[I wonder if Putin isn”t doing this merely to impress the USA and Europe? As this article says, Zimbabwe and Russia were staunch allies.

Similarly, Putin recently said the world should support the USA in Iraq. But as a friend and I have been speculating, perhaps the real reason is that Putin really doesn”t want the USA to leave Iraq – where US forces are being pinned down, year after year by the furious terror war there? I fervently believe there must be links between the Russians and those terrorists in Iraq, because the Russians(Soviets) have a long history of sponsoring crazy Arab terrorists, and I still firmly believe the Russians are behind this Islamic Jihad against the world. So I believe Putin is pretending to be very cosy with Bush and Blair – but he is really leaning in closer so he can stab the USA nicely in the back when it suits him one day.

I don”t think Putin is sincere in his criticism of Mugabe. He is merely acting out, the same lines which the USA says – no doubt because he wants something from the USA and is busy cosying up to them. Jan]

RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin this week lashed out at President Robert Mugabe ahead of the Group of Eight (G-8) summit as it became clear that Zimbabwe”s band of friends is dwindling.

The remarks by the Russian leader, who branded President Mugabe a dictator, laid fertile ground for clashes between African leaders, who have in the past thrown their weight behind Harare and G-8 leaders increasingly getting impatient over the continent”s failure to ratchet up pressure on the Zimbabwean leader.

Western leaders led by Britain have been calling for regime change in Zimbabwe for alleged human rights violations. They also allege that the ruling ZANU PF has repeatedly stolen parliamentary and presidential elections over the past five years. The Zimbabwean government denies these charges. It claims that the West opposes President Mugabe not because of his alleged undemocratic election but simply because his government seized white-owned farms for redistribution to landless blacks.

Putin was quoted on wire services arguing that the writing off of Africa”s debt would be of little value to the impoverished continent as long as the likes of President Mugabe were in charge. They said Putin launched his first ever-scathing attack on President Mugabe in Kazakhstan before flying to Scotland in what further proves Harare”s growing international isolation even among its peers.

Putin said aid would be useless if African leaders were corrupt, and added: “We should not be afraid to stop aid to dictators, like Zimbabwe”s Mugabe.”

Zimbabwe has long regarded Russia as one of its key allies and the East European country bankrolled the country”s liberation movements during the 1970s war of independence from Britain.

Only last week, Information Minister Tichaona Jokonya said should Zimbabwe come up for discussion at the United Nations security council, the government could count on friendly permanent members Russia, China and France, for support.

Diplomatic sources said discussions on the controversial clean-up exercise adopted by Harare last month, which has rendered nearly 300 000 families homeless, might take centre stage at the Scottish resort of Gleneagles with experts on African affairs arguing that the issue might actually upstage the world”s poorest continent”s quest for debt relief.

“African leaders might urge the G-8 leaders to defer any action on Zimbabwe until they have seen a United Nations report that would be prepared by the world body”s special envoy Anna Kajumalo Tibaijuka,” said a Harare-based diplomat.

The African Union (AU), which endorsed the disputed March 31 parliamentary elections described by the European Union as flawed, has said the current evictions of illegally settled urbanites and informal traders in Harare and other cities and towns were Zimbabwe”s internal problem.

G-8 countries have however, frequently called on African countries, particularly southern African states to censure President Mugabe and might take the summit as yet another opportunity to drive home their point.

The African Union (AU) did not discuss Zimbabwe at its indaba which ended yesterday in Sirte, Libya.

But the clean-up campaign, debt relief for African countries, increase in development aid and equitable trade are some of the issues that might feature prominently at the Scottish resort of Gleneagles.

Relevant Links

Southern Africa
Europe and Africa
Human Rights
Crime and Corruption
Zimbabwe

The G-8 recently announced moves to write off debts worth $40bn – under the highly indebted poor countries initiative – owed by African countries to the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the African Development Bank. Only 18 countries would benefit from the write-off, 14 of them from Africa.

The G-8, however, tied debt cancellation to good governance and transparency.

Source: AllAfrica.Com
URL: http://allafrica.com/stories/200507070096.htm…br>