Request to cut Zimbabwe’s electricity supply rejected by SA High Commissioner in London.
Mozambique will be next campaign target.
South Africa will not use economic pressure to encourage President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe to restore democracy and respect human rights. The African Union opposes sanctions. South Africa is therefore not willing to pursue unilateral action, such as switching off the electricity it supplies to the Zimbabwean regime.
This was the response of the South African High Commissioner to the UK, Lindiwe Mabuza, when she met Labour Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Michael Cashman and human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell at South Africa House in London today – Friday 6 June 2003.
Discussing the new campaign – Switch Off Mugabe’s Power (SWOMP)– Mr Cashman and Mr Tatchell urged the South African government to “show moral leadership” by “phasing-in power cuts if President Mugabe refuses to end his government’s human rights violations”.
Switching off the power to Zimbabwe would, they argue, create economic meltdown. This crisis might not force Mugabe to the negotiating table, but it could encourage some of his less hard-line government ministers or military chiefs to oust him.
Mr Cashman now plans to make a personal appeal in writing to the South African President, Thabo Mbeki. He also wants a European Parliament delegation to visit Pretoria to press the case for South Africa to switch off Mugabe’s power, and for South Africa to be compensated by the EU for any loss of revenue.
Mr Tatchell is working on a parallel campaign to persuade Mozambique to cut the electricity it supplies to Zimbabwe from the Cahora Bassa hydro dam.
At today’s meeting with the South African High Commissioner, Mr Cashman, who is a key human rights and foreign affairs figure in the European Parliament, expressed concern that by failing to overtly pressure the Mugabe government South Africa was giving it comfort and succour.
Echoing his sentiments, Mr Tatchell said: “South Africa supplies electricity to Zimbabwe and some of this electricity is being used to torture opponents of the Mugabe regime. Electric shock torture is used by the Zimbabwean police, army and intelligence services. The Pretoria government cannot wash its hands of these abuses. Its electricity helps sustain Mugabe’s tyranny”.
Ms Mabuza stressed that President Thabo Mbkei was “very concerned” about the situation in Zimbabwe and remained committed to pursuing a policy of “quiet diplomacy” to “promote negotiations” between President Mugabe and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). But she said South Africa would not support any form of sanctions against Zimbabwe.
“The softly, softly approach is not working”, according to Mr Tatchell. “Since President Mbeki began his strategy of quiet diplomacy the human rights abuses have got worse, not better”.
Background Briefing
Mr Cashman reminded the South African High Commissioner that during the apartheid era the ANC urged the international community to exert economic pressure against the then racist South African government.
“The demise of the apartheid regime was aided by economic sanctions”, added Mr Tatchell.
“The South African government should use its economic leverage to support the struggle for democracy and human rights in Zimbabwe, in the same way that other countries helped pressure the apartheid government of FW de Klerk to agree to black majority rule”.
Using his position as a Member of the European Parliament, Mr Cashman plans to lobby the European Union to compensate South Africa for any loss of revenue caused by halting power supplies to Zimbabwe.
“South Africa cannot be expected to bear the financial burden of cutting off the power to Zimbabwe. It is a international responsibility and rich member states of the EU should agree to cover any financial losses suffered by South Africa”, said Mr Tatchell.
Zimbabwe depends on South Africa as a major power supplier. Without electricity from South Africa, severe economic difficulties would follow and the Mugabe regime would probably collapse within weeks. Already, there are regular power cuts that cause havoc to the Zimbabwe economy. Many factories are operating at only half capacity.
The curtailment of electricity from South Africa would cause massive disruption but would not jeopardise water supplies, medical care and other essential services.
Hopefully, the mere threat by South Africa to cut power supplies would be sufficient to force Mugabe to the negotiating table or to prompt a coup against him.
The new campaign – Switch off Mugabe’s Power– is being organised by MrTatchell. He has the backing of opposition activists inside Zimbabwe and of Zimbabwean exiles and refugees in Britain and South Africa. Concerned Zimbabweans Abroad, a Zimbabwean exile group based in Johannesburg, is planning protests to support the Switch Off Mugabe’s Power campaign.
Mr Tatchell was active in the anti-apartheid movement for more than 20 years, organising protests in his native Australia and later in the UK, after he moved to Britain in 1971. He also fund-raised and campaigned in support of Zimbabwe’s war of liberation against Ian Smith’s white minority regime.
His aim is to get South Africa to issue an ultimatum to the Zimbabwean dictator: restore democracy and human rights or the electricity supply will be cut.
“When South Africa threatened to switch off Rhodesia’s power in the late 1970s, it forced Ian Smith’s white minority government to agree to black majority rule” said Mr Tatchell.
“The mere threat to cut the electricity supply worked then, and it can work now”.
“President Mbeki’s government has the power to force the Mugabe regime to halt its human rights violations and to restore democracy”.
“South Africa should set Mugabe a deadline to agree to free and fair, UN-supervised presidential and parliamentary elections”.
“The mere threat to pull the plug on electricity supplies could be enough to precipitate a coup by military officers or government ministers. Some are privately appalled to see their country destroyed by the President’s power-hungry megalomania”.
“Switching off the power is the single most effective thing that can be done to steer Zimbabwe back to the path of democracy. It is more important than all the marches, letters and deputations combined”.
“As well as working with Zimbabwean exiles in South Africa, I am also approaching old friends in the ANC. With their help, I hope we can eventually secure the South African government’s agreement to turn off the lights on Mugabe’s tyranny”.
“Several prominent anti-apartheid heroes, including Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the leaders of the trade union federation, COSATU, have already come out against the human rights abuses in Zimbabwe. There is potential to build a grassroots campaign inside South Africa to pressure the Mbeki government to change its hands-off policy towards Mugabe’s excesses”.
“Some people say this campaign could cause terrible suffering to the people of Zimbabwe, but the people there are already suffering. Millions are starving. Thousands have been arrested, tortured, raped and murdered. If South Africa switches off the power it will create short-term hardship, but produce the long-term gain of a free, democratic and prosperous Zimbabwe where human rights are respected”, said Mr Tatchell.
The Zimbabwe electricity authority, Zesa, imports 15 percent of its power from South Africa’s Eskom. This is nearly half its imported electricity. Without this power, the Zimbabwe economy would collapse.
Zimbabwe currently owes South Africa at least $US16 million for power imports, and this debt is rising rapidly as Zimbabwe defaults on payments.
Future campaigns will include targeting the government of Mozambique, which is another major supplier of electricity to Zimbabwe.