Cablegate: Media Reaction Election Aftermath; Harare

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

UNCLAS HARARE 000959

SIPDIS

AF/PD FOR COX AND ROBERTSON, AF/S FOR KRAFT AND
SCHLACHTER, AF/RA FOR SWANN, INR/R/MR, NSC FOR JENDAYI
FRAZER

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ZI PREL PHUM
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION ELECTION AFTERMATH; HARARE

1. Under headline "Who will save us from fellow
Africans?" the independent daily "The Daily News"
dedicated its April 22 edition to condemning African
leaders for supporting the Government of Zimbabwe after
fatally flawed March presidential poll. "We really
thing their action was not just irresponsible, but must
be criminalized (sic) under international law," the
editorial thundered. Excerpts:

2. ". . .Africa is fast slipping back into what it
used to be - a very dark continent - courtesy of its
leaders who, although educated, want to base their rule
on the feudal system. African leaders seem united by
one rotten factor: They are so obsessed with power
that, once elected, they quickly put in place
mechanisms making it virtually impossible for the
people to remove them. That in itself wouldn't be such
a bad thing if they weren't so oppressive, repressive
and corrupt. The most worrying aspect in Africa's
ongoing slide back to its dark past is the emerging
pattern among its leaders of rallying to each other's
support in complete disregard of the people's will and
welfare. It is what the highly principled Senegalese
President, Andoulaye Wade, who clearly is an exception
to the rule, derisively referred to as 'this trade
union of presidents.'

"The political crisis in this country has exposed
that evil developed for the whole world to see.
All truly neutral observers saw last month's
presidential election as a gigantic fraud contrived
to give victory where it did not belong and so
refused to endorse the results. But, incredibly
and to their eternal shame, 'the trade union of
African presidents,' who must be told in no
uncertain terms that they have on their hands the
blood of all Zimbabweans being tortured and killed
to keep ZANU PF in power, chose to gloss over all
the glaring flaws and declared the poll legitimate
and the results acceptable. We really think their
action was not just irresponsible, but must be
criminalized (sic) under international law. . .The
question must be asked: Who will save us from the
cruelty of our selfish fellow Africans? While
there may be no obvious answer to that question,
all despotic African leaders can be sure of at
least one thing: Those who make peaceful political
change impossible make violent revolution
inevitable."

WHITEHEAD

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