"Nichts mehr davon, ich bitt euch. Zu essen gebt ihm, zu wohnen. Habt ihr die Blöße bedeckt, gibt sich die Würde von selbst." Friedrich Schiller
May 2008	FOOD for PEACE

Mugabe Blasts British and Defends Land Reform at FAO President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe challenged the former British colonial masters of his country at the FAO summit in Rome. Mugabe made the following statement: "My country's primary agriculture policy objective remains that of ensuring national and household food security through our own production. In this regard, Zimbabwe has recognized the importance and centrality of land in agricultural production and food security. Thus, over the past decade, Zimbabwe has democratized the land ownership patterns in the country, with over 300,000 previously landless families now proud landowners. "Previously, this land was owned by a mere 4,000 farmers, mainly of British stock. While this land reform program has been warmly welcomed by the vast majority of our people, it has however, and rgrettably so, elicited wrath from our former colonial masters. In retaliation for the measures we took to empower the black majrity, the United Kingdom has mobilized her friends and allies in Europe, North America, Australia, and New Zealand to impose illegal economic sanctions against Zimbabwe. They have cut off all development assistance, disabled lines of credit, prevented the Bretton Woods institutions from providing finanical assistance and ordered private companies in the United States not to do business with Zimbabwe. All this has been done to cripple Zimbabwe's economy and thereby effect illegal regime change in our country. "Funds are being channelled through non-governmental organizations to Opposition political parties, which are a creation of the West. Further, these Western funded NGOs also use food as a politial weapon with which to campaign against the Government, especially in the rural areas."