SW Radio Africa (London)
Lance Guma
22 October 2009
column
Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga has urged Robert Mugabe to 'relinquish power' saying the ZANU PF leader alone was 'responsible for the political stalemate' in Zimbabwe. Speaking in France during a joint press conference with the French Foreign Affairs Minister, Odinga did not mince his words, bluntly saying; 'In Zimbabwe Mr. Mugabe is not part of the solution to the political problem; he himself, is the problem.'
Odinga urged the international community to act fast in trying to convince Mugabe to step down, arguing this would be better for Zimbabweans who have already suffered enough. "Moreover it's high time these political compromises were stopped, that in our countries allow losers to remain in power," Odinga said. Kenya, like Zimbabwe, was the first to have a power sharing government that accommodated both the winners and losers of a controversial election which was marred by violence and many deaths.
Last week Thursday, Botswana's President Ian Khama warned that Zimbabwe's power sharing government was on the verge of collapse. Speaking to the AFP news agency on the sidelines of a rally in Botswana, ahead of elections which he eventually won, Khama said of the coalition; 'It is limping along and there is a real danger that the whole thing could collapse.' Khama made it clear if the coalition did collapse they would not recognize a ZANU PF only government headed by Mugabe because 'he certainly did not win the presidential election last year.'
Meanwhile prominent newspaper, the New York Times, has issued a hard hitting editorial, accusing Mugabe and his party of trying 'to blow up the power-sharing arrangement ever since neighboring states put it together last year.' The paper says SADC must demand that Mugabe finally abide by the terms and spirit of the power-sharing deal. 'If he refuses, the community should withdraw recognition from his government and insist on new, internationally supervised elections.' This supervision was important to ensure 'democracy, not intimidation' determined the outcome of the elections.
While SADC dallies around what to do with Zimbabwe, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), showed how it's done by moving swiftly to impose an arms embargo on the military junta-ruled Guinea, for mass human rights violations. After the massacre of over 150 people at an opposition rally ECOWAS called an emergency summit in Nigeria last Friday and suspended the country. Another member, Niger, was also suspended by the group after its president went ahead with elections in violation of constitutional provisions permitting only two terms in office.
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Mr Odinga is a truely great leader to say this sort of thing. Well done. What's happened to the African solution. Oh I wonder where that little devil Satan has got to, must be hiding again.
Shameless puppet, what can you say that we,ll take serious? Foreigners have bulldozed and now own your country with ably support from greedy stupid puppets like you, what have you to say? plan on how to rescue your sorry country hijacked by a bunch of marauding European thugs who now claim to own all the best part of an African country.If at this day and age, you can,t see and respect Zimbabwe and her decisions, better you go hang, after al, you,re already a slave to your masters "one without a country,history and culture to hold on to in his own ancestral backyard" Like ODINGA, like Tsvangarai, puppet union,Africa know,s your type and will resist you for as long as it takes. Propagandists and lie merchants, don,t toasts your glasses yet, there is still fire on the mountain top,surely, there,ll be no place to hide.
rafil it's funny that you should call Odinga or anyone else a "puppet." Look at you - a Mugabe puppet and boot-licker.
Well said Raila, the whole world would be better of.