Posted on 12/12/2008 4:12:24 PM PST by vikingd00d
Harare - While Zimbabwe's government was backtracking on President Robert Mugabe's denials about his country's cholera outbreak, one minister was accusing Britain of 'planting' the cholera in Zimbabwe's soil to achieve 'genocide.'
Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu also accused what he called 'gun-boat' Western media outlets of passing off photos of victims of conflict in other parts of Africa as Zimbabwean cholera victims.
'They take photos of people dying in the DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo) and Darfur (Sudan) and say these are cholera victims from Zimbabwe. CNN please stop those pictures,' he appealed.
Ndlovu was addressing a government press conferences on the causes of the devastating outbreak that has claimed 793 lives and infected over 16,000 people since August.
Although health experts blame the situation on the breakdown of water and sewerage systems, Ndlovu had another theory.
'The current cholera and anthrax were planted (during the colonial era) in various parts of Zimbabwe,' Ndlovu said. 'It is a genocidal attack on the people of Zimbabwe by the British still trying to fight for the recolonization of Zimbabwe,' he said.
'Cholera and anthrax stay in the soil and gestate over many years. Long after the war, the undeclared biological warfare still rages on,' the minister told journalists, several of whom laughed openly at his theory.
His remarks about anthrax come after a British charity sounded the alarm a few days ago over a spate of anthrax infections in humans who had eaten meat from infected cattle carcasses.
Ndlovu alleged that 'covert chemical war operatives' from Britain were currently in Zimbabwe to spread cholera and anthrax with a view to paving the way for a military invasion that would oust Mugabe and install the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) in power.
President Robert Mugabe's regime has becoming jittery following calls by a string of world leaders for him to step down, or, in the case of some leaders, for him to be forced from office.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said earlier this week that the United Nations Security Council would meet next week to discuss further action against Mugabe's regime.
But according to Ndlovu, it was 'Gordon Brown (who) must be taken to the United States Security Council, for being a threat to world peace and for planting cholera and anthrax and for planning to invade our peaceful Zimbabwe.'
His remarks came as George Charamba, Mugabe's spokesman, rowed back somewhat on Mugabe's assertion Thursday that there was 'no cholera' in Zimbabwe.
The elderly leader was using 'sarcasm,' to highlight 'the absurdity' of what he called Western plans to invade Zimbabwe over the cholera situation, Charamba told the state-controlled Herald newspaper.
Declaring that UN agencies and state doctors 'had now arrested cholera,' Mugabe said: So now that there is no cholera, there is no reason for war any more. Let's tell them (Britain and the United States) that the cholera cause doesn't exist any more if it was cause for war.'
Mugabe's statement during a speech on Thursday caused widespread consternation as experts say that, particularly in Harare, the epicentre of the disease, the epidemic has shown little sign of abating.
From close to 600 a few days ago, the number of deaths from the water-borne disease shot up to 793, World Health Organization figures showed Friday. In neighbouring South Africa 11 people, mostly Zimbabweans, have died of cholera in the vicinity of a cramped border crossing.
Charamba expressed 'utter disgust and contempt' at the Western media's 'attempts to deliberately distort and misrepresent President Mugabe.'
Ndlovu went one further in accusing Western media outlets of 'Gestapo journalism,' naming the BBC, CNN and al-Jazeera broadcasters.
Lol! Elvis did it.
I didn’t realize Rev. Wright was consulting to Zimbabwe.
Ten seconds ago, Mugabe and his thugs were saying there was no cholera.
Zimbabwe is kinda like Detroit or Washington, D.C, only without the Republicans.
>>I didn’t realize Rev. Wright was consulting to Zimbabwe.
I was thinking Baghdad Bob, but it does seem more the Rev’s style.
Do black people really sit around and imagine that white people have nothing better to do but come up with new diseases to inflict upon black people?
it’s Bush’s fault.
It's easy - based on what I've heard and read - to tell if the anthrax has been weaponized.
'Natural' anthrax is a common problem throughout the world. Measures can be taken to reduce the threat, but it is ever present.
Unless the Zimbabwe government has determined the anthrax is weaponized, this is a red herring.
Don't know about cholera.
But according to Ndlovu, it was 'Gordon Brown (who) must be taken to the United States Security Council, for being a threat to world peace and for planting cholera and anthrax and for planning to invade our peaceful Zimbabwe.'
'United States Security Council'? Haven't heard of this before.
Declaring that UN agencies and state doctors 'had now arrested cholera,'
She'll be out on bail within a day. ;)
Mugabe said: So now that there is no cholera, there is no reason for war any more. Let's tell them (Britain and the United States) that the cholera cause doesn't exist any more if it was cause for war.'
Um. Er. The problem is still there.
Specifically: you, Mr. Mugabe.
Ndlovu went one further in accusing Western media outlets of 'Gestapo journalism,' naming the BBC, CNN and al-Jazeera broadcasters.
So, uh, FoxNews Channel is A-O-K? Cool! At least, finally, we've found a government that doesn't bash Fox!
who to trust, zimbawae government or cnn...hmm...difficult
Not the rational ones....
Typical victimhood, turn your country into a starving mess and then blame someone for disease.
I guess they do. It lets them temporarily forget the miserable messes they are making of their own lives.
The claim is BS. It is a blame the White man scam. They can’t repair their sewage systems so Cholera breaks out.
Oh, I agree.
I'm more likely to believe drunk chimps are stealing unicycles than an official from Zimbabwe.
Its OK to blame all their problems on Jimmy Carter.
In other news, Jimmy Carter certified Mugabe as being democratically elected. As usual.
Courtesy ping.
This whacked-out loonie is saying that the present-day British are responsible for an imaginary event during colonial times a hundred years ago.
Who the hell needs cholera or anthrax when you’ve got Robert Mugabe?
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