Nyani Ngabu
Platinum Member
- May 15, 2006
- 92,212
- 113,503
BINDURA, Zimbabwe (AFP)
President Robert Mugabe declared Friday that "Zimbabwe is mine" and vowed never to surrender to calls to step down, as his political rival threatened to quit stalled unity government talks.
Addressing his ZANU-PF party's annual conference amid a ruinous political crisis and a deadly cholera epidemic, Mugabe returned to the kind of defiance he has often shown in the face of mounting criticism.
"I will never, never, never never surrender. Zimbabwe is mine, I am a Zimbabwean. Zimbabwe for Zimbabweans. Zimbabwe never for the British, Britain for the British," Mugabe told his party's annual conference.
The veteran leader in the former British colony said he would remain until "his people decide to change him."
While the comments struck a familiar tone for the 84-year-old leader -- he said earlier this year that only God could remove him from office -- he now faces increasingly grim circumstances in his crippled country.
The UN says more than 1,100 people have died in the cholera epidemic, adding to woes such as food shortages and poverty as Zimbabwe struggles with a collapsed economy and eye-popping inflation rates.
Mugabe denounced Western governments who have been stepping up their criticism of his regime since the outbreak of cholera.
"What a pack of lies," he said, adding that Zimbabwe was facing a war with Britain, supported by the United States and Europe.
"I won't be intimidated. Even if I am threatened with beheading, I believe this and nothing will ever move me from it: Zimbabwe belongs to us, not the British."
His speech came after opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai threatened to quit deadlocked unity government talks following a power-sharing deal in September over the abductions of supporters of his party.
"More than 42 members have been abducted," the head of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party, who would become prime minister under the unity government, told reporters in Botswana.
"If these abductions do not cease immediately and if all abductees are not released or charged in a court of law by January the 1st 2009, I will be asking the MDC's national council to pass a resolution to suspend all negotiations and contact with ZANU-PF," Tsvangirai warned.
The MDC, unions and several human rights groups have warned of increased abductions, with Zimbabwe plunging into further ruin as its leaders fail to resolve the political crisis.
Mugabe also commented on the deadlocked talks in his speech. "I don't know whether this inclusive government is going to work or not," he said.
And he warned that his rivals would be disappointed if their strategy involved waiting for his regime to collapse.
"My view is that those who run the MDC have given the MDC the impression that Zimbabwe is collapsing. 'Let it collapse and the leadership will vanish and you take over,'" he said.
"If they want to wait they can wait. That day will never come."
International pressure has built on Mugabe, with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown urging southern African leaders Friday to distance themselves from him, describing the deteriorating situation in Zimbabwe a "tragedy."
"The situation, contrary to what President Mugabe says, from all the evidence we have, is deteriorating and deteriorating rapidly," he said.
Brown urged African leaders to "make sure that it is absolutely clear to the people of Zimbabwe that we support those who are the democratically elected politicians," he added.
Also Friday, Nordic countries Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden added their voice to calls from several world leaders for Mugabe to step down.
Mugabe earlier accused the United States of urging African nations to topple him, state media reported Friday.
"I do not know of any African country that is brave enough to do that," Mugabe was quoted as saying.
He warned party delegates "to be wary of the enemy who was devising new ways of destroying ZANU-PF from within" and urged them to be on high alert, according to the state-run Herald newspaper.
Tsvangirai finished ahead of Mugabe in first-round presidential elections in March, but handed the presidency to his rival when he pulled out of a second round, citing violence against his supporters. Mugabe's party also lost its majority in parliament in March elections for the first time since independence in 1980.
President Robert Mugabe declared Friday that "Zimbabwe is mine" and vowed never to surrender to calls to step down, as his political rival threatened to quit stalled unity government talks.
Addressing his ZANU-PF party's annual conference amid a ruinous political crisis and a deadly cholera epidemic, Mugabe returned to the kind of defiance he has often shown in the face of mounting criticism.
"I will never, never, never never surrender. Zimbabwe is mine, I am a Zimbabwean. Zimbabwe for Zimbabweans. Zimbabwe never for the British, Britain for the British," Mugabe told his party's annual conference.
The veteran leader in the former British colony said he would remain until "his people decide to change him."
While the comments struck a familiar tone for the 84-year-old leader -- he said earlier this year that only God could remove him from office -- he now faces increasingly grim circumstances in his crippled country.
The UN says more than 1,100 people have died in the cholera epidemic, adding to woes such as food shortages and poverty as Zimbabwe struggles with a collapsed economy and eye-popping inflation rates.
Mugabe denounced Western governments who have been stepping up their criticism of his regime since the outbreak of cholera.
"What a pack of lies," he said, adding that Zimbabwe was facing a war with Britain, supported by the United States and Europe.
"I won't be intimidated. Even if I am threatened with beheading, I believe this and nothing will ever move me from it: Zimbabwe belongs to us, not the British."
His speech came after opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai threatened to quit deadlocked unity government talks following a power-sharing deal in September over the abductions of supporters of his party.
"More than 42 members have been abducted," the head of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party, who would become prime minister under the unity government, told reporters in Botswana.
"If these abductions do not cease immediately and if all abductees are not released or charged in a court of law by January the 1st 2009, I will be asking the MDC's national council to pass a resolution to suspend all negotiations and contact with ZANU-PF," Tsvangirai warned.
The MDC, unions and several human rights groups have warned of increased abductions, with Zimbabwe plunging into further ruin as its leaders fail to resolve the political crisis.
Mugabe also commented on the deadlocked talks in his speech. "I don't know whether this inclusive government is going to work or not," he said.
And he warned that his rivals would be disappointed if their strategy involved waiting for his regime to collapse.
"My view is that those who run the MDC have given the MDC the impression that Zimbabwe is collapsing. 'Let it collapse and the leadership will vanish and you take over,'" he said.
"If they want to wait they can wait. That day will never come."
International pressure has built on Mugabe, with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown urging southern African leaders Friday to distance themselves from him, describing the deteriorating situation in Zimbabwe a "tragedy."
"The situation, contrary to what President Mugabe says, from all the evidence we have, is deteriorating and deteriorating rapidly," he said.
Brown urged African leaders to "make sure that it is absolutely clear to the people of Zimbabwe that we support those who are the democratically elected politicians," he added.
Also Friday, Nordic countries Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden added their voice to calls from several world leaders for Mugabe to step down.
Mugabe earlier accused the United States of urging African nations to topple him, state media reported Friday.
"I do not know of any African country that is brave enough to do that," Mugabe was quoted as saying.
He warned party delegates "to be wary of the enemy who was devising new ways of destroying ZANU-PF from within" and urged them to be on high alert, according to the state-run Herald newspaper.
Tsvangirai finished ahead of Mugabe in first-round presidential elections in March, but handed the presidency to his rival when he pulled out of a second round, citing violence against his supporters. Mugabe's party also lost its majority in parliament in March elections for the first time since independence in 1980.