WRITTEN QUESTION E-1322/03 by José Ribeiro e Castro (UEN) to the Commission. Zimbabwe: land, violence and nepotism.
Date: 2003-04-08
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Zimbabwe, agrarian reform, agricultural situation, farming system, human rights, political behaviour, political power, political violence

27.3.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 78 E/365

Respect of human rights, including the freedom of religion, is one of the basic criteria for accession to the
Union and is as such closely monitored by the Commission. The results of this monitoring exercise are
published annually, and in its 2002 Report on Romania’s Progress to Accession (Regular Report) the
Commission concluded that:

Freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Constitution and is observed in practice. The Government
does not restrict the observance of religious belief, although human rights organisations have reported
cases of Orthodox clergy, sometimes working with local officials, restricting the religious activities of
other churches.

There is no evidence that discriminatory actions against any religious group are systematically applied nor
are part of a deliberate policy of the Romanian government. The appropriate course of action would be to
use the Romanian legal system to challenge any illegal actions against church property.

At the same time the Commission is aware that the legal framework covering the return of confiscated
churches is as yet incomplete and the Commission has therefore urged the Romanian authorities to
introduce legislation that explicitly covers the restitution of churches. On this subject the 2002 Regular
Report noted:

In July 2002, Parliament adopted legislation that clarified the process of restituting property
confiscated from churches. The legislation extends the scope of the previous law in several important
respects. However, only church property is covered and there is presently no legal framework for the
restitution of actual churches. This is a particularly important issue for the Greek-Catholic Church
which had a large number of properties confiscated by the Communist regime but still has no legal
redress. The Government has committed itself to producing specific legislation on this issue but delays
in preparing such a law means that there has been no substantial progress.

In conclusion, this is a matter that the Commission takes very seriously. However, it is important to note
that the Commission cannot judge if specific cases constitute violations of the freedom of religion.
Romania is a signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights, Article 9 of which sets out basic
rights concerning ‘freedom of thought, conscience and religion’. This means that once domestic remedies
have been exhausted a complaint can be addressed to the European Court on Human Rights in Strasbourg
in order that it may assess these questions.

(2004/C 78 E/0385)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1322/03

by José Ribeiro e Castro (UEN) to the Commission

Subject: Zimbabwe: land, violence and nepotism

(8 April 2003)

Last week saw the first anniversary of the murder of the Zimbabwean farmer Terry Ford, on his own
Gowrie Farm, in the Norton District to the west of Harare.

A report published in The Independent of 23 March 2003 states that Sabina Mugabe, the Zimbabwean
President’s elder sister, a ZANU (PF) MP for Zvimba South and a member of the Ad Hoc Parliamentary
Committee on the Indigenisation of the Economy, has reserved the Norton District farms for her own
family; they occupy some of the country’s prime land. Some dozen farms around Lake Darwendale have
already been occupied, including Terry Ford’s.

Local bodies had apparently described these farms as being reserved for the ‘royal family’.

The farmers believe that as things die down, the ‘war veterans’ deployed to occupy the farms will be driven
out and the farms will be taken over and run by members of the President’s family and other high ranking
government and ZANU (PF) officials. Leo Mugabe, the President’s cousin, apparently holds Diandra Farm
(500 hectares), while it is believed that Sabina has demanded Audley End Farm (1 000 hectares) for herself.

C 78 E/366

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

27.3.2004

At the time of Terry Ford’s brutal murder, Sabina Mugabe was immediately singled out as one of the
alleged instigators of the crime.

Can the Commission answer the following:

(cid:1) now that a year has gone by, what information does the Commission have about these events;

(cid:1) can the Commission confirm the existence of nepotism in the way that the ‘indigenisation’ of

Zimbabwe’s economy is being carried out;

(cid:1) what up-to-date details does the Commission have about the results obtained by the new ways of

operating farms;

(cid:1) does it intend to take fresh measures to tackle the constant violation of human rights in Zimbabwe?

Answer given by Mr Nielson on behalf of the Commission

(16 May 2003)

The Commission is aware of the information reported by the media on the subject but does not have
detailed information on the particular cases of abuse raised by the Honourable Member.

Widespread nepotism and cronyism is believed to have taken place in the ‘fast track’ land reform process.
However, as there has been no independent audit of the process to date the Commission does not have
firm evidence regarding the details and extent of the abuse. The Minister of Land Reform, Ms Flora Bhuka,
carried out her own audit in late 2002 which has remained confidential but details leaked to the press
show a number of leading Zanu Patriotic Front (PF) related persons to own several farms. To date there has
been no government move to release this report to the public but instead it appears to intend to launch a
further internal audit. The Commission position is that only an independent audit carried out under the
auspices of a body such as the United Nations can form a credible basis for a review of the process to date
and the righting of the injustices that have occurred.

With regard to any form of nepotism in the ‘indigenisation’ of Zimbabwe’s economy the Commission
cannot confirm specific cases.

The main information the Commission has on the negative effects of the land reform relates to the current
drop in output and comes from the commercial farming sector. As of February 2003, 73 % of the
Commercial Farming Union’s membership (representing the majority of the commercial farmers) are no
longer farming. Maize production by commercial farmers had fallen from 810 000 tonnes in 2000 to an
estimated 80 000 tonnes in 2003. Soya-beans from 162 000 tonnes in 2001 to 30 000 tonnes in 2003.
Tobacco production has also been seriously reduced and beef and milk production has seriously declined.
This in turn has had a knock on effect on the food processing industry.

The current critical state of the Zimbabwean economy is well known. The lack of foreign exchange for
essential imports is also a direct result of the decline of the commercial farming sector, in particular the
tobacco sector which was responsible for approximately 40 % of Zimbabwean export earnings. As yet,
there is no information available on any positive effects of the reform.

The Commission shares the Honourable Member’s deep concern on the human rights situation and is
taking every opportunity to convey to the Government of Zimbabwe its anxiety in relation to increasing
political violence and ill-treatment of the opposition and civil society. The Council Presidency has, on
20 February 2003 and 28 March 2003, issued declarations expressing its concern over the recent arbitrary
arrests,
inhuman treatment and torture of members of the opposition and civil society organisations.
The Union has called on the government of Zimbabwe to end all harassment, intimidation and violence
against them. It urges the government and all political stakeholders to open serious dialogue to overcome
the current overwhelming problems facing Zimbabwe on the humanitarian, social and economic fronts.