ROME, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwean President
Robert Mugabe on Tuesday accused the West of trying to cripple his country
through economic sanctions.
"The United Kingdom has mobilized her friends and
allies in Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand to impose illegal
economic sanctions against Zimbabwe," Mugabe told a world summit on food
security, hosted by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
"All this has been done to cripple Zimbabwe's economy
and thereby effect illegal regime change in our country," he added.
Mugabe said western countries have been using
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and opposition political parties to topple
his government.
"Funds are being channeled through non-governmental
organizations to ... opposition political parties which are a creation of the
West," he said, "Further, these western-funded NGOs also use food as a political
weapon with which to campaign against (the) government especially in the rural
areas."
Mugabe's attendance at the food summit was heavily
criticized by several western countries, which blamed his land reform for the
country's economic difficulties and widespread poverty.
The high-level conference was called at a time when
the world is experiencing a dramatic increase in food prices, aimed at winning
donor pledges for urgent aid as short-term solutions and also to generate longer
term strategies to safeguard food production.
But national delegates differed on certain causes behind higher food prices, notably the increasing demand for biofuels.
Mugabe said climate change and the use of crops for bio-fuels by some western countries should be responsible for the food prices hike.
Mugabe will address UN food summit
HARARE, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Delegations from 162 countries gathering in Rome to seek ways out of a global food crisis, will be addressed Tuesday by President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, according to local media reports.
Mugabe is in the Italian capital for an important UN world food conference being held in response to soaring prices and the growing demand for food. Full story
