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Zim asks for African solidarity
22/03/2007 13:24 - (SA)
Harare - Zimbabwe's government asked for the support of other African countries on Thursday as cracks began emerging in the region over President Robert Mugabe's increasingly controversial rule.
A police crackdown on Mugabe's opponents, which left some
opposition figures with broken limbs, sparked a storm of
international condemnation and criticism from neighbours that
traditionally defend the Zimbabwean government.
Information minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu told senior army
officers at military school in Harare that Zimbabwe was banking
on African solidarity in the face of fierce attacks from mainly
Western powers, state media reported on Thursday.
"African countries must not allow themselves to be divided
by imperialism," he said in a news clip broadcast by Zimbabwe
Television (ZTV).
"The West, and the Western news networks are demonising
Zimbabwe, giving a one-sided perspective," he said.
Ndlovu urged
African countries to remain united with Zimbabwe, ZTV added.
His plea came after Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa said
"quiet diplomacy" had failed to help solve the political chaos
and economic meltdown in Zimbabwe and urged the Southern African
Development Community (SADC) to get involved.
Mwanawasa compared Zimbabwe to a "sinking Titanic".
Analysts say the crisis in Zimbabwe, once one of the most
prosperous countries in Africa, threatens regional economic
stability, raising the spectre of social unrest and forcing more
Zimbabweans to flee to neighbouring countries.
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