- President Robert Mugabe's ruling party has told the United
States to "go
- to hell" over its statement that Mugabe should step
down and hand over
- power to a transitional government pending new elections.
-
- Zanu-PF said it was the US that should have a transitional
government and
- new elections because George Bush "was not elected".
-
- "Instead of shouting instructions for Mugabe to
step down, it's the
- Americans themselves who need a transitional government
to hold fresh
- elections and replace the unelected Bush," said
Zanu-PF information
- secretary Nathan Shamuyarira.
-
- "If the Americans don't want to accept our legitimacy,
it is their own
- problem. They can go to hell. There will be no new elections
here."
-
- 'He (Mugabe) stole the last one; we can't let that happen
again'
- Reports from Washington quoted the State Department as
urging Zimbabwe's
- neighbours to step up pressure on Mugabe to hand over
power to a
- transitional government, paving the way for new elections.
-
- "What we're telling them is there has to be a transitional
government in
- Zimbabwe that leads to a free and fair, internationally
supervised
- election," a senior official was quoted as saying.
-
- "That is the goal. He (Mugabe) stole the last one;
we can't let that
- happen again," said the unnamed official. "It
has to be internationally
- supervised, open, transparent, with an electoral commission
that works."
-
- He would not say whether Washington had received positive
reactions to its
- call, but said generally southern African neighbours
were increasingly
- aware of the problems posed by Mugabe's rule.
-
- "The neighbourhood - meaning southern Africa - is
realising that this is
- not going well, this is breaking bad," said the
official. "The food
- situation is going to get nothing but worse, the economic
scene is
- disastrous."
-
- The official noted that Zimbabwe's economy was crippled
by hyperinflation
- and an unemployment rate of 80 percent and Zimbabweans
were fleeing in
- droves to become refugees in Botswana, Mozambique and
South Africa.
-
- In addition, the situation was hurting the economies
of other countries in
- the region, as potential investors steered clear.
-
- "The neighbourhood is starting to realise that there
is a downside to
- giving aid and protection to Comrade Bob," said
the official.
-
- "There is stuff happening, there is stuff happening
behind the scenes,"
- the official added, declining to elaborate.
-
- But Shamuyarira said America's urging of Mugabe to quit
was unacceptable.
- The next parliamentary elections in Zimbabwe would be
in 2005, followed by
- a presidential election in 2008.
-
- Any notion of bringing forward these dates would not
see the light of day.
-
- Shamuyarira said the only way to resolve the crisis was
for the US and
- European Union to accept the results of last year's
- presidential election and "work with President Mugabe's
elected
- government".
-
- The elections had been recognised as free and fair by
African and Southern
- African Development Community observers.
-
- "The only group that flatly refused to acknowledge
the election was the
- European Union. We refused to be bound by the EU's racist
position.
-
- Shamuyarira said: "If the Americans want to follow
the EU, then it's their
- problem."
-
- The US Assistant Secretary for African affairs, Walter
Kansteiner, is
- visiting Botswana and South Africa later this month,
partly to discuss the
- situation in Zimbabwe.
-
- Zimbabwe has failed to respond to appeals for reform
from the Commonwealth
- and its situation has worsened since suspension, says
an internal report
- by secretary-general Don McKinnon, leaked in London.
-
- This article was originally published on page 1
- of The Cape Argus April 16, 2003
-
- http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=68&art_id=v
- n20030416094429241C764544&set_id=1
|
