Maravi

(TALKZIMBABWE) West can go hang a thousand times — Charamba

West can go hang a thousand times — Charamba
Our reporter
Tue, 01 Jul 2008 12:20:00 +0000

PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe’s spokesman has rejected calls for a coalition government with the Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai saying the west “can go hang a thousand times.”

“They can go and hang a thousand times, they have no basis. They have no claim on Zimbabwe politics at all,” presidential spokesman George Charamba said in response to a question about Western criticism of President Mugabe.

He was speaking to reporters gathered at the ongoing African Union (AU) summit in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.

Charamba also dismissed calls for a Kenya-style grand coalition government to resolve the situation in Zimbabwe, saying the way out would be decided the "Zimbabwean way".

"Kenya is Kenya. Zimbabwe is Zimbabwe. We have our own history of evolving dialogue and resolving political impasses the Zimbabwean way. The Zimbabwean way, not the Kenyan way. Not at all," Charamba said.

"The way out is a way defined by the Zimbabwe people, free from outside interference, and that is exactly what will resolve the matter," he continued.

Asked about President Mugabe’s right to be leader Charamba said that the right to be president "derives from the Zimbabwe people as expressed through this June election. Anything else is immaterial and we don't give a damn."

"But from the perspective of our people, which is the perspective that matters, they went to the poll, they realized they were defending their own sovereignty and defending their own land and they did precisely that."

Charamba also said President Mugabe had extended an olive branch to the opposition and that was the basis of any discussion.

"There are two political parties in Zimbabwe that are prepared to discuss -- we are talking about a ruling party that has offered dialogue to the opposition."

Charamba also reacted to questions on the criticism from AU observers that violence marred the vote. He said: "They did not say that violence was related to one side of a political equation, it was directed at all political players."

He also reacted to the British Foreign Office minister Mark Malloch Brown’s call for President Mugabe to go saying his words were a throwback to the colonial past when Britain ruled Zimbabwe.

"When he pronounces himself on Zimbabwe, he is simply recalling an historical period when the white man reigned supreme in Zimbabwe and that era is gone, gone forever.”

‘Mugabe is a hero’

Meanwhile, African leaders yesterday greeted President Mugabe as a "hero", dashing hopes that Zimbabwe's government would come under immediate pressure from the AU.

President Omar Bongo of Gabon gave his public backing for President Mugabe saying: "He was elected, he took an oath, and he is here with us, so he is President and we cannot ask him more."

"He conducted elections and I think he won."

Mr Bongo added that African leaders would not allow Western governments to dictate their view of Zimbabwe. "We have even received Mugabe as a hero," he said.

"We understand the attacks but this is not the way they should react. What they've done is, in our opinion, a little clumsy, and we think they could have consulted us first."

Labels: ELECTIONS, ZIMBABWE

posted by MrK @ 3:18 PM