Last night the Archbishop of Bulawayo, Pius Ncube, was interviewed by Jon Snow on Channel 4 news. There's some account of the interview here. I've made this transcript of most of what Pius Ncube said, from a recording I took:
These people then are being... forced to go to the country, and in the country there was a drought this year and there isn't enough food. Zimbabwe only produces a quarter of the food they produced formerly, five years ago... People are trying to employ themselves, trying to get a living, in a situation where there's 80% unemployment and 500% inflation.[Emphases added by me.][Jon Snow suggests that comparison with Pol Pot is 'pretty extreme'.] It's not extreme. I mean here is a man who is not giving any warning to people, pushing them out, something like one and a half million people. This is extremely cruel, very much like Pol Pot, and this will lead to people starving. People are already starving in the country because Mugabe didn't call for aid, at least not in time, and he's politicizing food in certain areas. So now these people are being forced to go to the country where there's nothing. The rain didn't come down... So, what will happen to these people? They're going to starve...
[Jon Snow asks why there isn't more protest from neighbouring states, from Africa.] You must understand there's an African club here. They will support one another come what may... They think that the Western world works to its own advantage... and they feel that we Africans, we must support one another, not embarrass one another by criticizing one another. It's an African club mentality here.
The South African government cannot speak about interference [from the West]. They've done nothing except to support Mugabe. Mugabe is killing his own people. I mean the thing is this, that Mbeki has lost all reputation in Zimbabwe, for supporting a dictator who is going against his own people.
[So what can be done?] As far as I'm concerned, the United Nations should arrest Mugabe, bring him to trial and insist on free and fair elections. There is no way you're going to get rid of that man through elections; he's rigged the elections in the last five years... he's stuffed the ballot boxes, he practises violence, he politicizes food...
[Snow asks if others, outside Africa, can do anything. The British Foreign Secretary says we're too many thousands of miles away, and we're the old colonial power.] When lives are at stake, this business of saying that we are far away doesn't work. We are all - as Robert Burns said - we are all brothers, we are all sisters. Let's help one another. We have some mad people in this world, right? For instance, we see what happened in Rwanda. People were standing around, the United Nations were standing around, the African countries did nothing about it, and a million people perished. We want another Rwanda to take place because of a madman...?
[Asked about his personal safety when he returns to Zimbabwe.] ... Of course, I'm aware it's a dangerous situation, of speaking up. But I'm saying that's the only thing I can do: to speak up for the people... I will go back there. I'm so angry. I am ready to stand before a gun and be shot. I'm so angry with what he has done...
[What would his call be to the nations of the G8?] The lives of people are at stake, and as far as I understand, religiously speaking and humanitarianly speaking, all our systems in this world must defend human life; otherwise if our systems don't defend human life, it's not worth being alive. I mean, what are all our systems, what is all the hustle and bustle about, what is the G8 about? It's all about defence of human life, and if we are going to allow human life to be sacrificed to the power-mongering of an individual, then we're not being faithful to the aspirations of the human race here.