Zimbabwe slams Foreign leaders
ZIMBABWE: President Robert Mugabe's Government on Tuesday slammed the
"dirty mouths" of foreign leaders calling for the veteran leader to
quit, insisting that a deadly cholera epidemic was under control.
US President George W. Bush on Tuesday joined a growing chorus from
world leaders calling for Mugabe to step down and urged an end to the
84-year-old's "tyranny" in Zimbabwe.
"As my administration has made clear, it is time for Robert Mugabe to
go," said Bush, a day after European leaders tightened sanctions against
the inner circle of Zimbabwe's regime.
But the country's information minister on Tuesday slammed the calls
for Mugabe to quit, and accused the West of plotting a military
invasion.
"I don't have kind words for all heads of state who have made
utterances against Zimbabwe, one by one and I hope this is the last time
they open their dirty mouths on Zimbabwe," information minister
Sikhanyiso Ndlovu told reporters. "After squeezing and strangling the
country with sanctions and contaminating it with cholera and anthrax,
the West is seeking to use the window of opportunity provided by the
disaster to justify military intervention," he said.
"The cholera situation is under control," Ndlovu insisted.
Bush praised African leaders who have been "bravely speaking out"
against Mugabe and urged other regional leaders to "join the growing
chorus of voices calling for an end to Mugabe's tyranny".
But neighbouring powerhouse South Africa said it did not support the
international calls for Mugabe to quit. "The posture that we are
assuming now is not the posture of pressurising President Robert Mugabe
to step down," foreign affairs director general Ayanda Ntsaluba said.
International pressure has mounted on Mugabe to resign after a
28-year rule that has left the country's economy in shambles amid a
political deadlock after controversial elections earlier this year.
HARARE, Wednesday, AFP
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