---

Zimbabwe

My Lords, your Lordships may know that my diocese is twinned with three of the dioceses in Zimbabwe and over the years there have been frequent visits of church leaders and others in both directions. In fact, there is a party of two dozen people led by the Bishop of Croydon visiting at present. Through these visits and communications we are very well aware of the contribution that local churches in Zimbabwe are making to ease the lot of their neighbours and the extremely delicate and sometimes dangerous situation in which they find themselves. It has not always been easy to judge how the church in England can best support them because any criticism of the Zimbabwean Government coming from us is swiftly denounced as the predictable opposition of an ex-colonialist church, and Anglicans in Zimbabwe can then be disregarded as being the lackeys of colonialism. In spite of this, several of the bishops, particularly the Roman Catholic bishops, have been courageous in seeking to resist the excesses of oppression which they and their people experience. I say ““several”” because Anglicans here are also embarrassed by the part being played by the Bishop of Harare, Dr Nolbert Kunonga, who is very close to the Mugabe regime. All this is happening at a time when SADC decided to commission a team to develop a paper on possible solutions to the crisis. It would be good if the Minister could tell us what is the strategy of Her Majesty’s Government and the EU in working with this. It would also be good to know how the British Government will continue to support food aid and the World Food Programme without seeming to be propping up the regime. It is difficult not to be pessimistic about the situation but the network of community care represented by local churches in Zimbabwe will still be there when the Mugabe regime has disappeared and it will be part of the basis for nation building. We in the church will do all we can to support them.