Tuesday, 2 July 2013

Zanu-PF reacts angrily to Obama’s Zimbabwe comments

Zimbabwe’s ruling party, Zanu-PF, has lashed out at Barack Obama after the US president called for real reforms in Zimbabwe ahead of the elections. Zanu-PF party loyalists have accused the American leader of “meddling” in African affairs and “insulting” Africans. Obama made the remarks while on a visit to South Africa last week, which was part of his official tour of African nations. He reportedly told the press that bad governance in Zimbabwe was responsible for the country’s problems, including the poor the state of the economy.

The Herald, a Zimbabwean newspaper considered to be the mouthpiece of Zanu-PF, criticised Obama for “abusing his visit to South Africa to meddle in Zimbabwe’s internal affairs.” Zanu-PF loyalists were quoted as saying that Zimbabwe is “governed by its laws not the opinion of foreigners” and that the country “doesn’t want any interference from foreigners.” Political analyst Clifford Mashiri said Obama’s comments were welcome, and that Zanu-PF’s reaction was not surprising: “It is expected that Zanu-PF would react in a nasty and hostile way. This is how they always react when they are being told things they do not want to hear.”


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