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Diplomacy 'can unseat Mugabe'
05/10/2007 07:25 - (SA)
London - Condemning Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe is counterproductive and international powers should instead put their weight behind regional diplomatic efforts to unseat him, says a Tanzanian president.
Speaking to the Financial Times in Paris, Jakaya Kikwete insisted the diplomatic approach favoured by African leaders "will pay dividends" and said it should be given more time.
Kikwete said: "Tanzania is standing by the people of Zimbabwe, including President Mugabe.
"We subscribe to the idea of working with them to get a solution, because if you end up condemning and insulting Mugabe, he will not listen to you.
"Mugabe is there. He is president; he has been elected. If Tanzania said, 'You are hopeless! A murderer! A violator of basic human rights!' does that remove Mugabe from office? It doesn't."
'We want to see free, fair polls'
Kikwete added that bringing an end to Mugabe's reign in Zimbabwe would provide a solution in itself only "if you think the problems in Zimbabwe are solely related to President Mugabe".
According to him: "Our approach has been, 'let's make these people talk'," referring to discussions hosted by South Africa between Mugabe's Zanu-PF party and opposition groups.
"We want to see the next elections conducted on a level playing field: free, fair and peaceful ... That will give the people of Zimbabwe an opportunity to choose a leader of their choice," added Kikwete.
Kikwete's comments came ahead of a December summit of European Union and African leaders in Lisbon. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown had already said that he would not attend the summit if Mugabe is present.
Zimbabwe was in the throes of an economic crisis with the world's highest rate of inflation and four out of five people jobless. Some 80% of the population lived below the poverty threshold.
Separately, Kikwete added that if investigations into the 2002 sale of a radar system by BAE Systems to Tanzania for $57.1bn was corruptly inflated, Tanzania would seek compensation.
He added: "I don't know how to get the money but if the radar is overpriced, definitely we deserve to be paid ... They cannot take money from a poor country."
- AFP
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