Archbishop in Mugabe Protest

The Archbishop of York dramatically cut up his dog collar during a live television interview yesterday, and vowed not wear it again until Zimbabwe leader Robert Mugabe is out of office.

Dr John Sentamu made the gesture on the Andrew Marr show. He removed his dog collar, saying: "As an Anglican this is what I wear to identify myself, that I'm a clergyman. Do you know what Mugabe has done? He's taken people's identity and literally, if you don't mind, cut it to pieces. In the end there's nothing."

Marr was stunned, but BBC staff in the production control room cheered. The archbishop has been a constant critic of the Mugabe regime and condemned the African leaders who insisted that Mugabe be allowed to attend the EU summit in Lisbon. Gordon Brown boycotted the event and German chancellor Angela Merkel said Mugabe's policies had damaged Africa.

While Sentamu praised their stance, he attacked African leaders for failing to stand up to Mugabe. "It is a dialog with the deaf. It is far too cosy. We need the world to unite against Mugabe. They did against apartheid. Zimbabwe was a bread basket and now it is a basket case. Why doesn't the same pressure apply?"

The country's inflation rate is the highest in the world. Sentamu said the international community - especially South Africa - had to intervene because people were starving. African states had to stop blaming others for their problems. "There is a pernicious self-destructing racism. A white person does it and the world cries. A black person does it and there's a sense that this is colonialism. Africa and the world have got to liberate Africa from its mental slavery and colonial mentality."