25 September 2007
South Africa's Archbishop Desmond Tutu on Tuesday made a new attack on human rights violations in Zimbabwe. He said in a statement he was "devastated" by the "horrific" conditions in the country.
Citing low life expectancy, deteriorating health facilities, hunger, and joblessness, Tutu called on Africans and the world to pay attention to the situation in the troubled country.
Reports of torture, unlawful detentions, and attacks on political opponents are "reminiscent of our experiences at the hands of apartheid police," Tutu said.
Referring to recent attempts at peace talks led by South African President Thabo Mbeki, Tutu said "The extent to which the crisis could have been mitigated through more efficient economic management is a matter for debate by people better-qualified than me" but that there is "no debate" that "human rights violations… are on the increase." The rights violations "must stop now."
The world must act on the African concept of ubuntu, or "inter-dependency" by working to end the crisis, he said. "Zimbabwe's plight is all of our plight. To ignore its suffering is to condone it."
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