Mr Speaker, with your permission I will make a statement on the situation in Zimbabwe.

I am sure this whole House will unite in its condemnation of the depravity of the Mugabe regime; in grieving at the needless loss of life; and in wanting to send a clear message of support and solidarity to the people of Zimbabwe at this time. We share both their demand for a democratic future and their belief that they should not be denied this by violence or intimidation. Our primary concern has always been for them.

Mr Speaker, notwithstanding the violence, it is farcical to talk of a free and fair vote when 4 million refugees are outside the country, political rallies are banned and opposition access to TV and campaigning denied. Since 29 March and the extraordinary scenes of courage shown then by those ordinary people who put their faith in democracy and the ballot box, we have seen a regime that has reverted to type. President Mugabe and those key generals in the regime used changes to the law which forced results to be published outside polling stations as a means of identifying people who chose to vote for change. From then onwards, a campaign of violence was inflicted on those people intended to punish them for having the temerity to say no to Robert Mugabe and no to ZANU(PF). We know 34,000 people have been displaced; 2700 injured; and 84 murdered since that day. Two thousand of these people are sheltering in Harare itself in MDC headquarters.

This is not British propaganda. NGOs have documented the existence of torture camps. Independent media have published the names of those who have directed and orchestrated that violence. African election observers have seen the violence with their own eyes. Thousands of teachers and public servants had volunteered as presiding officers in the first round but withdrawn their names for fear of violence and intimidation. By Sunday only 84 local election observers had been accredited when over 10,000 had applied. It is a matter of public record that Morgan Tsvangirai has been detained 5 times in the last ten days and that MDC Secretary General Tendai Biti has been in prison and charged with a trumped up treason offence since arriving back in Harare. The stage was set for the most rigged election in African history.

The only people who continue to deny that the state is responsible for this campaign of terror is Robert Mugabe and his ZANU(PF) party. What is striking is not that Morgan Tsvangirai took the decision to pull out of this sham of an election yesterday but that he and the MDC have had the courage to persist with their campaign in spite of that violence and those conditions.

There is no legitimacy in ruling a country through fear and force. Robert Mugabe and his thugs have made an election impossible. It is clear that the only people with democratic legitimacy are those that won the parliamentary majority on 29 March and who took most votes in the first round of the Presidential election, and that was the opposition.

Zimbabwe now needs a government that is broad-based and commands the confidence of the majority of Zimbabweans. A government of national unity that retains the existing structures of power with Mugabe at its head does not meet that test. 

I have within the last thirty minutes spoken to our Ambassador in Harare. The situation there is still uncertain. People are very afraid of what may happen next. The opposition have said they will make an announcement on Wednesday as to how they see the way ahead. Clearly they want the violence to stop and their decision yesterday was intended to put an end to the killing. It is not clear that Robert Mugabe will listen to that – he and his generals have ignored all calls for restraint up to now.

Since the announcement yesterday, the Prime Minister, Lord Malloch-Brown and I have spoken to Foreign Ministers and key figures in Southern Africa and around the world. This is a crucial moment and test for Africa and the region. Ahead of the election, forty senior Africans underlined their concern at the conditions in Zimbabwe. The AU Commission has called for violence to end. The head of the Pan African Parliamentary observer mission said that violence was now at the top of the agenda of this electoral process.

Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa – who is currently chair of Southern Africa Development Community – has said that “the current political environment in Zimbabwe falls far short of (SADC’s)… principles and guidelines”. He said yesterday that the situation was scandalous and that what was happening in Zimbabwe was embarrassing to all Africans in the region.

At the European Council last week, the Prime Minister and other leaders underlined their readiness to take further measures should President Mugabe attempt to steal the election. On behalf of the EU, the Slovenian Foreign Minister has issued a clear statement condemning the violence and the conditions which forced Morgan Tsvangirai to withdraw from the election.

I spoke to Foreign Minister Rupel last night to welcome that statement and to discuss with him now the need to consider urgently how we can put further pressure – a widening and deepening of the EU visa ban and targeted financial measures – on Robert Mugabe and his elite which can be actioned at the next meeting of EU Foreign Ministers. Javier Solana and Commissioner Michel have both now issued statements condemning the violence and supporting Morgan Tsvangirai’s decision.

With EU colleagues we will this week consider the situation in Zimbabwe and the options now open to us. It is clear that there is a great deal of strong feeling in this House about Mugabe’s knighthood.  The Government shares this strong feeling and believes that Robert Mugabe should not be allowed to benefit from his knighthood nor from any process of having that knighthood removed.

Britain has long and historical links with Zimbabwe. I have never believed that the rights and wrongs of our history should prevent us from speaking clearly and frankly about the situation today. Robert Mugabe’s misrule does not invalidate that liberation struggle: our colonial history does not mean we cannot denounce that which is wrong. The test at all times has been whether our commitment and action can help the people of Zimbabwe. That is why we continue to provide humanitarian aid. It is why we continue to stress the need for African leadership.

I have spoken to UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon and I welcome his statement yesterday. Later today, the Security Council will discuss Zimbabwe. I am sure that our Permanent Representative will speak for the whole House when he says that the UN must act to resolve this crisis before the entire region is destabilised further. It is right and it is necessary that the Security Council, the African Union and SADC work together now to resolve the situation. Zimbabwe’s implosion poses a continuing threat to the region. The UN agencies have prepared for the many more refugees who may now flee Zimbabwe. But the burden will still be borne by the region and by Zimbabwe’s neighbours. It is not for us to prescribe one solution to this electoral crisis. We will play our part as a member of the international community to support African solutions on the ground. But we are absolutely clear that those solutions cannot involve a continuation of the status quo. The longer this crisis goes on, the more the pressure on Robert Mugabe and his ZANU(PF) party grows to recognise the reality that the international community will no longer tolerate their abuses.

The cynical decision to suspend NGOs delivering vital aid shows how far Mugabe has gone in abandoning Zimbabwe’s people. Our foremost duty is still to press for humanitarian space to be re-opened and for those NGOs to be allowed to restart operations. One and a half million people have been affected by the ban. As the second largest bilateral donor, we will continue to provide aid and assistance as we can. The Secretary of State for International Development has chaired a meeting this morning to consider what more we can do to support urgently those in Zimbabwe.

Mr Speaker, we will continue our efforts publicly and privately press for a solution to this crisis that reflects the will of the people in Zimbabwe. I am sure HMs will agree with me that such a solution cannot come quickly enough.

Ends