Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt — THE West can "go hang a thousand times" for criticising Zimbabwe's presidential election run-off and their parrot Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who has been lambasting Zimbabwe and calling for military intervention, should shut up because he has blood dripping from his hands, a senior Government official said yesterday.
The Secretary for Information and Publicity and President Mugabe's Press Secretary, Cde George Charamba, told international journalists here yesterday that the West should have no claim whatsoever in Zimbabwe's politics and they can "go hang a thousand times".
Cde Charamba said Odinga - who got into power after causing post-election violence that killed nearly 2 000 Kenyans - was the least qualified to criticise Zimbabwe.
"Odinga's hands drip with blood, raw African blood, and the blood will not go away by criticising Zimbabwe," said Cde Charamba.
Odinga has been one of those so-called African leaders being often quoted by the Western media and used by the West to lampoon Zimbabwe over its recent elections.
Cde Charamba was addressing the international media on the sidelines of the African Union summit, which is being attended by President Mugabe and several other African leaders.
Vice-President Joice Mujuru is the Acting President in Cde Mugabe's absence.
Odinga has called for the suspension of Zimbabwe from the AU and setting-aside of last week's presidential election run-off won by President Mugabe, followed by the sending of a peacekeeping force to Zimbabwe.
But Cde Charamba said the Zimbabwean issue would be solved by Zimbabweans themselves with the assistance of people of goodwill and not former colonisers bent on perpetuating their control of Africa.
He made it clear to a group of journalists who mobbed him that nobody would dictate to Zimbabwe how to run its affairs.
"The way out is a way defined by the Zimbabwean people. Kenya is Kenya, Zimbabwe is Zimbabwe," he said after a suggestion that Zimbabwe should adopt a power-sharing deal similar to the one implemented in Kenya.
He also made it clear President Mugabe was attending the AU summit as President of Zimbabwe.
"He is part of the summit. He has come as President of Zimbabwe. He will go home as President of Zimbabwe and if you visit Zimbabwe you will find him as President of Zimbabwe."
There have been futile attempts here by the West and its embedded media to portray President Mugabe as illegitimate.
On Monday, President Mugabe told some such journalists that they were "bloody idiots" and should stop asking him stupid questions as he left the Sharm el-Sheik Conference Centre, where the summit is being held.
He reminded the journalists that Zimbabwe was not a British colony after they asked him on what basis he was calling himself President of Zimbabwe.
President Omar Bongo of Gabon told journalists that Cde Mugabe "is president" of Zimbabwe.
"He was elected, he took an oath, and he is here with us, so he is president and we cannot ask him more," said Mr Bongo.
"He conducted elections and I think he won."
Mr Bongo criticised the West's interference in African affairs.
"I can certainly tell you that we are not obliged to obey orders from overseas," Mr Bongo said.
Asked about calls for the AU to condemn President Mugabe's election, Mr Bongo said: "Africans are able to decide for themselves. We have even received Mugabe as a hero.
"We understand the attacks (by the international community), but this is not the way they should react. What they have done is, in our opinion, a little clumsy, and we think they could have consulted us (the AU) first."
Asked when President Mugabe would retire, Cde Charamba said that was a surprising question because he was "few days into office and you expect him to retire?"
He shot down suggestions that the AU should mediate in the Zimbabwean issue, saying President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, who is brokering dialogue between Government and the opposition, was doing so on behalf of Sadc, one of the regional groupings that make up the AU.
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I actually would like to have this comment published in the national and international papers if possible. I as a citizen of the world and Africa want to apologize to Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong ,Slobodin Milosovic and all other dictators you are in Absentia declared not GUILTY as the African continent surpasses what you chaps did and they can carry on without a care of being judged in an international court of justice regarding their excesses. The UN and all the Goverments do not realize that they mess up the common people who ordinarily get on well together, it is all you rulers in the West and Africa who must stand in the judgement bay as you enflame the common citizens for your own greed and prestige. 50 years from now Africa still will not have a democracy in true sense that will be active even the SA democracy is becoming a joke maybe you all should read Nationilism by Rabindranath Tagore.
the AU summit is a concentration of dictators most of whom have spent more than twenty years in power,without preparing ground for democracy and very engaged in corruption. this is why they can't afford to criticize guys like zimbabwean mugabe or rwandan kagame(omar bongo,paul biya,museveni....):if they did, the same could apply to them; So this summit cant be anything other than hipocrisy!!!
Getting their countries out of colonialism or civilwars does not give them a lifetime credit to exercise power.it is a sign of poorness to have one person decide for a country for more than 12years,isn't realy there people capable of leading with balanced ideas to get a country progress? once the song about colonialism is over, its time to move to other issues and africans have a good deal to deal with!! So please "thank you for what you've done but please move on stop maintaining ignorancy in our countries and civilwar -blackmailing just to stay in power "it is not always occidentals to blame where our responsibility is engaged!
the AU summit is a concentration of dictators most of whom have spent more than twenty years in power,without preparing ground for democracy and very engaged in corruption. this is why they can't afford to criticize guys like zimbabwean mugabe or rwandan kagame(omar bongo,paul biya,museveni....):if they did, the same could apply to them; So this summit cant be anything other than hipocrisy!!!
Getting their countries out of colonialism or civilwars does not give them a lifetime credit to exercise power.it is a sign of poorness to have one person decide for a country for more than 12years,isn't realy there people capable of leading with balanced ideas to get a country progress? once the song about colonialism is over, its time to move to other issues and africans have a good deal to deal with!! So please "thank you for what you've done but please move on stop maintaining ignorancy in our countries and civilwar -blackmailing just to stay in power "it is not always occidentals to blame where our responsibility is engaged!
You can just tell by the responses given what kind of people you are dealing with. I wonder how the AU can even suggest that MDC AND ZANU form a Govt of National Unity when these people dont even know what the meaning of dialogue is. As for Mr. Mbeki we as zimbabweans ask ourselves what his hidden agenda is in protecting Mr. Mugabe after all he is on his way out of office. We would gladly accept Mr. Zuma as the spokesman for South Africa. Mr. Mbeki has failed not only Zimbabweans but the whole of Africa.
Its time these African leaders stop hidding behind their failures as leaders and stop blaming the West. Zimbabwe gained Independence in 1980 and its taken ZANU PF 28 YEARS TO BRING AN ENTIRE COUNTRY TO ITS KNEES WAKE UP PEOPLE.. We are tired of the same old story blame the colonialists for your failures!!! when Zimbabwe was a colony people still had food in their bellies...
this stupid presidents..they say that no european countrys chud interfier in theyr business but wen the poor countrys need aid the europeans are the first ones to be call..it's time for this donkeys start to behave..if they want to life like animals,then,of your go..move to the jungle!!!!
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