Zimbawe’s President Robert Mugabe, who is turning 80 on Saturday, announced on Friday he would retire from power within five years.
In an interview broadcast on state television and radio on the eve on his birthday, Mugabe said: ”In five years, [I will be] here, still boxing, writing quite a lot, reading quite a lot and still in politics, I won’t leave politics, but I will have retired obviously.”
Mugabe, who has been at the helm of the southern African country for nearly 24 years, since independence from Britain in 1980, did not indicate whether he would stand for re-election in the next presidential polls in 2008.
He was re-elected in the March 2002 presidential polls, which were disputed by the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) as fraudulent and marked with rights abuses.
Mugabe said lobbying by the opposition for sanctions against him was ”very wrong and very condemnable” but said he was prepared to hold talks with the opposition and take on their ideas.
”We are prepared to discuss with them the way forward.
”But if they are going to now seek the hand of our enemy to destroy our economy we begin to wonder whether they are for the people or against the people,” he said, referring to the MDC which lobbied for the renewal of EU sanctions against Mugabe and his close associates.
On Thursday the European Union extended the sanctions by another year, targeting Mugabe and 94 officials who are barred from entering the 15-nation bloc and have their assets in Europe frozen.
The government has said the drive to place Mugabe under sanctions is being led by Britain, the former colonial power, which has an issue to solve with the southern African country over the controversial land reforms of taking land from whites.
Mugabe, however, said not all European countries shared the same views about Zimbabwe as British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
He listed several countries in Europe who remain friendly towards Zimbabwe, among them Belgium, France, Italy, Portugal and Spain.
”They have to go with Europe as a team, the European Union, when decisions are made on the basis of the majority, every member is bound to observe sanctions against us.”
But he went on to attack the British leader.
”Blair obviously has always been a b-liar, he can never change his name can he?”
He also criticised Britain’s and the United States’ war on Iraq.
”Mr Blair and Mr Bush, they are twins, isn’t it in telling lies?” he said.
He, however, said his government preferred to work with the World Bank as opposed to the International Monetary Fund.
”We have had quite a favourable relationship with the World Bank … we have not said ‘down with them’,” he said, promising to re-pay debts owed to the international lender.
”But I am not so sure with the IMF … whether we are on good terms with them, whether we could go back to them and invite them to help us, I doubt, because their ideas are completely wrong,” he said.
The two Bretton Woods institutions, which still maintain offices in Harare, cut off aid to the country in the late 1990s over disagreements over his government’s policies. – Sapa-AFP