Robert Mugabe credits David Cameron for easing Zimbabwe tension

Zimbabwe ready to bury decades of hostility towards Britain following Cameron’s election says senior Zanu-PF MP Robert Mugabe’s chief spin doctor has signalled that Zimbabwe is ready to bury decades of hostility towards Britain following the election of David Cameron. Jonathan Moyo , a senior MP in Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party, credited the British prime minister with reducing tensions between Zimbabwe and its former colonial master. “The fact of the matter is, sooner or later Zimbabwe and the UK should engage each other,” Moyo told the Guardian during a visit to South Africa. “There are many reasons why that should be possible.” Once knighted by the Queen, Mugabe has reserved his most embittered rhetoric for Britain, accusing it of neocolonial meddling that he blames for the country’s ills more than 30 years after independence. But Moyo said last year’s general election result in the UK created space for a shift in relations. “For one, we can all see that David Cameron is not as loquacious as [Gordon] Brown or, worse, Tony Blair. Definitely not. He’s kept his views on Zimbabwe to himself. He’s not even as loquacious as [William] Hague, who sometimes gets carried away, because of what he imagines is the success he’s having in Libya, to say ridiculous things. “But, by and large, they are behaving as the Conservatives we historically have known. It is a historical fact that the independence process was in colonial terms made possible by the Conservatives. The approach of the Conservatives under Margaret Thatcher was very different from the approach of Labour.” Moyo did criticise Cameron for being a “cheerleader” in the military intervention in Libya, but added: “Re: Zimbabwe, I think an objective assessment would be that he has managed to lower down the levels of noise which in turn has contributed in lowering levels of tension. We don’t make as much noise ourselves against the UK as we did because we think that there’s an opportunity that was squandered by Brown and Blair. “Also, I think it is safe to say there have been attempts by both sides to reach out and there have been some re-engagements and there have even been attempts to solve things on the cricket front, which would be one useful entry point.” He deployed a colourful image to suggest Britain might now be willing to climb down from its former position. “I think the British problem is that they behaved like a drunkard who climbed a tree overnight only to wake up in the morning naked and unable to come down, and so conjures up all sorts of stories to justify why they are there, and it takes time to get down,” Moyo said. “We are prepared to give them a ladder. What we don’t know is will they want to use it at night or during the day.” Moyo, 54, is a former information and publicity minister seen as the architect of Zimbabwe’s harsh media laws. He fell out with Zanu-PF in 2004 and became an independent MP and outspoken critic of Mugabe , only to return to the fold in 2009. He is likely to be the mastermind of Zanu-PF’s next election campaign, which, opponents say, will include propaganda aimed at demonising the rival Movement for Democratic Change . Moyo has been described as “the dictator’s most notorious henchman” with a “deviously brilliant mind”. Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Zimbabwean civil society groups and countless media reports have accused Zanu-PF of killing, torturing and beating its opponents and rigging elections. Last week finance minister Tendai Biti of the MDC, whose home had been bombed, compared the mood in Zimbabwe with Rwanda on the eve of its 1994 genocide . But Moyo said: “Not to say we have not had violence in Zimbabwe because we’ve conceded that, and all the political parties have conceded that. But the way it’s blown out of proportion and there’s harrowing tales of torture chambers, I think it’s unfortunate.” Alleging a gigantic conspiracy, he went on: “It’s going to collapse because sooner or later you will hear completely different stories. I don’t deny there have been cases of violence but the way they have been told and the extent of the incidents told has been exaggerated beyond what is rational. “I’m not denying that you guys get told all sorts of horror stories, I’m just saying most of those stories, especially told by people who are refugees, are fictitious. They are looking for economic opportunity – these are economic refugees.” Asked for an honest assessment of Mugabe’s weaknesses as a leader, Moyo replied: “Contrary to the public image, I think he’s too tolerant of things and people. I always wish we could get him to sometimes be more decisive in dealing with misfits than he often is. He doesn’t have a history of firing people. I wish he could fire people more often.” Robert Mugabe Zimbabwe Africa David Cameron David Smith guardian.co.uk

Posted by on June 12, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.