US Accuses Mugabe of Shutting Out Criticism

27 July 2007: The United States has accused Zimbabwe's president Robert Mugabe of blatantly trying to shut out criticism ahead of elections next year. The comments come after riot police in Harare beat more than 200 Zimbabweans who were peacefully demonstrating for a new constitution on Wednesday. The US State Department said President Mugabe should respect the right of Zimbabweans to participate in the democratic process and to guarantee the safety of citizens.

US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the latest action continues to call into question Zimbabwe's commitment to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) mediation effort to establish conditions for free and fair elections. The SADC has mandated South African President Thabo Mbeki to broker a dialogue between President Mugabe's government and the opposition. The opposition has charged that the last presidential polls in 2002 were rigged to hand victory to the 83-year-old Robert Mugabe, who has been in power since 1980.
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