Beira, Mozambique | Monday
ZIMBABWE’s President Robert Mugabe on Sunday denounced the expelled head of the European Union’s observer mission for Zimbabwe’s presidential elections as ”dishonest and crookish”.
Mugabe told a news conference in Beira that Pierre Schori, Sweden’s ambassador to the United Nations, displayed ”cheek” when he said he would stay in the country even after his visa had expired.
Schori was expelled from Harare on Saturday.
”Mr Schori went to our embassy in Washington and got a tourist visa which was unlawful, irregular, dishonest and crookish, and used the tourist visa to come to the country,” Mugabe said in footage broadcast on Zimbabwe state television.
”We welcomed him as a tourist but when he came he was the head of the EU. We refused to accept that because we have not invited the EU per se, we invited the individuals from the EU,” Mugabe said.
”He came for 14 days. So when his 14 days expired we told him it was time to go … (and) he said he would remain in our country with or without a visa. What cheek!” Mugabe said after talks with Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano and Malawi’s Bakili Muluzi.
Mugabe blacklisted six EU countries from observing the hotly contested March 9 and 10 presidential election on grounds that they support the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
Chissano, who described Schori as a ”personal friend”, said: ”Accepting Mr Schori who only went to Zimbabwe as a tourist would be an imposition which would be harmful to Zimbabwe’s own image.”
Meanwhile, Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo on Sunday insisted that Zimbabwean head of state Robert Mugabe was trying to effect reforms but was hamstrung by a British-era constitution.
Obasanjo told the BBC World Service that Mugabe’s main problem stemmed from the ”land issue.” Mugabe began seizing white-owned lands in July 2000 to resettle with black farmers.
”The Zimbabwean issue, or Zimbabwean struggle, will not be completed until the land issue is resolved,” he said.
Obasanjo quoted Mugabe as telling him that ”for 20 years, the constitution he was given by the British did not allow him to move.
”Maybe this is true. Then he can only move when the constitution is moved from the concrete cast.
As the election date draws nearer, the South Africa Observer Mission (SAOM) in Zimbabwe, was on Sunday night upbeat about the odds for a free and fair election.
Representative Mbulelo Musi said the delegation attended two rallies over the weekend, one held by the governing party, Zanu-PF on Saturday and a Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) rally on Sunday.
Musi said both rallies went off peacefully with the party leaders, President Robert Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai addressing thousands of supporters.
Another 15 observers were expected to join the delegation on Wednesday while the rest will arrive on March 3 to bring the total number of South African observers to 50.
Musi said the delegation would meet on Sunday with other observer teams of the Commonwealth. – Sapa