HC Deb 15 April 2002 vol 383 cc721-3W
Mr. Ancram

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what actions his Department has taken in relation to Zimbabwe since the inauguration of Robert Mugabe as President in March. [48786]

Mr. Straw

EU Foreign Ministers will consider further action on Zimbabwe at the General Affairs Council in Luxembourg on 15 April. I will give a substantive reply after the meeting. We also have been in close touch with the Commonwealth Secretariat and individual members of the Commonwealth. The right hon. Member will be aware that, following the election, the Commonwealth "Troika" decided upon the suspension of Zimbabwe from the Councils of the Commonwealth.

Mr. Ancram

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the leaders of countries bordering Zimbabwe since the elections in that country last month; and what the results of those talks were. [48785]

Mr. Straw

Ministers and officials continue to be in close touch with key countries in the region and with other international partners about the situation in Zimbabwe.

Mr. Ancram

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) if he will list those individuals who have had sanctions imposed on them by the European Union and the United States as a result of political violence and intimidation in Zimbabwe; [48790]

(2) if he will list the occasions on which those individuals against whom targeted sanction have been imposed by the European Union have visited the EU since the 2000 parliamentary elections in Zimbabwe, broken down by (a) country visited and (b) the date of those visits; [48788]

(3) if he will list the individuals who have had applications to visit the European Union turned down by member states and of the EU since the Union imposed targeted sanctions on Zimbabwe. [48791]

Mr. Straw

On 18 February 2002 the European Union imposed a travel ban (and assets freeze) on the following 20 senior members of the Government of Zimbabwe:

  • President Robert Gabriel Mugabe
  • Cabinet Secretary Charles Utete
  • Parliamentary Speaker Emmerson Mnangagwa
  • Home Affairs Minister John Nkomo
  • Security Minister Nicholas Goche
  • Youth Minister Elliot Manyika
  • Information Minister Jonathan Moyo
  • Information Minister's Permanent Secretary and Spokesman George Charamba
  • Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa
  • Agricultural Minister Joseph Made
  • Local Government Minister Ignatius Chombo
  • Foreign Minister Stan Mudenge
  • Senior Secretary MFA Willard Chiwewe
  • General Vitalis Zvinavashe (CDS)
  • Lieutenant General Constantine Chiwenga (army)
  • Air Marshal Perence Shin (air force)
  • Commissioner Augustine Chihuri (police)
  • Brigadier Elisha Muzonzini (intelligence)
  • Prisons chief Paradzai Zimondi
  • Defence Minister Sidney Sekeramayi.

None of the above mentioned Zimbabweans have attempted to visit the European Union since imposition of the travel ban on 18 February.

We have no access to records of other EU member states. All were entitled to visit the UK prior to 18 February, as Zimbabweans are not required to obtain visas to travel to the UK. No consolidated record will be available for any such visits.

Mr. Ancram

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports his Department has received concerning(a) food shortages, (b) politically motivated murders, (c) suppression of the media and (d) political intimidation and oppression in Zimbabwe since the elections. [48787]

Mr. Straw

We and the Department for International Development receive regular reports from a variety of governmental, non-governmental, media and other sources.

(a) Food shortages——UNDP's Humanitarian Assistance and Recovery Programme is providing supplementary feeding to 558,000 people in Zimbabwe. In addition, the Department for International Development is providing supplementary feeding to 300,000 people.

(b) Politically motivated murders——at least 10 opposition supporters, mostly election monitors, are reported to have been killed since the election and many more to have been injured.

(c) Media suppression——the Access to Information Act requires Zimbabwean journalists to be licensed by the Zimbabwean Government, and effectively bans foreign journalists. A report for the Daily Telegraph (a Zimbabwean national) was detained, and subsequently released, over the Easter weekend.

(c) Political intimidation and oppression——see (b) and (c) above.

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