Skip to main content

Home/ Geopolitics Weekly/ Group items tagged SADC

Rss Feed Group items tagged

Filter: All | Bookmarks | Topics Simple Middle
Argos Media

BBC NEWS | Africa | Africans reject Madagascar leader - 0 views

news.bbc.co.uk/...7953617.stm

Madagascar SADC Andry Rajoelina Marc Ravalomanana Daewoo

shared by Argos Media on 20 Mar 09 - Cached
  • Southern African countries have refused to recognise Madagascar's new leader, Andry Rajoelina, who on Tuesday ousted the democratically-elected president. Regional body Sadc, to which Madagascar belongs, said constitutional rule should be restored as soon as possible.
  • The Southern African Development Community statement said the 15-member group "condemns in the strongest terms the circumstances that led to the ousting of a democratically-elected president of Madagascar".
  • A US state department spokesman said of Madagascar: "We view this as an undemocratic transfer of power."
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • On Wednesday, Zambia called for the immediate suspension of Madagascar from the AU and Sadc. It came hours after Madagascar's highest court backed the handover of power to Mr Rajoelina.
  • Mr Rajoelina earlier axed a controversial deal for a South Korean firm to lease about half of Madagascar's arable land to grow food corn and palm oil. Widespread protests had already slowed down progress on the plan, which would have used some 1.3m hectares (3.2m acres). Some had said it amounted to "neo-colonialism". Mr Rajoelina told reporters: "In the constitution, it is stipulated that Madagascar's land is neither for sale nor for rent, so the agreement with Daewoo is cancelled."
  • Opposition to this plan was one of the reasons behind Mr Ravalomanana's loss of popular support.
Pedro Gonçalves

BBC NEWS | Africa | Mugabe calls US envoy 'an idiot' - 0 views

news.bbc.co.uk/...8137046.stm

Zimbabwe Robert Mugabe Johnnie Carson Jendayi Frazer Morgan Tsvangirai

shared by Pedro Gonçalves on 07 Jul 09 - Cached
  • Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe has branded a top US envoy "an idiot" with a condescending attitude.He said that Johnnie Carson, US assistant secretary of state for African affairs, wanted to dictate what Zimbabwe could and could not do.
  • Mr Mugabe told The Herald newspaper in Zimbabwe that nothing came out of his talks with Mr Carson - his first meeting with a US government official for many years. "You would not speak to an idiot of that nature," he said. "I was very angry with him, and he thinks he could dictate to us what to do and what not to do."
  • Mr Mugabe was also not fond of Mr Carson's predecessor, Jendayi Frazer, who is also black. In May last year he described her as "a little American girl trotting around the globe like a prostitute" after she suggested that the then-opposition Movement for Democratic Change had won the disputed presidential election.
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • Mr Mugabe pointed out that the Southern African Development Community (SADC) supported the unity government. "We have the whole of SADC working with us, and you have the likes of little fellows like Carson, you see, wanting to say: 'You do this, you do that.' "Who is he? "I hope he was not speaking for Obama. I told him he was a shame, a great shame, being an African American."
  • Meanwhile, Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has apologised to Mr Mugabe after ministers from his party, the MDC, boycotted a cabinet meeting last Monday. The ministers had decided instead to head to Harare airport to welcome Mr Tsvangirai back from a tour of Europe and the United States, where he had been lobbying for aid for Zimbabwe. He raised just $200m (£121m), not the $7bn the country's finance minister said the country needed to revive its economy. President Obama committed $73 million, but said: "It will not be going to the government directly because we continue to be concerned about consolidating democracy, human rights, and rule of law."
1 - 2 of 2
Showing 20▼ items per page