JOEL OLATUNDE AGOI AND OLA AWONIYI, Abuja | Friday
ZIMBABWE agreed at a Commonwealth conference in Nigeria late on Thursday to end illegal occupation of farmland by landless blacks, which have plunged the nation into a political and economic crisis and threatened to destabilise the region, and promised action to restore the rule of law.
In return, former colonial power Britain agreed to make a “significant financial contribution” to funding a land reform programme, if carried out in a “fair, just and sustainable manner”.
Delighted officials at the conference called the deal, brokered by Nigeria’s President Olusegun Obasanjo, “a total breakthrough” after more than 18 months of upheaval and unrest which had threatened what Nigerian Foreign Minister Sule Lamido called “another African war”.
“The deliberations and the conclusion were excellent,” Lamido said.
There was no immediate official reaction from Britain or Zimbabwe.
The terms of the deal, if implemented, would represent a major turnaround by Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe and something of a climb down for the former independence war leader.
Under the agreement, the Zimbabwean government pledged “there will be no further occupation of farm lands”, something Mugabe has until now refused to say, and that it would “speed up the process by which farms that do not meet set criteria (for acquisition) are de-listed”.
“For farms that are not designated, occupiers would be moved to legally acquired lands,” the agreement added.
In a further turnaround, Harare also accepted that the “core issue of land… cannot be separated from other issues of concern to the Commonwealth such as the rule of law, respect for human rights, democracy and the economy”, issues the southern African country’s government had said only this week would not even be discussed in Abuja.
Moreover, Harare made a “commitment to restore the rule of law to the process of land reform programme”.
The traffic was not all one way. In return, Zimbabwe won a pledge from all the donor countries present – Australia, Britain and Canada – to “respond positively” to calls for assistance in organising elections and to contribute to poverty reduction programmes.
There was also a commitment from Britain to make a “significant” financial contribution to a new land reform programme.
But the outcome appeared to show how much pressure had been placed on Zimbabwe.
Mugabe, who has been in power for 21 years and is facing elections next year, has come under fire at home and abroad over the violence and flouting of the rule of law in the country.
In Strasbourg, France, the European Parliament Thursday called on the Commonwealth meeting to put pressure on Zimbabwe and in Sydney, Australia, the government had hinted Zimbabwe might be suspended from the Commonwealth if no progress were achieved.
The outcome of the talks is particularly sweet for Obasanjo who was praised by delegates for his “continuing efforts at finding a solution to this problem”.
Zimbabwe meanwhile agreed to invite the members of the special Commonwealth committee meeting in Nigeria Australia, Britain, Canada, Jamaica, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and Zimbabwe to visit Zimbabwe later this year.
Zimbabwe had earlier this year refused a request from the Commonwealth group to visit the country.
Commonwealth Secretary General Don McKinnon told the BBC that he was “very optimistic” that the agreement would stick.
“We have spent the best part of eight hours arguing over some very small details but the commitment from the Zimbabwe representatives was very strong,” he told BBC television’s Newsnight programme.
“There’s no doubt in our mind that the Zimbabwe representatives know exactly how we feel about these things and we believe they are committed to following this agreement through.”
McKinnon declined to say exactly how much money was involved in the deal.
“We are looking at other international contributors who would be prepared to come in, given the general conditions that would be expected,” he added. – AFP
Text of the Abuja agreement on Zimbabwe September 7, 2001