Daily News says Mugabe must take up US offer to pull Zimbabwe out of crisis

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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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS HARARE 001318

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR AF/PDPA FOR DALTON, MITCHELL AND SIMS

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TAGS: PREL KPAO KMDR ZI

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

(50 VIEWS)