News / National
Marange torture camps , 'cheap propaganda from the BBC': Mpofu
10 Aug 2011 at 08:35hrs | Views
Zimbabwe Mines Minister Obert Mpofu has denied BBC Panorama allegation of torture camps in Marange, calling it "cheap propaganda from the BBC."
"The British government is fighting a losing battle. It wants our diamonds to be banned from the international market. But I know that the world will not be fooled," Mpofu told a German news group.
The BBC report also detailed how hundreds of people were shot and killed in a 2008 'clean up' operation at the diamond fields, which ZANU PF officials have insisted never happened. Panorama spoke to a former soldier who explained how the military was deployed to shoot everyone panning for diamonds. The show also obtained a hand written copy of a mortuary report from 2008, revealing the scores of people killed in the operation.
Mike Davis from rights group Global Witness told SW Radio Africa on Tuesday the BBC report vindicates what his group and other civil society groups have been saying for years, that Chiadzwa is the site of serious human rights abuses. He explained that ideally the Kimberley Process (KP) which monitors the diamond trade, should take "a more robust approach to investigate these allegations and ensure that Zimbabwe meets the standards of trade it is supposed to uphold."
"But the KP has failed miserably with regards to Zimbabwe. They are facing a serious threat to their credibility and I am not optimistic that it will do anything. Any response will likely be muted," Davis said.
The BBC report comes as the European Union (EU) prepares to lift a ban on Zimbabwe diamonds, in place since 2009 over human rights abuses at Chiadzwa. But the EU has now decided that two mines there now meet international standards, despite the continued reports of violence and smuggling at the diamond fields.
Davis said the EU has always been a weak link in trying to ensure respect for human rights in Zimbabwe's diamond trade, saying their position "is influenced by countries with a stake in the trade, like Belgium." He explained that civil society and diamond consumers now have an important role to play to keep lobbying the KP over Zimbabwe.
Analyst Clifford Mashiri meanwhile said that, while the evidence obtained by the BBC is welcome, any movement towards investigations of these atrocities will depend on the KP.
"The ball is in the KP's court and they have shown that they want the Zimbabwe issue sorted out as quickly as possible. We shall have to wait and see what they decide," Mashiri said.
"The British government is fighting a losing battle. It wants our diamonds to be banned from the international market. But I know that the world will not be fooled," Mpofu told a German news group.
The BBC report also detailed how hundreds of people were shot and killed in a 2008 'clean up' operation at the diamond fields, which ZANU PF officials have insisted never happened. Panorama spoke to a former soldier who explained how the military was deployed to shoot everyone panning for diamonds. The show also obtained a hand written copy of a mortuary report from 2008, revealing the scores of people killed in the operation.
Mike Davis from rights group Global Witness told SW Radio Africa on Tuesday the BBC report vindicates what his group and other civil society groups have been saying for years, that Chiadzwa is the site of serious human rights abuses. He explained that ideally the Kimberley Process (KP) which monitors the diamond trade, should take "a more robust approach to investigate these allegations and ensure that Zimbabwe meets the standards of trade it is supposed to uphold."
The BBC report comes as the European Union (EU) prepares to lift a ban on Zimbabwe diamonds, in place since 2009 over human rights abuses at Chiadzwa. But the EU has now decided that two mines there now meet international standards, despite the continued reports of violence and smuggling at the diamond fields.
Davis said the EU has always been a weak link in trying to ensure respect for human rights in Zimbabwe's diamond trade, saying their position "is influenced by countries with a stake in the trade, like Belgium." He explained that civil society and diamond consumers now have an important role to play to keep lobbying the KP over Zimbabwe.
Analyst Clifford Mashiri meanwhile said that, while the evidence obtained by the BBC is welcome, any movement towards investigations of these atrocities will depend on the KP.
"The ball is in the KP's court and they have shown that they want the Zimbabwe issue sorted out as quickly as possible. We shall have to wait and see what they decide," Mashiri said.
Source - The Zimbabwean
