Zimbabwe officials defiant in the face of rebukes

Washington Post:

Zimbabwean officials struck a defiant tone at a meeting of African leaders here on Tuesday, saying the group will not alter Robert Mugabe's grip on the presidency and angrily brushing off criticism by western nations of recent single-candidate elections.

As the members of the African Union debated behind closed doors how to respond to Zimbabwe's political crisis, Mugabe's spokesman George Cheramba said that the longtime leader "came here as president of Zimbabwe and he will leave here as president of Zimbabwe."

Asked about Britain's condemnation of the recent vote, Cheramba answered, "They can go hang." Britain, which held Zimbabwe under colonial rule before its independence in 1980, is one of a number of nations that have condemned last week's presidential vote.

Discussion of a possible powersharing agreement, similar to what transpired in Kenya after close elections there, are irrelevant, Cheramba said. "Kenya is Kenya. Zimbabwe is Zimbabwe. We have our own history of evolving dialogue and resolving political impasses the Zimbabwean way."

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There is plenty of evidence on this blog of the "Zimbabwe way" which involves brutalizing and killing any opposition. The chances that these thugs will be moved by reason is remote. the chances that African leaders will do anything is only slightly more remote. the ones in the strongest position to do something such as South Africa would rather enable this despotic tyranny.