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Zimbabwe: Dar Rejects Mugabe Win
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The Citizen (Dar es Salaam)
4 July 2008
Posted to the web 4 July 2008
Consesa John
Tanzania does not recognise Mr Robert Mugabe as the legally elected President of Zimbabwe because last Friday's presidential run-off, which was boycotted by the opposition, was "highly flawed", Foreign Affairs minister Bernard Membe said yesterday.
Addressing a press conference in Dar es Salaam, Mr Membe said the just ended African Union Heads of State Summit had declared null and void the June 27 presidential run-off election, in which Mr Mugabe was the sole candidate. MDC candidate Morgan Tsvangirai withdrew a week before the poll, citing increasing violence against his supporters.
Responding to a reporter who had asked him to state Tanzania's stand on Mr Mugabe's controversial election victory, Mr Membe said: "If you consider the reports of the election monitors, the issue of whether or not we recognise Mugabe does not arise. That election was not valid."
Election monitors from the South African Development Community (Sadc), the African Union (AU) and the Pan African Parliament all gave reports that cast serious doubts on the credibility of the elections.
Yesterday, the minister said the violence during the campaigns had made it impossible to conduct a free and fair election.
"The decision not to recognise the Zimbabwean election has been endorsed by the AU and Sadc after adopting the election monitors' reports," said Mr Membe, who is also the chairman of the AU foreign affairs ministers.
He was briefing journalists on the Summit in Egypt, just a day after returning home.
The minister said that during the summit, no leader had endorsed the Zimbabwean election or congratulated Mr Mugabe on his supposed victory.
Mr Mugabe defied an appeal by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, international condemnation, and pleas by his fellow African leaders to call off the election. And after being hurriedly sworn in, he flew to Egypt to attend the Heads of State Summit.
Yesterday, Mr Membe said: "There was no one at the Summit who was happy about what happened in Zimbabwe. In fact, all the members denounced the election."
The Tanzanian minister compared the Zimbabwean election to a football match in which an offside goal was allowed to count.
"This was like a football match where a player touches the ball and scores, but unfortunately, the referee allows it. It is not a goal scored in the normal way."
Mr Membe said the reports of the 413 observers who monitored the elections had been useful, as they had enabled the AU and Sadc to reach a verdict.
The AU then mandated Sadc to immediately lead a mediation process that would bring together Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF and Movement of Democratic Change party leaders to form a government of national unity.
Mr Membe said a meeting of the regional leaders would soon be held to review the progress made in the peace process. "No one party will be able to govern in Zimbabwe as things stand now. Zanu-PF cannot rule alone and negotiations will be the only way out," he said.
During the summit, Mr Membe said, the AU chairman, President Jakaya Kikwete, had told Mr Mugabe to his face go back home and think about what the leaders had decided.
"The chairman told Mr Mugabe that the situation in his country could only get worse if he does not think seriously about the advice given to him."
As Mr Membe spoke, international pressure was mounting on Zimbabwe, with the UK and Germany declaring that stern measures and sanctions would be imposed to push for the formation of an inclusive government in Harare.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said there was widespread agreement that action must be taken to change the status quo in Zimbabwe, possibly with the help of a peacekeeping force.
"Virtually the whole international community is saying the status quo cannot continue, the MDC has got to be recognised for the electoral support it has," Mr Brown told a group of cross-party British lawmakers.
"There will be no support for this regime until democracy is restored, we will intensify the sanctions unless action is taken to change the status quo."
Mr Brown said the second election was a "travesty of justice" and that during that election the "regime has blood on its hands for what has happened".
Leaders of the Group of Eight (G8) industrialised nations will discuss sharpening sanctions against Zimbabwe at a summit in Japan next week, a senior German government official said on Thursday.
"Britain is pushing for a separate statement on this," said the official, who spoke to reporters in Berlin and asked not to be identified by name.
Britain wanted G8 leaders to emphasise in the statement that they did not recognise the re-election of President Mugabe and to include a section saying that tighter sanctions should be considered, the German official added."I think the initiative has a good chance," he said, adding that Germany supported it.
The United States is pushing for tougher sanctions against Zimbabwe's leadership through the UN, but Security Council diplomats say South Africa, Russia and China oppose Washington's plans.
