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Mugabe turns to churches for truce with EU
Foster Dongozi, The Standard (Zimbabwe)
May 28, 2006

http://www.thestandard.co.zw/viewinfo.cfm?linkid=11&id=951&siteid=1

IN desperate attempts to halt the country’s continued descent to economic ruin government is reportedly courting church leaders to approach European and US leaders to reverse crippling travel sanctions imposed on the Zanu PF leadership, The Standard understands.

In addition, the church leaders have been tasked with coming up with suggestions on how the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank could be influenced so that lines of credit to Zimbabwe can be re-opened.

On Thursday, President Robert Mugabe hosted a group of church leaders in a move that has been blasted by other church leaders.

There is a perception that some of the members of the clergy who met Mugabe are Zanu PF apologists.

Church insiders said one of the Zimbabwe Council of Churches leaders a relative of a Zanu PF former government minister suppressed a damaging report on last year’s March Parliamentary elections.

ZCC was one of the accredited election observers.

After meeting Mugabe, the head of the ZCC, Bishop Peter Nemapare addressed journalists and was quoted as saying: "We know we have a government that we must support, interact with and draw attention (to concerns).

"Those of us who have different ideas about this country surely must know that we have a government which listens."

Reports that Harare wants the churches to broker a peace pact with Europe and the US come amid media speculation that Mugabe has roped in long time ally, Tanzania to help him secure a meeting with British Premier, Tony Blair.

However, church leaders who spoke to The Standard said they were surprised that nothing appeared to have been said by the government’s praise singers about last year’s "Operation Murambatsvina" which was launched at the onset of winter.

Bishop Levee Kadenge, the convenor of the Zimbabwe Christian Alliance, a grouping of churches countrywide, said church organisations were shocked that some leaders were singing praises of a regime that had brought suffering on its own people.

He said: "We refer to such people who praise political leaders as court prophets. But then I suppose after being given a lot of sadza at State House, our colleagues were obliged to sing praises of the government.

Right now I am in Bulawayo and there are money shortages. People are suffering because of the government sanctioned ‘Operation Murambatsvina’ and I feel that is what the church leaders should have told President Mugabe."

Jonah Gokova, the director of the Ecumenical Support Services, was equally critical of the delegation.

He said: "Those church leaders have missed a big opportunity to be in solidarity with the poor and suffering people of Zimbabwe. The suffering has been caused by the bad policies of the same government that they were praising. I don’t know if the leaders were representing the views of their church members."

"Murambatsvina" left nearly one million people homeless and without livelihoods after the government demolished market stalls from where vendors sold their wares.

Thousands of school children were forced to abandon their education following displacement.

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