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By Tererai Karimakwenda
06 July 2005
It's being reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin branded
Robert Mugabe a dictator, before he flew to the G8 summit in Scotland.
Putin was addressing the issue of aid to Africa when he used Mugabe
and Zimbabwe as an example. He said that aid would be of little
value to Africa as long as the likes of Mugabe are in charge.
This is the first time a Russian leader has spoken harshly of Mugabe.
Russia has been a key ally of his since independence and also supported
ZAPU and ZANU-PF's efforts during the liberation struggle. Tim Hughes
of The South African Institute of International Affairs said Putin
has the freedom to make comments like this because he is not a post-colonial
leader and is not running a colonial country.
According to Hughes, Putin's comment is very significant, particularly
in the context of the G8 summit he is attending. Hughes believes
that speaking of good governance in Africa just before the summit
might have been a clever ploy by Putin to set the agenda. But in
any context, the statement is very significant because the Soviet
Union and Russia were linked to liberation movements in Africa.
Putin said aid would be useless if African leaders
were corrupt, and added: "We should not be afraid to stop aid
to dictators, like Zimbabwe's Mugabe."
Mugabe has long regarded Russia remained Zimbabwe's key ally and
main source of weapons after independence in 1980 and its officials
have maintained silence on rights abuses in the country.
But Putin's tough remarks now mark Mugabe's growing international
isolation even among his traditional allies.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who is hosting the G8 summit,
has already expressed concern that Zimbabwe would make it difficult
for him to get his fellow leaders to agree to his agenda to double
aid and remove trade barriers with Africa.
Mugabe's senseless campaign of destroying informal
settlements, which has left nearly one million people homeless,
has sparked international outrage and seems to have given allies
like Putin the impetus to condemn him publicly. - ZimOnline
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