Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-09-06-Speech-4-146"
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"en.20010906.7.4-146"2
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"Mr President, there are 4 500 farmers of British, Dutch, German and Greek origin who own 8.3 million hectares of land in Zimbabwe. Nine white farmers and 360 black farm workers have been killed in the chaos over the last few months. Thousands of black farmers have lost their jobs and their homes and the farms are unworkable.
Zimbabwe depends on the success of agriculture and the contribution of these farmers is vital to sustain its economy. There is money available from the United Kingdom government under the Lancaster House Agreement and there is a willingness among the white farmers to give up 80% of their land to settle the black families. Mugabe must accept such a solution.
In 1970, Tanzania nationalised sisal farms, businesses and real estate, killing its private sector. The same happened in Uganda in 1972, when the Asians were expelled, and those two countries' economies have been bankrupt ever since. I sympathise with the farmers and farm workers of Zimbabwe, as my family was a victim of similar confiscation and nationalisation.
My family has lived in Tanzania for 166 years, much longer than many white farmers in Zimbabwe. We bought land from Deutsch-Ostafrika in 1876 and I still have a title deed. We lost land and property through nationalisation without compensation and I know what that means. I share the grief of the silent black majority in Zimbabwe, who continue to live in poverty. The poorest in Zimbabwe do not want to shoot, kill, loot and burn crops. They are hungry and unemployed. They need food, education, health, employment and shelter.
It was the vision and quality like Nelson Mandela that at last set an example for Africa that reconciliation, cooperation, democracy and respect for all people, irrespective of their colour, is the only way to govern a developing country the only way to help the poorest to be free of poverty and disease. President Mugabe must follow Mr Mandela and accept reconciliation and democracy, allow the white farmers to thrive and continue farming and accept that Zimbabwe belongs to the people of Zimbabwe and nobody has the right to deprive them of a decent life based on peace and democracy."@en1
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