Obama talks to Tsvangirai, calls for tough action on Mugabe

Obama talks to Tsvangirai, calls for tough action on Mugabe

HIDING: Tsvangirai has pulled out of Friday's election

• Police chief tells Tsvangirai to 'go home and sleep'

• Tsvangirai's spokesman flees Zimbabwe

• Tsvangirai seeks refuge in Dutch embassy

• Police launch sweep of MDC HQ, scores arrested

• Tsvangirai's gamble hinges on regional support

• Text: Tsvangirai's statement announcing pull-out

• Tsvangirai withdraws from run-off

• 4 bodies of slain MDC activists recovered

• A.G.O Mutambara: We'll reject unity rooted in genocide

• Mugabe threatens to arrest MDC leaders

• Tendai Biti arrested on return to Zimbabwe

• Tsvangirai says Zimbabwe under military junta

• MDC senator's house attacked: party

• Police say war veteran killed by MDC supporters

• Tsvangirai released, told to suspend rallies

• Mutambara says Mugabe seeks to decapitate MDC

• Morgan Tsvangirai: Zimbabwe restoration about to begin

• Arthur Mutambara: Rethinking the African economic model

• Arthur Mutambara: A shameful betrayal of our Independence

WHITE House contender Barack Obama said he has spoken with Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai and demanded coordinated US-African action against the Robert Mugabe regime.

The Democrat said he had contacted Tsvangirai "to share my deep concern for the way his supporters are being targeted by the regime, and to express my admiration for his efforts to ensure that the will of the Zimbabwean people is finally respected".

Senator Obama welcomed a UN Security Council statement that condemned violence in Zimbabwe and called for President Mugabe's government to postpone a presidential run-off vote due to go ahead on Friday.

Tsvangirai abandoned the ballot on Monday and, expressing concern for his safety, took shelter in the Dutch embassy in Harare.

"The United States and the international community must be united, clear and unequivocal: the government of Zimbabwe is illegitimate and lacks any credibility," Senator Obama said.

The Illinois senator called for stepped-up US sanctions and stronger diplomacy in concert with African nations to bring about new elections that are free and fair.

"If fresh elections prove impossible, regional leaders backed by the international community should pursue an enforceable, negotiated political transition in Zimbabwe that would end repressive rule and enable genuine democracy to take root," he said.
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