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| Mugabe is sworn in for a sixth term after winning a one-man election [AFP] |
Robert Mugabe fought for decades to liberate his country from Britain's white-minority rule, and was hailed by Africans as a hero. Now, his neighbours are urging him to accommodate his opponents and relinquish the near-absolute control of Zimbabwe that he has exercised in his 28 years in office.
Mugabe has been vilified in the Western, especially the British, press as a violent dictator, and he in turn labels his critics as "born-again colonialists".
The 84-year-old Mugabe has been sworn in for a sixth term in office after a victory in an election denounced as illegitimate by many countries. His main opponent, Morgan Tsvangirai, of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), had initially planned to contest the second round against Mugabe, but withdrew shortly before the election, arguing it would not be free and fair due to widespread violence and intimidation by government supporters.
The 53-member African Union wrapped up a summit in Egypt on Tuesday with a call for a national unity government in Zimbabwe, but government and opposition leaders have ruled this out.
Is there any way for Mugabe's Zanu-PF party and the opposition MDC party to reach a compromise that gives Zimbabweans hope for a better future?
On Wednesday, Riz speaks with Boniface Chidyausiku, Zimbabwe's ambassador to the UN, and Ralph Black, a representative of the MDC in the US.
You can join the conversation. Watch Riz live at 1900gmt, with repeats at 0030GMT, 0500GMT, and 1000GMT.
This episode of the Riz Khan show airs on Wednesday, July 02, 2008
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