Cablegate: Media Report Kudos to Africa; Harare

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

UNCLAS HARARE 000974

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 REPORT KUDOS TO AFRICA; HARARE

1. Under headline "Don't abuse UN" the
government-controlled weekly "The Sunday News"
dedicated its April 21 editorial to hailing African
countries for blocking a call for an investigation
into alleged human rights violations in Zimbabwe
during a United Nations human rights forum in
Geneva, Switzerland last week. The same editorial
also characterized the U.S. human rights record as
"deplorable." Excerpts:

2. "Human rights are not white man's preserve. This
is the strong message that came across on Friday when
the United Nations Human Rights Commission humiliated
Britain and the European Union (EU). The EU concocted
ridiculous allegations against Zimbabwe, claiming that
the government has grossly violated human rights in
the country and should be investigated by UN experts.
But in an extraordinary feat of diplomacy, Nigeria led
African, Asian and Middle Eastern countries in the 53-
member Commission to successfully oppose the EU's
mischievous campaign.

"The West's own human rights record is deplorable.
America has a deplorable record in Angola. . .Iraq,
Afghanistan and Latin America. A few years ago,
the U.S. military bombed a pharmaceutical factory
in Sudan after making unfounded allegations that it
was a chemical weapons plant. Although there is
overwhelming evidence that Washington was wrong. .
.no apologies have been forthcoming. Surely, this
makes the U.S. a rogue state. Western countries
are not qualified to lecture developing countries
like Zimbabwe on so-called human rights. With this
crucial diplomatic victory developing countries
have reminded the West that political bullying of
the colonial type is unacceptable."

WHITEHEAD

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