Howard slams Zim
2005-06-24 11:21
Special Report
Riot police in Zimbabwe have disrupted a Valentine's Day peace march, scattering women demonstrators.
A dusty road leads to the village of Wedza, where veterans of Zimbabwe's liberation war eke out a meagre living on their farm cooperative, which after a promising start now brings only despair.
Sydney - African nations must take a tougher stand against evictions and human rights abuses in Zimbabwe, Australian Prime Minister John Howard said on Friday.
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe claims removing illegal dwellings will cut crime. The action has left at least 200 000 people homeless and two children dead after their homes were bulldozed on the outskirts of the capital, Harare.
Howard said African countries were turning a blind eye to the evictions.
"Mugabe is sustained because of the patronage of some of the countries around him and I think the time has long since arrived for them to take a tougher stand," Howard said.
The prime minister was commenting on remarks by British foreign secretary Jack Straw.
"If the reports are simply half true and we believe them to be much more than half true, this is a situation of serious international concern," Straw said. "And no government which subscribes to human rights and democracy should allow this kind of thing effectively to go on under their noses," he said. - Sapa-dpa
- SAPA