Mugabe Has ‘Lost It,’ Can’t Be Part of Zimbabwe Deal, U.S. Says
2008-12-22 02:43:35.9 GMT
By Michael Heath
Dec. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe has “lost it” and the U.S. can’t support a unity government that would involve him, the top American envoy for Africa said.
Jendayi Frazer, an assistant secretary of state, said Mugabe is “completely discredited” and the U.S. doesn’t believe there can be “credible power-sharing” with him as he won’t relinquish control.
Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai agreed Sept.
15 to form a unity government in a move supported by the Bush administration. The deal has since stalled in disputes over control of key ministries.
Frazer, in comments to reporters in Pretoria, South Africa, cited continued political violence, Zimbabwe’s deteriorating economic situation and the spread of cholera that has killed more than 1,100 Zimbabweans for the U.S. decision.
“The power-sharing agreement should be implemented and it needs to be implemented with someone other than Robert Mugabe as the president,” she said.
Frazer cited accusations from Mugabe’s government that Western nations used biological warfare to start the cholera epidemic to indicate the president has “lost it.”
Cholera, mainly spread through contaminated water and food and poor sanitation, causes severe diarrhea and vomiting that can be fatal. The first cases in the Zimbabwean outbreak were reported in August. A collapse of the country’s economy has led to shortages of chemicals for water-treatment plants.
‘Worsening Daily’
Zimbabwe, ruled by Mugabe since 1980, is in its 10th year of a recession. Mugabe won a presidential election this year after Tsvangirai backed out of a run-off, citing police intimidation of his supporters. The leader of the Movement for Democratic Change won the first round of the election, without garnering the 50 percent needed to avoid the run-off.
Zimbabwe’s humanitarian crisis is “worsening daily,”
Tsvangirai said last week. “People are dying of cholera and over
5 million people face hunger. Zimbabwe needs urgent and immediate foreign assistance.”
The U.S. was poised to help rescue Zimbabwe’s economy as soon as a power-sharing deal was completed, Frazer said.
Frazer also said she had urged Zimbabwe’s neighbors to step up pressure on Mugabe’s government.
Tsvangirai said last week his party may suspend negotiations with Mugabe unless abductions of party activists are halted immediately.
“At least 42 people have been abducted by people we believe to be state agents in the last seven weeks,” he said by telephone from Botswana. “The police have refused to obey court orders compelling them to produce or search for those who’ve been abducted and, in fact, the abductions are continuing.” |
