Ms Julie Bishop (Curtin, Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

Australian governments and the Australian people have taken a keen interest in Zimbabwe for many years. We have continued to watch developments with hope, trepidation and, at times, deep despair. It is a tragedy that a nation blessed with an abundance of natural resources and large, fertile agricultural areas has been reduced to the point where millions of its people are starving and its economy has been utterly devastated. Yet that is what has occurred under the regime headed by Robert Mugabe—a regime which ruled Zimbabwe from 1980 to 2008, a regime which grew increasingly corrupt and which became increasingly violent as its intolerance to any opposition grew.

As the regime’s behaviour grew increasingly violent, the international community began to express its objections. It culminated in March 2002 when three leaders—President Obasanjo of Nigeria, President Mbeki of South Africa and Australian Prime Minister Howard—were appointed by the Commonwealth of Nations to decide what to do about Zimbabwe. There had been a presidential election in Zimbabwe at that time that was not on any account free or fair. It did not reflect the will of the people. There were allegations of vote rigging. It was conducted in a climate of fear, amidst political and state sponsored violence. I know this from my own observation, as I was in Zimbabwe in March 2002 as a Commonwealth electoral observer, charged with the task—along with about 50 other Commonwealth electoral observers—to report to the Commonwealth heads of government, who, as it turned out, were meeting in Australia at that time.

On 19 March the three leaders agreed to suspend Zimbabwe from the Commonwealth for one year. It was seen as a blow to Zimbabwean President Mugabe’s standing and prestige, particularly among other African Commonwealth nations. While this action did not trigger immediate sanctions, it certainly represented a milestone in terms of the international community’s attitude to the economic, social and political chaos under President Mugabe’s repressive regime. Ultimately, it did result in Zimbabwe withdrawing from the Commonwealth. From September 2002, Australia implemented targeted sanctions against the Mugabe regime and its close supporters. These sanctions have been expanded over time.

I also remember well that, when I was in Zimbabwe in 2002, the then leader of the opposition, Morgan Tsvangirai, was charged with treason. While President Mugabe and his cronies sought to crush the spirit of their political opponents, they were unable to totally suppress the people of Zimbabwe. Zimbabweans continued to vote at elections, often in the face of extreme violence and, in some cases, the very real threat of death. They would have known that President Mugabe would do everything in his power to steal elections, but they still wanted to cast a vote—and we know that many, many people continued to vote for change.

After significant irregularities in successive elections, there was little genuine hope that the 2008 elections would reflect the true will of the people. Against the odds, the Movement for Democratic Change won a majority of the seats in the Zimbabwean parliament. Mr Tsvangirai appeared to have won a clear majority of the vote for president—but this was a step too far for President Mugabe and fear and violence were the all too familiar weapons he used to keep his grip on that office. However, he was forced to enter into negotiations with Morgan Tsvangirai and the MDC.

Then South African President Mbeki played a pivotal role in negotiating the power-sharing arrangement known as the global political agreement, signed one year ago, on 15 September 2008. Under great international pressure, President Mugabe appointed Mr Morgan Tsvangirai as Prime Minister in February this year and a so-called ‘unity government’ was formed. Very few international observers, particularly those who had been to Zimbabwe, gave this arrangement much hope. It was previously unthinkable for members of Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party to be in the same room as Mr Tsvangirai’s MDC members, let alone work cooperatively in government.

There have been some positive developments, particularly since the swearing-in of Prime Minister Tsvangirai. Reports from Zimbabwe indicate that economic recovery, while extremely fragile, is underway. Inflation appears to have subsided from the catastrophic hyperinflation that rendered the nation’s currency worthless and forced Zimbabwe to use the currency of other nations. There is now consideration of the reintroduction of Zimbabwean money. Food is now more widely available. Education and health services are reported to be reopening. And there is hope that food production will be increased. There are also reports of greater personal freedom and improved ability for the media to report independently on developments. However, human rights abuses are reported to be widespread and the violent invasion of commercial farms continues. There are also reports of an ongoing campaign of intimidation and violence against members of the Movement for Democratic Change, some of whom have been charged with crimes regarded by the MDC as spurious.

President Mugabe has still not implemented the full terms of the global political agreement, and there are many signs of his efforts to undermine the agreement both in spirit and in law. This has led Prime Minister Tsvangirai to declare in recent days that the tensions between the parties to the agreement must be resolved in the coming weeks and months to enable Zimbabwe to make greater steps towards genuine, lasting recovery.

There have been calls from organisations such as the Southern African Development Community for sanctions to be lifted—sanctions which apply to key members of the Mugabe regime. This has been rejected by the United States, with President Obama in March this year extending sanctions that were due to expire on 6 March. The US sanctions ban more than 250 individuals from conducting business with the United States.

A delegation from the European Union which travelled to Zimbabwe in recent days also ruled out a lifting of sanctions and said that there would be no increase in humanitarian aid until President Mugabe implemented the terms of the power-sharing agreement. One delegation member, the Swedish Minister for International Development and Cooperation, Gunilla Carlsson, said that, while talks were held with Mr Mugabe, they did not reach any agreement on human rights violations. Minister Carlsson said that ‘much more needs to be done’ and that Zimbabwe was only at the start of a very long journey. European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid Karel De Gucht said that the European Union would like to increase its aid to Zimbabwe but that it depended on greater progress made in terms of honouring the commitments of the global political agreement.

The coalition also believes it is too early to lift sanctions against members of the Mugabe regime, who continue to show a flagrant disregard for the rule of law and international humanitarian standards. It is vital that we keep the pressure on President Mugabe and his cronies so that they are under no illusions about how abhorrent the international community finds their behaviour. The international community will continue to play an important role in providing aid to the long-suffering people of Zimbabwe.

While emergency food aid will be required for some time, I am encouraged by announcements yesterday from the United Nations that the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations has started to implement a program of support for farmers, particularly those with small farms, in partnership with the European Union, to help reduce food shortages this year. The Food and Agriculture Organisation has reported that it will distribute 26,000 tonnes of seed and fertilisers to 176,000 vulnerable farmers, which represents 10 to 15 per cent of all small-scale landholders in Zimbabwe.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations believes that, if Zimbabwe receives reasonable rainfall during the upcoming growing season, it is possible that production could be doubled this year. The Australian government is providing food and agriculture support through a number of international organisations, as well as providing support to Zimbabwe’s education sector. All Australians support the efforts to restore dignity to the everyday lives of the people of Zimbabwe, who aspire to live free from fear and threat of violence and who aspire to emerge from the shadow of oppression and corruption under which Zimbabwe has suffered for decades.

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