Kikwete tells Bush Africa sees Zimbabwe crisis 'differently'

Kikwete tells Bush Africa sees Zimbabwe crisis 'differently'

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By Lebo Nkatazo

TANZANIAN President and African Union chairman Jakaya Kikwete has told United States President George Bush that African leaders have a “different view” of the Zimbabwean crisis.

Bush met Kikwete on the sidelines of the G8 Summit in Toyako, Japan, seeking to push for a tougher line on Zimbabwe.

The US is sponsoring a resolution expected to be tabled at the United Nations imposing sanctions on Zimbabwe, but African countries – notably South Africa – have been vociferous in their opposition to such a move.

And Kikwete, speaking during a press conference with Bush on Monday, said while he shared the view that there was a crisis in Zimbabwe, he did not share Bush’s view on the way forward.

Kikwete appeared to steer Bush towards supporting an African solution – the AU having discussed Zimbabwe at its summit last week and resolved to press for a government of national unity between President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu PF party and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).

After Bush said he was “extremely disappointed in the elections, which I labelled a ‘sham’ election”, Kikwete said he saw “eye-to-eye” with Bush “on many international issues”, but added: “The only area that we may differ is on the way forward (in Zimbabwe). You see differently, but for us in Africa we see differently.”

The US and Britain have previously demanded that opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai be recognised as the legitimate president of Zimbabwe – based on a March 29 first round vote which he won narrowly but without the necessary majority required by law to be declared winner, forcing a runoff which he boycotted on June 27.

Kikwete said African leaders did not believe in a winner-takes-all approach to resolving the Zimbabwean crisis, adding: “At the last summit of the African Union, many leaders expressed their dissatisfaction at the way things happened (during elections). But also we agreed on the way forward.

“We are saying no party can govern alone in Zimbabwe, and therefore the parties have to work together to come up to -- to come out, work together, in a government, and then look at the future of their country together. So this is the way we see it.”

Much of Europe, the United States, Australia and Canada have expressed frustrations at how the African leaders approach the crisis in Zimbabwe, often demanding tougher action to bring pressure on Mugabe’s government.

But many African leaders have successfully bought Mugabe’s mantra that the crisis is primarily a bilateral dispute between his country and Britain triggered by his policy of taking back land from white land owners and parcelling it out to the poor black majority.

To some African leaders, western calls for tougher action on Mugabe are becoming something of an irritation – and Kikwete appeared to allude to that when he said to Bush: “You would have liked to see us do a bit -- some things. We would (also) have liked to see you do some things.”

Kikwete is expected to travel to Zimbabwe soon to meet the major political players in support of the mediation efforts of Africa's point man on Zimbabwe -- President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa.
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