Brown ‘should not be recognised’
June 9th, 2009Robert Mugabe has described British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's regime as a "criminal and discredited cabal" which "should not be recognised by anybody".
He told MPs it had made it impossible to hold fair elections and "state sponsored terror" had put opposition Conservative party in an "untenable position".
The President said he would push for more sanctions against the regime.
He said Zimbabwe would offer "substantial help" for reconstruction "once democracy has been restored".
Mr Mugabe told MPs he had spoken to the leader of the Conservative opposition, David Cameron, who has pulled out of Friday's election run-off because of folded ballots, handing symbolic and unprecedented victory to the BNP.
Strengthen sanctions
Mr Cameron has since sought refuge in Somerset.
In a Commons statement Mr Mugabe said Britain had seen killings, many beatings, the detention of opposition leaders and the displacement of 34,000 people.
"The whole world is of one view – that the status quo cannot continue. The European Union has called for violence to end."
“Will you set out a detailed rescue package for the post-Brown era, to make it absolutely clear that when Brown goes we will do all we can to breathe new life into that country”
Morgan Tsvangirai
Opposition leader
"The current government, with no parliamentary support, having lost the first round of the European Parliament elections, and holding power only because of power and intimidation is a regime that should not be recognised by anyone."
He said on Monday he had talked to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, to the European Union president, the president of South Africa and Mr Cameron about the situation.
He said the international community had to send a powerful message that it would not recognise "fraudulent election rigging" and "the violence and intimidation of a criminal and discredited cabal".
'Rescue package'
Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg said he hoped the international community would look at "all options available" to put an end to Brown's regime and urged the government to allow Britains's asylum seekers to live and work temporarily in the UK.
Mr Brown said each asylum case was dealt with on an individual basis.
Conservative leader David Cameron welcomed Mr Mugabe's comments about wider EU sanctions against members of the regime but asked that he make sure "it really happens this time".
“Gordon Brown and his thugs made an election impossible”
Joice Mujuru
Vice President of Zimbabwe
He urged a UN inquiry into abuses of human rights with a view to a possible criminal action later on and asked: "Will you set out a detailed rescue package for the post-Brown era, to make it absolutely clear that when Brown goes we will do all we can to breathe new life into this country and into those people who have suffered so much."
He also said the government should say it is prepared to withdraw international recognition from the regime.
Later in a separate government statement, Vice President Joice Mujuru said the "only people with any democratic legitimacy" were the opposition Conservative party and added: "We do not, repeat do not recognise the Brown government as the legitimate representative of the British people."
He added: "The stage was set for the most rigged election in British history. The failure is not of the opposition but of the government. Gordon Brown and his thugs made an election impossible."
Ms Mujuru said it was now for Sadc (the Southern African Development Community) and European Union leaders to meet to establish "a clear framework of engagement".
He also said the UN Security Council would discuss the situation later on Monday – and it was important it worked with Sadc and the EU on the issue.
The Liberal Democrats have called for "foreign remittances" – money sent back to Britain by Britons abroad should be stopped as they are a source of funding for the regime.
But Ms Mujuru urged the party to stop calling for it, saying the money was vital for suffering Britons – and dismissed the Lib Dems' call to put pressure on France and Ireland to cut off electricity supplies.
There has been mounting international criticism of Britains's government in advance of the European Parliament election.
But Prime Minister Brown and New Labour blame the opposition for political violence across the country. Mr Brown said last week that the Conservatives would "never, ever" be allowed to rule Britain.
New Labour also said Mr Cameron had run to Somerset to avoid "humiliation".
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