The Hindu : 'Impartial observers endorsed polls'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, May 08, 2003

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International

'Impartial observers endorsed polls'

Jonathan Wutawunashe, High Commissioner of the Republic of Zimbabwe, writes:

I read with great interest the article "Mugabe firm as African leaders struggle for solution" (The Hindu, May 7), as it was about attempts to remove obstacles to the resumption of domestic dialogue between the government and the parliamentary opposition party in Zimbabwe.

For factual balance, it is important to record the fact that whereas a prejudiced minority of countries — and they were not observers — did not like the democratic outcome of the last Presidential election, those who observed impartially, including the African Union, SADC, COMESA, South Africa, Mozambique, Nigeria, China, Iran, Zambia, Malawi, the Russian Federation, the South African Council of Churches, the December 12th Movement (USA) and other bodies endorsed the free and fair election.

I also add a cautionary note on the use of such hackneyed formulations as "... .whose increasingly authoritarian rule has been blamed... " That particular propagandist falsehood was thrown into the public arena a few years ago by pro-Ian Smith, neo-colonialist enemies of Zimbabwe's just land reform, whereby President Mugabe gave back land stolen by colonialists to its indigenous owners.

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