Mbeki angered by media 'fabrications' on Zim, SADC Cape
Town, South Africa 24 August 2007 04:23
DisplayDCAd('220x240','1','');
President Thabo Mbeki on Friday dismissed suggestions that Southern African
Development Community (SADC) leaders have recklessly ignored Zimbabwe's
problems in the interests of solidarity.
Writing in his weekly online newsletter, Mbeki accused Business Day newspaper
of publishing on Monday a "wholly fabricated story" alleging SADC leaders were
divided over Zimbabwe, and describing a discussion at last week's Lusaka SADC
summit "that never took place".
"This is consistent with an unethical practice in sections of our media in
terms of which they manufacture news and information and communicate complete
fiction as the truth," he said.
The newspaper manufactured an unbridgeable rift resulting in a non-existent
paralysis among the leaders, arising out of the discussion that never took
place, he said.
The fact of the matter was that, acting on the recommendation of the SADC organ
on politics, defence and security, the summit meeting accepted the report on
the Zimbabwe economy, as well as the proposal that finance ministers, in
consultation with the government of Zimbabwe, use the report to elaborate
specific interventions that could be made by the region.
"The hostile allegation that our countries have recklessly turned their eyes
away from the problems of Zimbabwe, because of the imperatives of solidarity,
has always been nothing more than a product of propaganda, which all thinking
persons would recognise as such.
"The reality is that in a very real sense the problems of Zimbabwe are our
problems, in the same way that the problems of the rest of Southern Africa are
problems for Zimbabwe as well.
"Our entire region stands to benefit most directly from the recovery of
Zimbabwe, in much the same way as Zimbabwe benefits from the progress of the
region of Southern Africa, of which it is an integral and inalienable part," he
said.
The Lusaka summit meeting reconfirmed these fundamental positions, which
included unqualified respect for the sovereignty of Zimbabwe and the right of
its people to determine their destiny.
At no point would SADC and its member states act as a super-power that had the
right to expropriate the people of Zimbabwe of their right to
self-determination, "as imperial Britain did", Mbeki said. -- Sapa
---------------------------------
All new Yahoo! Mail
---------------------------------
Get news delivered. Enjoy RSS feeds right on your Mail page._______________________________________________
Ugandanet mailing list
[email protected]
http://kym.net/mailman/listinfo/ugandanet
% UGANDANET is generously hosted by INFOCOM http://www.infocom.co.ug/
The above comments and data are owned by whoever posted them (including
attachments if any). The List's Host is not responsible for them in any way.
---------------------------------------
