The Daily News said Zimbabweans must not allow President Robert Mugabe and his Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front to sacrifice on the alter ego the latest opportunity offered by the United States to pull Zimbabwe out of crisis.
United States Secretary of State Colin Powell had said in an article in the New York Times the US would give generous economic aid to Zimbabwe if ZANU-PF and the Movement for Democratic Change seriously engaged in dialogue that would lead to peaceful, transparent and democratic elections to choose a new government.
Powell promised that the aid would even start flowing to Zimbabwe before fresh elections were held as long as the transition to democracy was irreversibly set in motion.
Full cable:
Viewing cable 03HARARE1318, MEDIA REACTION POWELL ON ZIM CRISIS; HARARE
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UNCLAS HARARE 001318
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR AF/PDPA FOR DALTON, MITCHELL AND SIMS
NSC FOR JENDAYI FRAZER
LONDON FOR GURNEY
PARIS FOR NEARY
NAIROBI FOR PFLAUMER
E.O. 12958: N/A
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION POWELL ON ZIM CRISIS; HARARE
¶1. Under headline “Ball in your court” the independent
daily “The Daily News” dedicated its June 26
editorial to encouraging Robert Mugabe’s government
to embrace Secretary Colin Powell’s recommendations,
carried in an op-ed published in the New York Times,
in support of a recovery program for the country’s
ragged economy. Excerpts:
¶2. “. . .Zimbabweans. . .must not allow Mugabe and
ZANU PF to sacrifice on the alter of ego the latest
opportunity offered by America to pull Zimbabwe out
of crisis. United States Secretary of State Colin
Powell, writing in the `New York Times’ newspaper
this week, vouched generous economic aid for
Zimbabwe if ZANU PF and the MDC seriously engaged in
dialogue that would lead to peaceful, transparent
and democratic elections to choose a new government.
Powell promised that aid would even start flowing to
Zimbabwe even before fresh elections were held, as
long as the transition to democracy was irreversibly
set in motion. . .It would be a terrible betrayal to
posterity if Zimbabweans allowed a government, whose
time has – as Powell correctly puts it – come and
long gone, to once more sabotage the future of this
country by letting the offer of help being extended
by the U. S. with the backing of the rest of the
international community, slip away. The ball is in
your court, Zimbabweans.”
SULLIVAN
(51 VIEWS)
