ZIMBABWE: REACTIONS TO ZIMBABWE GOVERNMENT'S AGREEMENT TO REMOVE BLACKS ILLEGALLY OCCUPYING WHITE-OWNED FARMS
Record ID:
648757
ZIMBABWE: REACTIONS TO ZIMBABWE GOVERNMENT'S AGREEMENT TO REMOVE BLACKS ILLEGALLY OCCUPYING WHITE-OWNED FARMS
- Title: ZIMBABWE: REACTIONS TO ZIMBABWE GOVERNMENT'S AGREEMENT TO REMOVE BLACKS ILLEGALLY OCCUPYING WHITE-OWNED FARMS
- Date: 7th September 2001
- Summary: (U5) HARARE, ZIMBABWE (AUGUST 7, 2001) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. VARIOUS STREET SCENES (3 SHOTS) 0.18 2. SV'S/SCU'S: NEWSPAPER VENDOR/ NEWSPAPER HEADLINES (6 SHOTS) 0.46 3. SV/SCU: SOUNDBITE (English) PRESIDENT OF THE COMMERCIAL FARMERS' UNION, COLIN CLOETE SAYING: "Well I'm very encouraged that we've actually got an agreement between our government and the British government. It seems that there has been a deadlock which has been broken and hopefully there's going to be resources that will come into the country to help us get into a proper resettlement programme. I didn't understand why we had got so far apart on a political nature for so long but I'm glad to say that we've broken that impasse now and it looks like things are going to be good in the future." (2 SHOTS) 1.24 4. CU/SV: WAR VETERANS ASSOCIATION OFFICE (2 SHOTS) 1.30 5. SCU: SOUNDBITE (English) KEITH KILIWANE, INFORMATION, RESEARCH AND PUBLICITY OFFICER FOR THE WAR VETERANS SAYING: "I won't take this as an achievement yet since they have to decide after. Let's wait for the results but I doubt very much -- they're just very good in buying time. They are delaying tactics so while they are talking we will carry on our exercise as War Veterans up to that time when we really see that we have come to a conclusion." 2.03 6. MV: KILIWANE IN OFFICE 2.07 7. SV: MORE OF PEOPLE ON STREET 2.15 8. SV: SOUNDBITE (English) TENDAI BITI - MOVEMENT FOR DEMOCRATIC CHANGE SECRETARY AND HUMAN RIGHTS LAWYER: "We regard the Abuja agreement as a short term briefing measure on the part of the Zanu-PF (Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front) government. We believe that it is a government in crisis domestically, originally and internationally and its needs some temporal respite -- it needs some legitimisation until such time as presidential elections are held in 2002." 2.50 9. CRICKET FIELDS/VARIOUS OF FARMERS WATCHING A MATCH BETWEEN SOUTH AFRICA AND ZIMBABWE (3 SHOTS) 3.01 10. SCU: SOUNDBITE (English) VOX POP: "I'm a little bit sceptical about it simply because there was an agreement in 1998 agreed with the government and the stakeholders including the farmers and it didn't work out so you know this one is another agreement one hopes it will work out but one has to be a little bit careful about getting too excited about it at this stage." 3.20 11. SOUNDBITE (English) VOX POP: "And I'm very optimistic about what's happening now and it augers well for the future. There's a lot of space and there's a lot of goodwill in this country between black and white." 3.35 12. VARIOUS OF CROWD AT CRICKET MATCH (4 SHOTS) 3.52 (W1) NEAR HARARE, ZIMBABWE (FILE - 2000) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 13. VARIOUS OF BURNING AND SMOULDERING HOUSES (5 SHOTS) 4.14 14. VARIOUS OF FARM WORKERS ATTEMPTING TO SAVE THEIR BELONGINGS WALKING AWAY WITH MATTRESSES (6 SHOTS) 4.39 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 22nd September 2001 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: HARARE AND NEAR HARARE, ZIMBABWE
- Country: Zimbabwe
- Reuters ID: LVAL7LJ7426Q3HIOSHUAL5I0TN5
- Story Text: Zimbabwe has said it would move swiftly to remove
blacks illegally occupying white-owned farms, but sceptics
were waiting for President Robert Mugabe to give his public
seal of approval.
Under the accord announced in the Nigerian capital
Abuja late on Thursday, Zimbabwe agreed to stop landless
blacks from occupying white-owned farms in the southern
African country.
Former colonial power Britain agreed to co-finance
compensation for white farmers whose land would be
redistributed to the black majority in an orderly way under
the deal.
Colin Cloete of the Commercial Farmers' Union says they
were questioning whether the Britian had left them to their
fate.
"Well I'm very encouraged that we've actually got an
agreement between our government and the British government.
It seems that there has been a deadlock which has been broken
and hopefully there's going to be resources that will come
into the country to help us get into a proper resettlement
programme. I didn't understand why we had got so far apart on
a political nature for so long but I'm glad to say that we've
broken that impasse now and it looks like things are going to
be good in the future," Cloete said.
But the future of the agreement is almost entirely in the
hands of the increasingly unpredictable President Robert
Mugabe, who has walked away from previous deals, political
analysts said.
The 77-year-old president, who government officials said
was out of the country on a brief holiday, made no public
comment on the agreement. The war veterans who support him and
led the invasion of white farms say they will take their cue
from him.
"I won't take this as an achievement yet since they say
they have to decide after. Let's wait for the results but I
doubt very much -- they're just very good in buying time, they
are delaying tactics. So while they are talking we will carry
on our exercise as war veterans up to that time when we really
see that we have come to a conclusion," said Keith Kiliwane of
the war veterans group.
Analysts said Mugabe might have calculated that he needed
to clinch agreement in Abuja to ward off threats of
international sanctions aimed at him and his associates.
Zimbabwe's embattled white farmers called the deal a
landmark towards the restoration of peace and justice.
Nine white farmers have died in an 18-month-long crisis.
Black farm workers have been assaulted and thousands
forced to leave their homes by violence which political
analysts link to Mugabe's campaign to retain power.
Next week, regional leaders led by South African President
Thabo Mbeki will meet in Harare for a two-day summit with
Mugabe on the issue.
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