Maravi

(TALKZIMBABWE) Mugabe calls for removal of sanctions, accuses the West of genocide

Mugabe calls for removal of sanctions, accuses the West of genocide
Natasha Greenwood in Los Angeles, CA
Fri, 26 Sep 2008 09:07:00 +0000

PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe has accused Western powers of genocide and called for the removal of illegal sanctions imposed by the United States and Britain in his speech to the 63rd Session of the United Nations General Assembly currently taking place in New York.

He criticized the U.N.’s efforts to try and impose further sanctions against Zimbabwe through the U.N. Security Council, and praised Russia and China for blocking them saying that “Zimbabwe does derive solace from the fact that there are some permanent members of the Security Council who have taken a principled stand in defending the Charter.”

The President called on the Security Council to act “impartially, objectively and justly” and “within its mandate”.

“Not long ago, some permanent members of the Security Council sought to invoke Chapter VII of the UN Charter so its weight of sanctions and other measures could be applied against my small country which by any stretch of imagination is no threat to international peace and security,” he said.

He asked: “What insanity is this that has afflicted some world leaders? Should the sacred document, the U.N. Charter be allowed to suffer such undeserved emasculation and disgraceful abuse?”

“By the way, those who falsely accuse us of these violations are themselves international perpetrators of genocide, acts of aggression and mass destruction,” said the president in his speech.

"The masses of innocent men, women and children who have perished in their thousands in Iraq surely demand retribution and vengeance. Who shall heed their cry?" President Mugabe asked.

“Who shall heed their cry? Surely those who invaded Iraq under false pretences and on the strength of contrived lies and in blatant violation of the Charter and international law must be made liable for them.”

President Mugabe also called on the office of the Secretary General to be used impartially and not for the furtherance of the interests of powerful nations like the U.S. and Britain. He called on the Secretariat to discharge its role with “sensitivity and neutrality” and “serve all member states without fear or favour”.

MUGABE ON THE POWER-SHARING AGREEMENT

President Mugabe also highlighted the power-sharing agreement that he signed with the two leaders of the Movement for Democratic Change formations led by Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara, saying that the agreement was a triumph for African diplomacy and was “clear testimony that Africa can solve her own challenges and problems which are often remnants of colonialism.”

He praised outgoing President of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki for his efforts in facilitating the all-party talks in Zimbabwe.

“I wish to pay special tribute to President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, whose patience, fortitude, sensitivity, diplomatic skills and painstaking work made it possible for the Zimbabwean parties to overcome what had appeared to be insurmountable and intractable difficulties to reaching (an) agreement,” said President Mugabe.

The President also thanked the Southern African Development Community (Sadc), the African Union and other leaders who lent their support to the power sharing negotiations in Zimbabwe.

He reiterated that the Zanu PF party was committed to the formation of an all-inclusive Government. “My Party, Zanu PF, will abide by the spirit and letter of the agreement to which we have appended our signature,” he said adding that the all-inclusive Government was “prepared to cooperate with all countries which also respect Zimbabwe’s sovereignty.”

The President also asked the countries that imposed illegal sanctions against Zimbabwe “to lift them so that my country can focus, undisturbed, on its economic turn-around programme.”

Labels: SANCTIONS

posted by MrK @ 6:10 PM