From: Biniam Tekle (biniamt@dehai.org)
Date: Tue Jul 01 2008 - 11:56:56 EDT
http://www.afriquenligne.fr/news/africa-news/mugabe-upbeat-over-african-solution-to-post%11poll-crisis-200807018026.html
01/07/2008 Mugabe upbeat over African solution to post-poll crisis
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Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe said on
Tuesday that support from African leaders in resolving the crisis in country
was high and dismissed calls for the appointment of new mediators to help
steer talks with the opposition.
President Mugabe's press secretary George Charamba also said here that the
crisis in the country was of a different proportion from the post-election
crisis that rocked Kenya, hence would require a different solution.
"African leaders are commending what is happening in our country. We have
received the support of Gabon and Eritrea," Charamba said as African leaders
were due to start discussions on Zimbabwe's political crisis at the 11th
Ordinary Session of the AU in the Egyptian resort.
President Mugabe has claimed overwhelming support from African leaders
following what has been termed as "sham elections" in his country and
rebuffed Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga's condemnation of his
re-election.
Some African leaders have criticised the Zimbabwean authorities for
conducting the presidential run-off, in which Mugabe was declared the
winner.
But Gabon's Omar Bongo and Eritrea's Isaias Aferweki have reportedly said
they recognised President Mugabe's re-election and were providing their
support at the ongoing African Union Summit.
President Mugabe's spokesman said calls for the formation of an AU mediation
team to oversee the search for a political solution to Zimbabwe's failing
democracy were not necessary.
He also dismissed calls for the replacement of South African President Thabo
Mbeki as the South African Development Community (SADC) mediator, saying
such a move was like "trying to demarcate Africa" again.
"I thought Mbeki is working for a regional organisation that is part of the
African Union. Why are we drawing these distinctions, why are we trying to
partition Africa again," Charamba told journalists.
Zimbabwe's political crisis has dominated the talks on Africa's economic and
social development# at the summit
Meanwhile, the Presidential spokesman has dismissed Odinga's criticism of
President Mugabe's re-election, saying the situation in Kenya was worse than
the Zimbabwean crisis and that the two states have different history.
"I take it that you saw the blood flowing from the Kenyan elections, raw
African blood, it cannot be cleansed by the condemnation of the Zimbabwean
elections," Charamba told journalists in reaction to the Kenyan PM's
attacks.
He said Odinga has too much "raw African blood on his hands to cleanse it
using his condemnation of the Zimbabwe vote''.
Sharm El-Sheikh - 01/07/2008
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