FED: Rudd must toughen Zimbabwe stance after 'chilling' call: Oppn

AAP General News (Australia)
12-22-2008
FED: Rudd must toughen Zimbabwe stance after 'chilling' call: Oppn
ZIMBABWE AUST

CANBERRA, Dec 22 AAP - The coalition is calling on the Rudd government to exert maximum
pressure when it comes to Zimbabwe, after the United States suggested President Robert
Mugabe should stand down.

The top US convoy for Africa has said the US could no longer support a proposed power-sharing
deal that would leave Mugabe, "a man who's lost it", as president.

Addressing his ZANU-PF party's annual conference on Friday, Mugabe declared: "I will
never, never, never, never surrender. Zimbabwe is mine".

Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Helen Coonan says Mugabe's recent "chilling
statements" meant Australia most now up the ante.

"It is high time Prime Minister Kevin Rudd adopted a more principled approach and joined
in exerting maximum pressure on the Mugabe regime," Senator Coonan said in a statement.

"The government can do this through not only establishing a special envoy on the Zimbabwe
crisis, but also by coordinating representations to (African) states with others opposing
the continuation of the Mugabe regime such as France, the United States, Britain and Canada."

Senator Coonan said a power-sharing arrangement with the Zimbabwean opposition, the
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), wouldn't save the African nation from a ruinous
political crisis and a deadly cholera epidemic.

"By seeking a power-sharing arrangement ... the Southern African Development Community
(SADC) is following a path which will not deliver security, health and relief from risk
of famine in Zimbabwe," she said.

Senator Coonan said South Africa and other SADC members would not put sufficient economic
and political pressure on Mugabe to permit fresh elections.

"Australia needs to undertake measured diplomatic efforts to influence SADC to toughen
its stand in mediations."

South Africa says the agreement under which Mugabe would remain president and opposition
leader Morgan Tsvangirai would take a new prime minister's post is the only way forward.

The MDC says it also remains committed to the stalled talks aimed at forming a power-sharing
government.

Comment was being sought from Foreign Minister Stephen Smith.

AAP jcd/kms/maur/cdh

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