Zimbabwe edits out war veteran’s anti-India remark

Zimbabwe today refuted the charge that Harare sees people of Indian origin as ‘‘economic looters’’ and distanced itself ...

Zimbabwe today refuted the charge that Harare sees people of Indian origin as ‘‘economic looters’’ and distanced itself from anti-Indian statements made by a war veteran. The language of Andrew Ndlovu, of the National Liberation War Veterans’ Association, evoked images of Idi Amin’s Uganda and led to criticism of President Robert Mugabe’s government which is already under suspension from the Commonwealth.

The Zimbabwe High Commissioner in New Delhi Lucia Muvingi told The Indian Express that the statement was made by a ‘‘war veteran and he had no authority from the government to make it. He was not stating government policy, it was his own opinion’’. The Zimbabwe Government has since issued a clarification saying this was not ‘‘government opinion and no person of Indian origin will be persecuted’’.

In what appeared to be a repeat of the 1970s clampdown on Indian businessmen in Uganda, about 12,000 people of Indian origin in Zimbabwe are now facing threats from supporters of President Robert Mugabe to hand over their property or risk having it seized. Ugandan leader Idi Amin summarily expelled 60,000 Asians, mostly Indians, from the country in August 1972. According to a report from Harare, Ndlovu said the movement had started Operation Liberation to seize Asian, mostly Indian, business properties.

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Ndlovu was speaking to The Herald, a State-controlled daily, which has repeatedly been used by Mugabe to announce new policies. ‘‘We want these Indians to surrender a certain percentage of their land to the government,’’ he said. ‘‘Indians are not here to develop our country or to work with the government. They are economic looters,’’ he added.

According to Muvingi, Zimbabwe’s main fight is on the land issue and Indians there do not form a large land-owning community. About 75 per cent of arable land in Zimbabwe is owned by the Anglo-American community. ‘‘Indians own only a small percentage of the land. Others are mostly traders and they will not be affected by the land campaign. Also, the landowners are not absentee landlords and so they will remain untouched too,’’ explained Muvingi.

The High Commissioner said that the War Veterans’ Association has also disassociated itself from the statement.

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