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A US-drafted resolution seen by Reuters on Wednesday, includes asset freezes and travel bans for officials including Mr Mugabe and the central bank chief.
JACK, THIS IS THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY! TANZANIA SHOULD DEVOTE VALUABLE TIME TO BRING THEIR GOVERNMENT AND PEOPLE TO AFRAKAN CONSCIOUSNESS. UNTIL THEN, WHO GIVES A DAMN WHAT TANZANIA THINKS, MUCH MORE WHETHER OR NOT THEY RECOGNIZE THE ONLY PRESIDENT (MUGABE)OF CONSCIENCE IN THE WHOLE OF AFRAKA!
Tell that to the 20,000 people of Ndebele that he murdered.
Why always talk about the matebele massacre, how about the people gasela killed in the lower gweru areas. how about the mashonas who were killed in bulawayo because they coludnt say the zapu puza logan. Stop being stupid and rebuild the nation
BRING IT UP, brother. Literally thousands of SHONAs were murdered and butchered in Bulawayo and the surrounding areas. This went on for over three years and was brought to an end by the 5th brigade. ZAPU was encouraged by elements in the Zambian government who were planning to break up Zimbabwe OR JUST NEUTER IT. They wanted to effectively make the west of the country ungovernable by arming the bands of SAVIMBIs. The Zimbabwe gvt put a STOP to it with, unavoidably, some COLLATERAL damage. Itlooks like those same elements are at it again. The difference being that Botswana have... [Read Full Text]
BRING IT UP, brother. Literally thousands of SHONAs were murdered and butchered in Bulawayo and the surrounding areas. This went on for over three years and was brought to an end by the 5th brigade. ZAPU was encouraged by elements in the Zambian government who were planning to break up Zimbabwe OR JUST NEUTER IT. They wanted to effectively make the west of the country ungovernable by arming the bands of SAVIMBIs. The Zimbabwe gvt put a STOP to it with, unavoidably, some COLLATERAL damage. Itlooks like those same elements are at it again. The difference being that Botswana have... [Read Full Text]
BRING IT UP, brother. Literally thousands of SHONAs were murdered and butchered in Bulawayo and the surrounding areas. This went on for over three years and was brought to an end by the 5th brigade. ZAPU was encouraged by elements in the Zambian government who were planning to break up Zimbabwe OR JUST NEUTER IT. They wanted to effectively make the west of the country ungovernable by arming the bands of SAVIMBIs. The Zimbabwe gvt put a STOP to it with, unavoidably, some COLLATERAL damage. Itlooks like those same elements are at it again. The difference being that Botswana have... [Read Full Text]
akapfunde1 - have you discontinued your medication for some reason?
How do you manage to have such a selective mind? For almost three years prior to the sending of the fifth brigade to western Zimbabwe and the unfortunate collateral damage incurred, how many SHONA people had been murdered in the region? Remember GISELLA!! Thousands were slaughtered in and around Intumbane in Bulawayo. What are you going to tell these people? If do not let bygones-be-bygones and keep on hackeying to the past, it is SHONAs who have an even bigger axe to grind. Bulawayo is literaaly translated as A PLACE OF KILLING. As far a we know ONLY SHONAs were... [Read Full Text]
TANZANIA'S RECORD IS IMPECCABLE Tanzania has enjoyed political stability and social harmony ever since independence, one of the few countries in Africa to acheive this. Even more commendable, there is no fighting over scarce resources, or tribal bickering, despite the fact that most Tanzanians have very low incomes. AFRICA SHOULD "GIVE A DAMN" WHAT TANZANIA THINKS ! She is an example to us all. To her credit, she was instrumental in the removal of Idi Amin, even though the military action posed a heavy financial burden. Tanzania is now saying that the Zimbabwean people deserve better than this; Mugabe must... [Read Full Text]
Western countries want Mugabe ousted from power for two reasons. First, Mugabe sent his military to DR Congo in the 1990's to halt the invasion and occupation of DR Congo by the armies of Rwanda, Burundi, and Uganda. The invasion was financially and militarily sponsored by the United States and England with the aim of effecting a regime change in DR Congo so that western countries would exploit (loot) the natural resources of DR Congo at will. Up until the time of invasion, Mugabe's Zimbabwe had been buying jet fighters for its airforce from England, with an agreement that the... [Read Full Text]
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