MEDIA REACTION: FOOD CRISIS IN ZIMBABWE; HARARE

UNCLAS HARARE 000010 SIPDIS DEPT FOR INR/R/MR THIBEAULT INFO AF/PDPA DALTON, MITCHELL, SIMS AND AF/S RAYNOR NSC FOR JENDAYI FRAZER LONDON FOR GURNEY PARIS FOR NEARY NAIROBI FOR PFLAUMER E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KPAO KMDR ZI SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: FOOD CRISIS IN ZIMBABWE; HARARE ¶1. Under headline "Only return to sanity will end food shortages" the independent daily "The Daily News" dedicated its January 3 editorial to persuading the government of Zimbabwe to cooperate with the international community, adding that "the survival of the nation should not be made a sacrificial lamb on the alter of political expediency." Excerpts follow: ¶2. "The only way to end the shortages caused by the self- inflicted economic crisis - the worst in Zimbabwe's history - is for the government to face reality, by accepting aid from the international community. It is imperative for the government to bring back sanity and peace so as to create an economic environment that does not drive potential investors away or cost the country thousands of lives through starvation. The survival of the nation should not be made a sacrificial lamb on the alter of political expediency. . .If the government is really anxious about the fate of the millions of people facing death from starvation, they must swallow their pride and accept responsibility for the current food shortage. They must create the appropriate conditions to resuscitate the economy that has itself been starved of investment. The land reform program is a disaster because it was ill planned. Millions of people cannot pay for that blunder with their lives." WHITEHEAD