In its first statement publicly condemning the conduct of Zimbabwe's presidential election, the United Nations Security Council has placed the blame for violence, intimidation and the denial of free campaigning squarely on the Zimbabwean government.
South Africa and China were among the countries which agreed to a unanimous statement, announced in the early hours of Tuesday, Zimbabwean time, by this month's president of the council, Zalmay Khalilzad of the United States.
The statement said, in part, that "the Security Council... condemns the actions of the Government of Zimbabwe that have denied its political opponents the right to campaign freely, and calls upon the Government of Zimbabwe to stop the violence, to cease political intimidation, to end the restrictions on the right of assembly and to release the political leaders who have been detained."
Earlier the UN's Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, B. Lynn Pascoe, reported to the council that there was a "staggering degree of violence" in Zimbabwe. According to a council press release, he said there was ample evidence it had been perpetrated by "a combination of State agencies, war veterans and youth militias." Although there had been retaliatory violence by the MDC, it was "of a much lesser degree."
In its statement, the council said the campaign of violence against, and restrictions on, the political opposition have made it impossible for this Friday's presidential run-off election to be free and fair.
In a phrase which augurs badly for any hope President Robert Mugabe may have of winning foreign support if he claims a mandate on the basis of the run-off, the council said it "further considers that, to be legitimate, any government of Zimbabwe must take account of the interests of all its citizens."
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However, the council recognised the legitimacy of the March 29 elections, in which the opposition Movement for Democratic Change won control of Parliament, and in which the MDC's Morgan Tsvangirai drew more votes than Mugabe.
It also condemned the Zimbabwean government's suspension of the operations of humanitarian organisations, which it said had directly affected 1.5 million people, including half a million children.
It called for a reversal of the decision, and for the government to cooperate with efforts "aimed at finding a peaceful way forward, through dialogue between the parties, that allows a legitimate government to be formed that reflects the will of the Zimbabwean people."
The BBC reports that the Security Council's statement had been watered down from a version proposed by the British government. The Associated Press said the United States, France and other Western governments failed to include language saying Tsvangirai should be regarded as the legitimate president of Zimbabwe.
