In mid-May the Daily Telegraph (London) carried a story that really illustrated just how tolerant multilateral international institutions are of even the most brutal of thugs. The item concerned British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw condemning an honor bestowed upon Zimbabwe’s police chief, Augustin Chihuri.
Chihuri is one of the members of Zimbabwe’s political elite who is theoretically barred from travelling to Europe. But it came out in early May that Interpol had offered Chihuri an honorary title as vice-president of Interpol.
Straw sent a letter saying, in part,
I believe that the decision to reward Chihuri in this way was wrong. Had we been asked we would have said so.
It is an insult to the people who have suffered at the hands of the Zimbabwean police and other state security apparatus in that country.
At the end of May, Chihuri announced he would resign his honorary title.
Of course even more disturbing is that Chihuri has worked for the last six years on Interpol’s Executive Committee.
For its part, Interpol says it is completely a political and that, “Article 3 of the Interpol constitution forbids it from becoming involved in any activities of a political nature.”
So apparently the human rights abuse and other crimes being carried out in Zimbabwe are simply just another political dispute.
Source:
Straw condemns Interpol honour for Mugabe’s police chief. Daily Telegraph (London), May 11, 2003.
Zimbabwe police commissioner resigns honorary Interpol title. Press Release, Interpol, May 30, 2003.