Zimbabwe threatens to expel Western envoys
Zimbabwe threatens to expel Western envoysBy Reuters
Tuesday March 20, 2007 [08:40]
Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe speaks at his official birthday party in Gweru in this February 24, 2007 file photo. Zimbabwe on Monday threatened to expel Western ambassadors it accuses of backing a drive to oust President Robert Mugabe and barred opposition leaders from foreign travel until they appear in court
Zimbabwe on Monday threatened to expel Western ambassadors it accuses of backing a drive to oust President Robert Mugabe and barred opposition leaders from foreign travel until they appear in court Zimbabwe on Monday threatened to expel Western ambassadors it accuses of backing a drive to oust President Robert Mugabe and barred opposition leaders from foreign travel until they appear in court.
Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi told Zimbabwe state television (ZTV) that he had warned envoys accredited to Harare that Mugabe's government would not hesitate to boot out those who support opposition politics. "I summoned the ambassadors, and I told them that Zimbabwe will not allow any interference in its internal affairs and that those who are going to continue funding and supporting this program to (remove the government from power) will be expelled," he said during ZTV news bulletin in the local Shona language.
The threat followed a statement by Zimbabwean police that opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai and his colleagues would be grounded in the country until their case has been dealt with by the courts.
The U.S. ambassador, Christopher Dell, walked out of the meeting after Mumbengegwi failed to give an assurance that the diplomats would be able to respond to his statement, the State Department said in Washington. "The United States will continue to speak and act steadfastly in support of the people of Zimbabwe's right to democracy," it said in a statement.
Mugabe has come under heavy criticism for a new crackdown on the opposition, which he accuses of trying to organize anti-government protests that he says are bankrolled by some Western countries.
posted by MrK @ 4:22 PM
3 Comments:
The present Bush administration is no one to start admonishing anyone on democracy. It's track record on torture, the introduction of death squads (under the influence of death squad specialist senor Negroponte in Iraq, formerly of Central America), it's engineering of the coup on Haiti, etc. all disqualify it from playing any kind of role in Zimbabwe.
Why is it that it has to take Dr Kaunda repeating to us same story for some people to approach the Zimbabwe issue Mugabe stance on level head?
Unless we know where Africa came from ,where she is and where is going we may keep on back tracking like blind people.
Imperialist took fertile land from the blacks.
Well oppositions falling wayward in imperialist plans may continue facing hardships.
Eagle,
I completely agree with you.
Why is it that I don't like anyone in the MDC, or their supporters?
To me, the MDC looks like a more blatant version of the MMD.
What is their actual agenda, other than coming to power? What are they going to do for the economy (other than get sanctions lifted), and what are they going to do about land distribution?
Are they going to throw hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans off their land and restore white land ownership?
Why are they not embarassed about the blatants support for them by white farmers, the Blair government, the Bush government.
I have absolutely no patience for any of these appeasing neoliberal types who don't have the interest of their own people at hart at all. As a consequence, they cannot develop their own country, and are going through the motions by handing their country over to western interests.
And what I really hate is the proliferation of anti-Mugabe websites, many of them well designed and financed.
Who is putting forward the ZANU-PF point of view? No one. Even during the apartheid era, the BBC ALWAYS included the apartheid government's point of view, usually in the absence of the ANC's point of view. And now they are saying they are objective? It seems to me that they only respect authority when authority is white.
If you read the land policy on the MDC's official website, you have to read between the lines, but it is pretty clear they want to turn back land redistribution.
From the MDC website:
" To redress the injustice done to existing land owners under the reform process and to start the recovery process in the agricultural industry, "
Meaning that 'to start the recovery process' in other words is saying, that they believe that only whites can farm and should own land.
" The MDC will respect all legal land title deeds and ensure that the financial and legal rights of such landowners are fully respected and enforced. Existing landowners will be encouraged to resume farming as soon as possible and will be given every assistance to do so. Special Courts will be set up in all major centers to assess compensation claims for losses incurred during the “fast track” land reform operation and the State will be responsible for such claims. These Courts will also deal with disputes over land rights. "
And the afterthought:
" In Communal Areas, every assistance will be provided and a legal basis created to give farmers in these areas greater security over their assets. The exact basis of how this complex and difficult issue is dealt with will be left to the Land Commission and interested parties including the traditional leaders and the farmers themselves. "
In other words, they believe that only whites can farm and should own land.
This is their agricultural policy - turning back land redistribution. No mechanization of agriculture, no support for subsistence farmers, no development of rural infrastructure.
Their entire agricultural policy boils down to turning back land reform.
The MDC is history, if it is up to the people of Zimbabwe.
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