Archbishop Sentamu calls for Mugabe regime to be toppled
Dr John Sentamu, the Anglican Archbishop of York, has called for the international community to bring an end to the “charade of power sharing” and to remove the administration of Robert Mugabe from power in Zimbabwe.
Writing in The Observer Newspaper yesterday, Dr Sentamu compared the situation in Zimbabwe to that he faced as a dissident in Uganda under Idi Amin: “Where are the African governments or leaders with the courage of Julius Nyerere, the former President of Tanzania, who ousted Idi Amin after recognising that his neighbour had become a tyrant and who marched an army into Uganda to bring an end to the killing fields? In Uganda, we were beaten, tortured, abused and hundreds were murdered, but never did we starve to death or see the level of suffering which is to be found in today’s Zimbabwe.”
Dr Sentamu also called for the international community to recognise that the power sharing agreement between Zanu Pf and MDC was “dead” and had failed: “As cholera devastates a Zimbabwe already on its knees, our Prime Minister, our Foreign Secretary and the US Secretary of State have all called for an end to the regime of Mugabe. Now these voices must unite for a further call to bring an end to the charade of power-sharing that has enabled Mugabe to remain in office, assisted by his ruthless politburo. The time has come for the international community to recognise that the power-sharing deal signed in September is dead. The impasse within the South African-sponsored negotiations between the MDC and Zanu PF has been sustained by a Mugabe regime which is unwilling to give up power and refuses to recognise the rule of law.”
The Archbishop also urged the international community to bring Robert Mugabe and his closest supporters before The Hague to stand trial for their crimes against the people of Zimbabwe: “The time has come for Mugabe to answer for his crimes against humanity, against his countrymen and women and for justice to be done. The winds of change that once brought hope to Zimbabwe and its neighbours have become a hurricane of destruction with the outbreak of cholera, destitution, starvation and systemic abuse of power by the state. As a country cries out for justice, we can no longer be inactive to their call. Mugabe and his henchmen must now take their rightful place in the Hague and answer for their actions. The time to remove them from power has come.”
Urging the international community not to shirk from its responsibility, the Archbishop also quoted Martin Luther King, suggesting that: “We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people, but for the appalling silence of the good people.”