Cablegate: Independent Paper Asks Government to Explain

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS HARARE 002069

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR AF/PD, AF/S, AF/RA
NSC FOR JENDAYI FRAZER
LONDON FOR GURNEY
PARIS FOR NEARY
NAIROBI FOR PFLAUMER

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PHUM KPAO KMDR ZI
SUBJECT: INDEPENDENT PAPER ASKS GOVERNMENT TO EXPLAIN
POLICY SHIFT ON BIOTECH FOOD ASSISTANCE

1. Under headline "State must explain policy flip-
flop on GM food" the independent daily "The Daily
News" dedicated its September 10 editorial to
challenging the government to explain President
Mugabe's ruling that Zimbabwe will accept food aid
that may contain biotech products. Excerpts:

2. "The government must explain its sudden U-turn on
genetically modified (GM) maize. . . State media
reports that James Morris, the director of the World
Food Program (WFP), was rebuffed by President Mugabe.
. .when he first raised the issue on the sidelines of
the Earth Summit in Johannesburg. Morris persisted
and came out to Harare. Soon after meeting Mugabe,
the government announced the WFP planned to ship
600,000 tons of maize, some of it GM, into the
country. So what was all the fuss about? The
government's only face-saver was that the food will be
`quarantined,' whatever that means. The government
must explain what it knows now about GM food - which
it didn't know last week - the precautions people must
take before consumption and the reason for this
radical policy shift."

SULLIVAN

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