Squatters have invaded more than 500 farms
Zimbabwe's Vice-President has called for an end to invasions of Zimbabwe's white-owned farms. Joseph Msika said that the government would seek British funds for orderly land reform. Speaking for President Mugabe, who is on a visit to Cuba, Mr Msika said that last week's constitutional amendment allowing the seizure of land without compensation had cleared the way for the legal redistribution of white-owned land.
He spoke after the Zimbabwean High Court upheld an order for the eviction of squatters who have seized at least 500 of Zimbabwe's 4,500 white-owned farms, dismissing an appeal by police who said that it might trigger civil war. Mr Msika said that two government ministers would go to London soon and discuss British funding for a formal resettlement programme. The British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook welcomed the developments and repeated earlier pledges that Britain would help fund land reforms, as long as they were within the rule of law, offered a fair price for farms and were undertaken by "willing sellers".
In recent weeks, squatters, led by veterans of the war against minority rule, have invaded more than 500 farms. The Farmers' Union won an eviction order last month, but police chiefs refused to enforce it, saying they had insufficient manpower and feared widespread violence. Zimbabwe's President, Robert Mugabe, has said that the invasions are morally justifiable.
