Thread by @zenzele

Asked by a BCC journalist why Britain did not confront Mugabe on Gukurahundi , ROGER MARTIN ,British Deputy High Commissioner Zimbabwe, December 1983-86 said ..... #Asakhe

"Among the short-term self-interest, the points you might have put in your analysis of what our interests were that no British Government wanted a couple of hundred thousand British citizens appearing with cardboard suitcases at Heathrow...

the sudden expulsion of whites if we'd pulled the rug on the aid and as it were denounced Mugabe. This was a real threat."

In 1984 Martin came face to face with the 5th brigade in Kezi and this what he said : A platoon of the 5th Brigade turned up, they had ordered all the workers from the farm to gather together. .

Thy were forcing them to sing songs in Shona, liberation songs, nothing to do with Matabeleland. They were poking them as they capered about singing these songs with their AK bayonets, not drawing blood particularly as poking, humiliating, , very blatant

and then making them lie flat if they didn't sing well enough on the ground face down and beating them with strips of rubber that they carried with them, or with sticks.

I saw this happening. We complained, we asked them to stop, we asked them to treat people well because had done no harm and they laughed and made quite clear they were not going to do that because that was what they were ordered to do.

Whereupon, having no other choice, we left, went on our trip, leaving the workers to their fate which was not going to be killed, it was going to be humiliated and punished physically.

In March 1984 Prince Charles visited Zimbabwe. He DONALD TRELFORD the Observer journalist who had written about Gukurahundi. Donald said " I was invited to lunch by Prince Charles, the subject came up. ..

..Prince charles said He said "Ah yes, those massacres in Matabeleland, the Foreign Office told me that it was all exaggerated.......... But I was shocked that the whole thing could be swept away quite so easily .

ROGER MARTIN Deputy High Commissioner Zimbabwe, December 1983-86 goes on to say "Clearly we knew that atrocities were being committed. I did not know, although we had very good information, anything like the scale of killing that has since been revealed."

"The British Government knew that the 5th Brigade had committed serious abuses of human rights in Matabeleland. They knew Perence Shir was commander but immediately after they allowed Perence Shire to go to the Royal College of Defence Studies in London as an honoured guest.

General Sir EDWARD JONES British Military Advisory & Training Team Zimbabwe 1983-85 had this to say about inviting Shiro to the Uk...

I think I'm right in saying that he was the first officer from the ZNA to go to the Royal College of Defence Studies .

JONES goes on to say "....undoubtedly he was the man who was going to be important in Zimbabwe and I think it was important that we should influence him positively in so far as we could".

Source : PANORAMA "The Price of Silence" RECORDED FROM TRANSMISSION: BBC-1.