OMEN
05-04-2006, 11:22 PM
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Blantyre - Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has called for bygones to be bygones between black and white in his country, saying the two sides have to live together.
The 82-year-old, speaking during a four-day state visit in Malawi on Wednesday, said black and white "cannot avoid each other".
Mugabe is scheduled to open a road - linking Blantyre to the tea-growing area of Malanje - named after him in the country on Thursday.
Mugabe said: "We declared a policy of national reconciliation to push off colonialism much further."
"Many whites are left, including the notorious (former Rhodesian prime minister) Ian Smith.
"I wonder how many countries in Europe would be in our situation to have left Ian Smith, despite many Zimbabweans (dying) in the liberation struggle.
"Let bygones be bygones."
"Land reform has opened opportunities'
Last month, Zimbabwean agriculture minister Joseph Made said his country was ready allow the return of white farmers, driven off their farms under Mugabe's land reform programme.
Made denied that the new openness towards white farmers marked an about-face in land reform policies that have been widely criticised as a failure.
The policies triggered an economic meltdown in what was once the breadbasket of southern Africa.
Mugabe said the land reform programme had opened opportunities for many people including a "big population of Malawians" living in Zimbabwe.
Mugabe said: "We refuse to be re-colonised, directly or indirectly."
Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika praised Mugabe, calling him a "true democrat".
Mutharika said: "How can anybody say Mugabe is a sworn enemy of democracy? The first known government of national unity in Africa was initiated by Robert Mugabe in 1980."
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Blantyre - Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has called for bygones to be bygones between black and white in his country, saying the two sides have to live together.
The 82-year-old, speaking during a four-day state visit in Malawi on Wednesday, said black and white "cannot avoid each other".
Mugabe is scheduled to open a road - linking Blantyre to the tea-growing area of Malanje - named after him in the country on Thursday.
Mugabe said: "We declared a policy of national reconciliation to push off colonialism much further."
"Many whites are left, including the notorious (former Rhodesian prime minister) Ian Smith.
"I wonder how many countries in Europe would be in our situation to have left Ian Smith, despite many Zimbabweans (dying) in the liberation struggle.
"Let bygones be bygones."
"Land reform has opened opportunities'
Last month, Zimbabwean agriculture minister Joseph Made said his country was ready allow the return of white farmers, driven off their farms under Mugabe's land reform programme.
Made denied that the new openness towards white farmers marked an about-face in land reform policies that have been widely criticised as a failure.
The policies triggered an economic meltdown in what was once the breadbasket of southern Africa.
Mugabe said the land reform programme had opened opportunities for many people including a "big population of Malawians" living in Zimbabwe.
Mugabe said: "We refuse to be re-colonised, directly or indirectly."
Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika praised Mugabe, calling him a "true democrat".
Mutharika said: "How can anybody say Mugabe is a sworn enemy of democracy? The first known government of national unity in Africa was initiated by Robert Mugabe in 1980."
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