the ruling ZaNU-PF. However since the implementation of Operation Muramvatsina they have been in a steady decline. This Operation had the stated goal of reducing crime in the major cities of Zimbabwe.
In an effort to help to restore democracy to the embattled and growing isolated nation the U.S. sent two different missions there over this past summer. One delegation was comprised of senior staffers from the U.S. House of Representatives International Relations Subcommittee on africa. The second visit was from the U.S. ambassador to the World Food Program. Both had ended with dissimilar results.
The congressional mission which was part of a 10-day fact finding mission that visited both Zimbabwe and South africa made a startling conclusion. It made the case that if the U.S. lumped all the members of the Government into the same group there would be no motivation for any official to change either their behavior or the current direction that Zimbabwe is taking right now. a failure to resolve the situation in Zimbabwe would have a negative impact on the region as a whole.
In contrast the visit by ambassador Hall was limited in scope. In an Interview with the Voice of america (VOa) he gave a summary of his visit. He listed the contributing factors to the ongoing morass in the country. These include triple digit inflation, a high rate of HIV/aIDS Infection, high unemployment, a failed harvest of maize the main staple of the Zimbabwean Diet, and a very harsh political crackdown. The ambassador stated that during his visit the officials that he met with were not very cooperative. They actually blocked efforts to visit a camp where housing was actually destroyed. He was actually informed that several elderly people had passed away in the harsh conditions of the camp.
another source of criticism was the recent Constitutional amendments that were passed by the Zimbabwean Parliament in august 2005. these amendments allow the Nationalization of minority owned Commercial Farms, imposes travel bans on those whom the state considers to be traitors, and would reintroduce a second legislative chamber. In 1987 the Senate was abolished by a Constitutional amendment. a Spokesman for the State Department stated that the process used to implement the changes was deeply troubling. The spokesman also stated that " It’s a sad step back words for personal freedom as well as the rule of law".
What will be the future of Zimbabwe-US relations? at this juncture the U.S. Government has donated 73,000 tons of food aid in an effort to alleviate the suffering going on in Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery act of 2001 allows for a waiver to be granted to cooperative elements in the Zimbabwe Government so they can travel to Washington for consultations. Meetings can also be arranged in neutral settings. The U.S. will be heavily lobbied by both New Zealand and australia as both countries seek to have President Mugabe brought before the International Criminal Court. The first steps will have to be taken by the UN Security Council.
No matter what happens the road to Zimbabwe’s freedom has a route through Washington.
