Zimbabwe’s state media, controlled by President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party, is fuming over United States President Barack Obama’s warm welcome to Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai in Washington at the weekend.
At the White House on Friday, Obama expressed his ”extraordinary admiration for the courage and tenacity” of 57-year-old former opposition leader Tsvangirai, who was assaulted, arrested and tried for treason by Mugabe’s authorities, before the two leaders formed a coalition government four months ago.
Obama also praised Tsvangirai for making progress in leading the country out of ”a very dark and difficult period politically”, while holding back on committing more than $75-million in humanitarian aid to the beleaguered country.
None of Obama’s praise was mentioned in state media, which did not bother to publish any pictures or broadcast footage of the historic meeting. Obama’s remarks that Mugabe had been ”resistant” to democratic changes” were also omitted.
Mugabe and about 230 of his top cronies are banned from visiting the US and the European Union.
State media has been claiming in the run-up to Tsvangirai’s trip that he had been ”tasked” by Mugabe to secure the lifting of sanctions against the government.
The Herald daily on Saturday played up Tsvangirai’s failure to secure direct governmental aid, saying he had ”hit another brick wall” on his three-week trip to Washington and eight European capitals.
On Sunday, the Sunday Mail continued to belittle Tsvangirai’s trip by saying that it appeared to be ”degenerating into a fundraising campaign for civic bodies affiliated to the MDC”.
On Monday, the Herald turned on Obama, accusing him of ”overt bias” for excluding the one Zanu-PF minister in Tsvangirai’s delegation, Tourism Minister Walter Mzembi, from the Oval Office meeting.
Mzembi was quoted as saying he expected that Mugabe would ”discuss President Obama’s behaviour” with Tsvangirai on his return.
Media freedom is one of the key aims of the agreement establishing the coalition government, but Western diplomats say there is no sign that Mugabe, whose information minister controls the radio, television and daily newspapers, has any relish for change.
”The last thing they want people to know is that Tsvangirai is being treated as a hero in the West,” said one diplomat. — Sapa-dpa