辛巴威鎮壓非政府組織活動 綁架百萬饑民! | 環境資訊中心
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辛巴威鎮壓非政府組織活動 綁架百萬饑民!

2008年06月19日
摘譯自2008年6月13日ENS辛巴威,布拉瓦約報導;鄭佳宜編譯;蔡麗伶、禾引審校

位於辛巴威的老婦人。圖片來源:Jaybo198桑貝尼(Jason Mthombeni)的77歲母親幾年來一直處於飢餓窘境,如今她恐怕會餓死。

在總統穆加比(Robert Mugabe)指控援助組織支援反對黨「民主改革運動」(MDC)、並因而禁止一切救援活動後,辛巴威將有上百萬民眾面臨飢餓之苦。

「你應該來親眼看看她。」桑貝尼以當地的恩德貝勒語(Sindebele)稱她為「Usalukazi」,「我不曾見過這樣的慘況:她總是在陳述肚子餓,而我賺的錢於事無補。」

辛巴威公共行政部長高奇(Nicholas Goche)下令非政府組織自6月5日開始停止一切援助行動,理由是他們觸犯某些法律,卻沒有多做說明。

美國駐辛巴威大使麥吉(James McGee)在一場會議中談到食物補給時,對記者表示:「民眾將在短期之內面臨飢餓。」

觀察人士多將此舉視為脅迫辛巴威人民在6月27日的決勝選舉,以為支持穆加比的策略。此舉對一個收成不豐,又長期仰賴食物援助的國家而言,無疑雪上加霜。

一艘原擬供應辛巴威飢童的美國物資船艦,在6月6日被軍警劫去,轉手供應執政黨人士,美國官方形容為藉由控制食物,來打擊反對穆加比勢力。

美國國際發展局局長福特(Henrietta Ford)在6月12日的聲明中,譴責這樣的行動「沒有良知」,他並表示,馬尼卡蘭(Manicaland)省長指揮軍警搶劫這艘載有20公噸物資的貨櫃,是美國預備提供辛巴威學童所需,和供應執政黨ZANUPF支持者在穆塔雷區的政治集會。

位於辛巴威的營養不良小孩。圖片來源:Iowa DOT人權團體指出,對辛巴威最貧困和弱勢群體來說,人道援助將受到嚴重限制。

自從辛巴威政府8年前推行所謂土地重整政策後,使原有「非洲糧倉」之稱的辛巴威淪為沒有生產力的沈船,許多人民是藉著救援團體的協助才得以渡過飢饉。

穆加比的錯誤經濟策略使辛巴威陷入不景氣,隨著支持率滑落,他開始鎮壓援助團體。

辛巴威西部的馬塔貝萊蘭省(Matabeleland)是反對黨大本營,自從退伍軍人指控活躍區內援助機構結合反對黨擾亂境內安定後,所有援助團體都遭驅離。

穆加比在近日聯合國食物高峰會中,譴責國內彷彿被食物下蠱,不惜接受和他主要對手英美兩國合作的非政府組織援助,影響這位南非強人口中的「非法政權轉移」。

辛巴威情況持續惡化,對人道救援組織的禁令在此時看來愈顯悲慘。

根據聯合國世界糧食計畫署,辛巴威今年需要食物援助的人口從4百萬增加到國內半數人口,約1,200百萬。

Zimbabwe's NGO Crackdown Threatens Millions With Starvation
BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe, June 13, 2008 (ENS)

Jason Mthombeni's 77-year-old mother has been hungry for years - now she is likely to starve.

She is one of the millions of Zimbabweans who will suffer as a result of President Robert Mugabe's ban on the activities of aid agencies in the country - imposed after he accused them of supporting the opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change, MDC.

"You should come and see her some time. I have never seen such cruelty. She always talks about being hungry, but I cannot do much with the kind of money I make," said Mthombeni of the woman he calls "Usalukazi," which means old woman in the local Sindebele language.

Zimbabwe's public service minister Nicholas Goche ordered all NGOs to suspend their field operations on June 5, accusing them of violating certain conditions, yet giving no further explanation.

U.S. Ambassador to Zimbabwe James McGee said on a conference call with reporters today that with the suspension of food aid, "people are going to be hungry in a very, very short period of time."

The ban, which many observers see as a tactic to pressure Zimbabweans to support Mugabe at the ballot box in the run-off election June 27, comes on top of a weak harvest in a country that has been heavily reliant on food assistance.

In addition, a shipment of U.S. food aid intended for hungry Zimbabwean children was looted by military and police forces June 6 and distributed to government party members as part of what U.S. officials have described as the government's control of food as a weapon to discourage support for Mugabe's political opposition.

USAID Administrator Henrietta Ford described the action as "unconscionable" in a June 12 statement. Ford said Zimbabwe's governor of Manicaland directed the military and police to hijack the truck carrying 20 metric tons of U.S. food assistance destined for schoolchildren and give it to supporters of the ruling ZANU-PF party who had gathered for a political rally in Mutare District.

Human rights groups say that humanitarian aid for the most poor and vulnerable in Zimbabwean society will now be severely restricted.

The relief provided by such groups had been keeping many Zimbabweans alive, since the government's so-called land reform policies of eight years ago left the former breadbasket of Africa a non-productive wreck.
A crackdown on aid agencies first began after Mugabe's popularity began to dwindle as a result of the skewed economic policies which pushed the country into recession.

In the volatile area of Matabeleland, a province in western Zimbabwe and an opposition stronghold, all aid agencies were purged after war veterans accused them of working with the MDC to destabilize the country.
Addressing the recent United Nations Food Summit in Rome, Mugabe blamed the country's food woes on a hostile bid by NGOs working with his arch-enemies, the UK and the United States, to effect what the Southern African strongman terms "illegal regime change."

The situation in the country continues to deteriorate, making the ban on humanitarian assistance particularly tragic.

According to projections by the UN's World Food Programme, this year has seen an increase in the number of Zimbabweans who will need food assistance from four million to at least half the population, currently estimated at more than 12 million.

全文及圖片詳見:ENS

作者

蔡麗伶(LiLing Barricman)

In my healing journey and learning to attain the breath awareness, I become aware of the reality that all the creatures of the world are breathing the same breath. Take action, here and now. From my physical being to the every corner of this out of balance's planet.