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Mozambican rights group condemns SADC leaders' "pact" on Zimbabwe

Other News Materials 29 April 2008 17:45 (UTC +04:00)

The Mozambican Human Rights League (LDH) on Tuesday urged the Southern African Development Community (SADC) leadership to publicly condemn Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's intentions to cling to power using fraudulent means, reported the dpa.

The regional grouping's leaders were failing to strongly condemn Mugabe by resorting to what LDH President Alice Mobota alleged was a "corporative pact" by an alliance of liberation struggle leaders who plan to be loyal and faithful to each other to the end.

"The silent diplomacy means governmental corporativism. Only two presidents have condemned Robert Mugabe directly: Levy Mwanawasa from Zambia and Ian Khama from Botswana. You know why? Because they do not belong to the corporative pact," Mobota said.

"We need to respect the role they (liberation leaders) played at the time, but they must understand that their time has gone. It's time to leave the power for younger generations. This is a moment of transition, for the generation of peace times not from those who came from the bush," she added.

Mobota also questions the existence in Africa of electoral commissions that are not independent and forced to act under duress.

Zimbabwe's disputed elections was the second in Africa for the year, after Kenya, and could set a precedent for elections that are coming up in Mozambique, Angola and South Africa, Mobota warned.

She also urged regional leaders not to allow the shipment of arms from China to reach Zimbabwe through SADC ports and to condemn Mugabe's allies, including China.

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