Archbishop delivers Zimbabwe plea

Gukurahundi in Zimbabwe

Dr John Sentamu said that Zimbabwe's embassies across the world should be "downgraded" and only allowed to operate from another country's mission.

Speaking on BBC1's Andrew Marr Show, outside York Minster, the Archbishop of York issued a plea to the South African president, Thabo Mbeki, to intervene directly.

The Archbishop said South Africa should remember global pressure forced a change in the system which had previously governed their lives.

Dr Sentamu said: "It is not too late for the South African government to liberate itself from the suggestion that because Mugabe was a war veteran, we can only just simply persuade him. You know, in Uganda we were liberated by Tanzania saying enough is enough. South Africa, please, for Heaven's sake, stop all this suggesting that this is going to be imperialism, this is going to militarism. Remember a lot of people in the West put pressure on the then apartheid government - and that apartheid government had to bend to the will of the international community. So South Africa, for Heaven's sake just wake up to what is happening in Zimbabwe and your own country, you've got four million refugees which you can ill afford.

A transcript of the interview with Andrew Marr is available here.

During his interview, the Archbishop referred to the book 'Gukurahundi in Zimbabwe' - A report on the disturbances in Matabeleand and The Midlands 1980-1988. Introduction by Elinor Sisulu and Foreword by Archbishop Pius Ncube. ISBN reference: 978-1-85065-890-0

The Archbishop called for action in Zimbabwe, writing in The Observer on 15 September 2007. The article is available here