Maravi

(NEWZIMBABWE) Muzembi barred from White House

Muzembi barred from White House
by Lebo Nkatazo
15/06/2009 00:00:00

ZIMBABWE’S Tourism Minister was barred from meeting US President Barack Obama because he is from President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu PF party, it emerged. Walter Muzembi is part of a delegation led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai which is currently on a world tour to rally support for the unity government formed in February.

The minister says he was shocked when officials from the White House protocol department informed the delegation that he was barred from attending the White House meeting with Obama on Friday last week.

Mzembi said he would leave it to President Mugabe and Tsvangirai to discuss Obama’s behaviour and its implications on the attempt to re-engage the West, the state-run Herald newspaper reported.

The paper quoted an unnamed official traveling with the Prime Minister as saying: “No explanation was given for leaving him out.

"It gives rise to the unfortunate impression that President Obama is openly biased against Zanu PF because he can’t even talk to a minister from that party even though he is representing all Zimbabweans.

"The oddity of this gesture was more so because earlier Minister Mzembi had audience with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. ”

Also traveling with the Prime Minister is Elton Mangoma, the Economic Planning and Investment Minister, and Priscilla Misihairabwi, the Regional Integration and International Co-operation Minister. The White House had no objections to the two who are members of the two MDC factions.

After a meeting with Tsvangirai, Obama said: “The President -- President Mugabe -- I think I've made my views clear, has not acted oftentimes in the best interest of the Zimbabwean people and has been resistant to the kinds of democratic changes that need to take place.

“We now have a power-sharing agreement that shows promise, and we want to do everything we can to encourage the kinds of improvement not only on human rights and rule of law, freedom of the press and democracy that is so necessary, but also on the economic front.

“The people of Zimbabwe need very concrete things -- schools that are reopened, a health care delivery system that can deal with issues like cholera or HIV/AIDS, an agricultural system that is able to feed its people. ”

Labels: BARACK OBAMA, MORGAN TSVANGIRAI, NEOCOLONIALISM, WALTER MUZEMBI

posted by MrK @ 2:32 PM