Posted on 08/15/2002 4:11:40 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
Former British nationals wanting to flee Zimbabwe are not being allowed to reclaim their citizenship even though the Government has the discretion to allow them to do so, the Tories said yesterday.
Michael Ancram, the shadow foreign secretary, who has just returned from Zimbabwe, accused the Government of "placing unnecessary obstacles in the way" of white farmers trying to escape the regime of Robert Mugabe.
He said that he had been repeatedly told that the High Commission in Harare was refusing citizenship to anyone who had renounced it more than once, and that it was charging for passport renewals and extensions at black market exchange rates.
Speaking at a press conference held with members of the Zimbabwean opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change, and farmers who had fled Zimbabwe, Mr Ancram said that the Home Secretary had the discretion to re-register former nationals as British citizens.
He called for an assurance that this would happen with Zimbabweans who had been forced to give up their British nationality and said he had written to the Prime Minister, asking him to investigate the claims made about the High Commission in Harare as a matter of urgency.
"If this is true, it would mean in practice that British citizenship is being forfeited under duress, and that the Government seems on the face of it to be helping Mugabe to get his way," he said.
"Many Zimbabweans are trying to stay on the right side of the law, trying to avoid the unwanted attention of Mugabe and his policemen. To force people to use black market pricing would play into Robert Mugabe's hands."
The official rate of exchange is about Z$90 to the pound, while the black market rate is about Z$1,000 to the pound.
The Foreign Office said former British nationals who applied in Harare to resume their British citizenship were advised "in accordance with all relevant sections" of the British Nationality Act.
Under Section 13 of the British Nationality Act of 1981, anyone who renounces their British citizenship can be re-registered as a citizen at the discretion of the Home Secretary.
A Foreign Office spokesman said the High Commission in Harare was advising all applicants of this provision, but said it was not treating former British subjects in Zimbabwe any differently from those anywhere else.
She added that applications would be handled on a case by case basis, thereby not making re-registration an automatic process for former British citizens wanting to flee Zimbabwe.
She confirmed, however, that the Government had started using the "parallel" exchange rate in calculating passport fees. She said the Foreign Office was obliged by Parliament to recover all its visa and consular costs worldwide. Consular and visa operations in Harare cost £400,000 last year.
"In view of our obligations to Parliament, the Government therefore decided to move to full cost recovery with effect from June 24. This involves using the parallel exchange rate," the spokesman said.
"The High Commission's legal advisers have confirmed that it is legal to do so."
Mr Ancram denounced the new rules, saying the Government should be doing more to provide assistance to Zimbabweans being oppressed by Mr Mugabe's regime. "If they are using the black market rate as a way of getting their costs recovered, I would find that totally unacceptable," he said.
Derrick Arlett-Johnson, 42, who arrived in Britain in May 2000 after his farm was ransacked said he had been given "very, very little support" on his return.
Mr Arlett-Johnson, who is working as a truck driver in Scotland, said he had been forced to sue social services despite holding a British passport.
He said: "People coming back on British passports are being denied basic opportunities, such as access to housing, schools and income support."
Albert Weidemann, a Zimbabwean human rights activist, said: "The Government has failed to understand the misery faced by Britons forced to return from Zimbabwe and is not doing enough to help its own citizens rebuild their lives.
"They cannot bring more than £500 with them and face real financial hardship, with little help in finding work and a safe place to live. Almost all are refused benefits and some have even been forced into going back to Zimbabwe."
Donations can be sent to the Zimbabwe Farmers Trust Fund on 01776-705316 or via e-mail to zimfarmtrust@aol.com
I often wonder how much impact such things have... and yet, I have noticed recently that the opening monolgues of Rush and Hannity seem composed of headlines lifted off Free Republic. Someone, somewhere, is seeing this stuff and relaying it higher up the Information Food Chain. Shoot, let's toss in the boilerplate:
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Virtually all articles are "sourced"-- there's a link back to the original, so you can judge for yourself the merits. You won't get that with the TV sound bites. The posters' opinions which follow are often more illuminating than the articles.
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First it was Rhodesia then SA now America paying the price of silence.
-A Capsule History of Southern Africa--
ZWNEWS.com - linking the world to Zimbabwe
... Books & Videos. Degrees in Violence: Robert Mugabe and the Struggle for Power
In Zimbabwe This book tells the story of Zimbabwe from the hopeful era of ...
MPR Books - Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African ...
Title: "Cry, the Beloved Country" - Topics: World/South Africa
The Daily Mail said Charles wrote seeking help for farmers who have faced bureaucratic obstacles and have been denied assistance. Blair's office on Monday declined to confirm or deny receiving a letter from the prince, but said that if Charles had written then Blair would respond.
A spokesman for Blair, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity, said the government had contingency plans to deal with any influx of British citizens from Zimbabwe.***
However, Moroccans, Palestinians, and other brown skinned laborers are welcome in Britain, with or without a passport.
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