Mugabe's State media lash out at Obama

President Mugabe's Zanu-PF party says U.S. President Barack Obama's calls for reforms ahead of elections in this southern African nation are "hypocritical."

Zimbabwe state radio reported Monday that Christopher Mutsvangwa, a former ambassador to China appointed by President Robert Mugabe, said Obama, currently visiting Africa, voiced "a sinister plan" to influence Zimbabwe's elections to oust longtime ruler Mugabe, 89.

Speaking in Cape Town Sunday, Obama criticized Zimbabwe for bad governance and said the country is unlikely to have fair elections later this month due to fear and insecurity among voters and bias by the police and military.

In response The Herald newspaper said Obama did not acknowledge American law-breaking in Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq. The newspaper said Obama was mired in "international barbarism, drone assassinations and spying."

The newspaper alleges that Mr Obama emerged from a meeting with Mr Zuma saying "reforms" should precede harmonised elections.

Ms Zulu also weighed in yesterday, calling for a postponement of elections by at least a month to accommodate "basic reforms" to ensure free and fair elections, a stance in tandem with the MDC-T position.

The newspaper says that  Mr Obama - whose visit was greeted by demonstrations from South Africans - should look in the mirror and deal with the mess in his own backyard, including advising his hosts to rein in the South African Police Services who have been implicated in clamping down on foreigners.

It says it is ironic that Mr Obama could talk of the need for free and fair elections in Zimbabwe when his country maintained its illegal sanctions regime through the so-called Zimbabwe Transition to Democracy and Economic Recovery Act that was imposed to influence voting patterns in favour of the MDC.

Political scientist and Zanu-PF Politburo member Professor Jonathan Moyo yesterday described Mr Obama's statements as insults to Zimbabweans and progressive South Africans.

He said that the US President was not supposed to bother himself about developments in Zimbabwe, adding the two leaders failed to take advantage of their meeting to discuss negative events unfolding in their countries.

"President Zuma was supposed to have told Obama that as Africans, they were embarrassed because he has violated human rights and the international law and killed people in countries such as Iran, Somalia and Afghanistan. He should have told him that the Africans were not happy with the use of cyber war against Iran. Should have told him that people were not happy with his use of the Internet to spy on the people he preaches about the freedom of expression while he spies on everyone.

"On the same token, President Obama should have told President Zuma that there was no need for him to talk about reforms in Zimbabwe, while there was massive police brutality perpetrated on Sadc citizens by South African police as well as the massacring on defenseless workers at Marikana Mines," he said.

"The truth is no amount of propaganda can hide the fact that Zimbabwe is enjoying peace, unity and development. Zimbabweans are the most empowered Africans, thanks to the policies of Zanu-PF. The term of office for the President ended yesterday (Saturday) and that Zimbabwe is now due for harmonised elections according to the country's constitution, not according rule of Obama or Zuma.

"If they believe in their shared notion that there should be reforms in Zimbabwe first before elections when Parliament's term has expired, them God should help them..... Their notion is unprecedented, uncivilized and unconstitutional," he said.