Posted on 07/23/2002 12:56:55 PM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
HARARE, Zimbabwe (Reuters) - President Robert Mugabe vowed on Tuesday to defend his government against Western "bullies" and said Zimbabwe's economic recovery hinged on land redistribution.
In a 40-minute speech to open the new parliamentary session, Mugabe made no direct mention of tighter EU sanctions, his media crackdown or any plans for his ZANU-PF party to resume talks with the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
Strongly defending his government's right to take possession of white farmers' land, he ignored a boycott of his speech by MDC legislators, who make up just over a third of the assembly.
Outside the southern African state's parliament, there was no sign of a planned protest march by pro-democracy activists after police warnings that the demonstration would be crushed.
Mugabe said Zimbabwe, in the grips of its worst economic and political crisis since independence from Britain in 1980, was facing "considerable challenges" from what he called "British machinations" and a regional drought.
The economy is in its fourth year of recession with record high inflation and unemployment and a severe food shortage.
"Our sovereignty is constantly under attack from the bullying states ... which seek to use their political and economic prowess to achieve global hegemony," Mugabe said.
At 78, Mugabe is a left-winger who counts Cuba's Fidel Castro and Libya's Muammar Gaddafi among his foreign allies.
Monday, the European Union extended a blacklist of Zimbabwean officials subjected to a visa ban and asset freeze. The move is aimed at piling more pressure on the country whose human rights record it says has deteriorated since Mugabe's re-election in March.
The EU imposed so-called "smart sanctions" against Mugabe's government in February ahead of the poll he won amid widespread allegations of election malpractice.
ACCUSES INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY
Mugabe's speech also attacked countries he said were trying to use food aid to subjugate his government.
Aid agencies say six million Zimbabweans, or nearly half the population, need emergency food aid because of drought and a disruption of farming operations caused by the government's drive to kick white farmers off their land and give it to landless blacks.
"While Zimbabwe accepts drought-related assistance from the international community, we remain quite wary of countries and organizations which seek to take advantage of our hour of need to attenuate sovereignty," the president said.
He rejected accusations that his party was denying opposition supporters food aid and vowed to continue with his land reform program, calling it "the best insurance against drought-related food pressures."
Contradicting his finance minister, Simba Makoni, Mugabe ruled out a currency devaluation.
The Zimbabwe dollar, which Makoni has said should be devalued, is officially pegged at 55 to the U.S. dollar, but is trading at around 600 on the black market.
"Devaluation is sinister and can only be advocated by our saboteurs and enemies of this government. Devaluation is thus dead," Mugabe said to applause from the government benches while Makoni sat stone-faced.
Outside, the main roads around parliament were closed off, and helicopters circled above the city, preventing a planned march by the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA).
The NCA is a collation of trade unions, professional bodies and church groups. It is demanding a new constitution to replace the current one which Mugabe has amended 16 times since 1980 in what are seen as attempts to tighten his grip on power.
During Chavez's brief ouster, PDVSA officials vowed not to deliver more oil to Cuba, claiming Venezuela was giving it away. Chavez's government insists the deal is similar to others in which Venezuela helps struggling Caribbean nations. According to PDVSA, Cuba owed dlrs 142 million when the cutoff occurred. When Chavez returned, Venezuela urged Cuba to pay, and Rodriguez said Wednesday the issue had been resolved. PDVSA supplies a third of Cuba's oil. Rodriguez added that Cuba and Venezuela had studied the possibility of modernizing Cuba's Cienfuegos refinery but decided the project isn't feasible. He said OPEC member Libya is conducting a similar study and that Venezuela is sharing information on Cienfuegos with Libya.[End]
LINKS to Gaddafi/Castro/Chavez/ Saddam Hussein
Colonel Gaddafi wants the Durban meeting downgraded to an annual summit of OAU leaders pending the launch of the AU in Libya at a later stage. But diplomats attending an OAU-Civil Society summit here say his ambitions will sabotage any programmes intended to help Africa's recovery. "Mbeki knows that any move to put the AU under Gaddafi will immediately kill both the AU and Nepad because no Western country will pour aid into a programme or institution run by Gaddafi," said one diplomat.***
August 9, 2002 - Group Faults Libya's Nomination to Head U.N. Commission on Human Rights***UNITED NATIONS, Aug 8 (IPS) - A leading human rights organization has appealed to African nations to reverse their decision to nominate Libya as the next chairman of the Geneva-based U.N. Commission on Human Rights. "Countries with dreadful rights records should never be in charge of chairing the Commission on Human Rights," Rory Mungoven, global advocacy director for New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW), said Thursday.
"Libya's long record of human rights abuses clearly does not merit such a reward," he added. But a spokesman for the Libyan Mission to the United Nations refuted the charges made by HRW. "They are entitled to their opinion," he told IPS. "Ours is an open society. We have nothing to hide and we are not in violation of human rights," he added. Moreover, he said, Libya's nomination had been endorsed at the highest levels of government - at a summit meeting of more than 50 African leaders in Durban, South Africa last month.
The original decision to nominate Libya was taken by the U.N.'s African regional group, comprising all 54 African members. It was reaffirmed by heads of state attending the recently concluded inaugural summit of the new African Union (AU), the successor to the now-defunct Organisation of African Unity (OAU). ***
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.