Sharm el Sheikh
30 June 2008
Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe has been warmly welcomed at a summit ofAfrican leaders, despite international concerns about the legitimacy ofhis re-election. From the summit in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, VOA'sPeter Heinlein reports that in their opening speeches, Mr. Mugabe'scolleagues offered only gentle criticism of the conduct of theelection, and none of the man himself.
Robert Mugabe walked intothe conference hall at this Red Sea resort accompanied by the host,Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, along with Tanzania's PresidentJakaya Kikwete, who also holds the African Union presidency.
SeveralAfrican countries are known to be pressing behind the scenes for astrong statement condemning Mr. Mugabe's recent election. Some haveagreed with the United States and European countries in declaringillegitimate Mr. Mugabe's swearing-in for a sixth term as president.But there was no sign of the closed-door bickering at the summit'sopening session.
President Kikwete, speaking in Swahili througha translator, was cautious in his criticism. He congratulated theZimbabwean people for what he called their success and avoided anydirect criticism of Mr. Mugabe for what many have called a 'sham'election.
"We have also witnessed the historic elections whichwere done in two phases," said President Kikwete. "There have been apositive side, but there have also been challenges. The first-phaseelection was calm, but during the second phase there were manychallenges starting with the pre-campaign period during the campaignbut also during the elections. But now there are even more challengesthat need to be addressed after the elections, which took place twodays ago."
AU Commission Chairman Jean Ping is known to beworking behind the scenes to craft a compromise between Mr. Mugabe'sdefenders within the organization and those calling for tough action.Speaking in French through a translator, the former Gabonese foreignminister commended efforts by region leaders to find a negotiatedsolution.
"Africa must fully shoulder its responsibilities anddo everything in its power to help the Zimbabwean parties to worktogether in the supreme interests of their country, so as to overcometheir current challenges," he said.
The strongest words camefrom former Tanzanian Foreign Minister Asha Rose Migiro, in her currentcapacity as Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations. Migirodescribed Zimbabwe's political crisis as the single greatest challengeto stability in southern Africa.
"This is a moment of truth forregional leaders," she said. "Many have raised their voices regardingthis issue. The secretary-general urges your excellencies to mobilizesupport for a negotiated solution. Only dialogue between Zimbabweanparties supported by the African Union and other regional actors canrestore stability."
Speaking to VOA on the summit sidelines,U.S. Assistant secretary of State Jendayi Frazier called Mr. Mugabe'selection 'an open expression of tyranny', and said the world would bewatching to see how Africa's leaders respond.
"In the past, theissue in front of African leaders was how they were going to deal withgovernments that were coming to power through force of arms," she said."Now they are taking another step to say how do you deal withpresidents who inaugurate themselves in faulty elections, not credibleelections, and that is going to be a difficult issue because there havebeen a lot of elections that have not been the best, that have not beenfree and fair."
A draft resolution on Zimbabwe beingconsidered for adoption at Tuesday's final session does not directlycriticize Mr. Mugabe or the election. It only criticizes violence ingeneral terms and calls for dialogue. Diplomats say efforts are on totoughen some of the language, but it will be difficult given the numberof friends Mr. Mugabe has made within the close-knit club of Africanleader during his 28 years in power.