MEDIA REACTION BUSH/BLAIR UNDER FIRE; HARARE

UNCLAS HARARE 002275

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR INR/R/MR, AF/PD, AF/S, AF/RA
NSC FOR JENDAYI FRAZER
LONDON FOR GURNEY
PARIS FOR NEARY
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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL KPAO KMDR ZI
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION BUSH/BLAIR UNDER FIRE; HARARE



1. Under headline "Blair, Bush terrorism must stop"
the government-controlled daily "Chronicle" dedicated
its October 12 editorial to ordering the British and
American governments to stop meddling in the affairs
of other countries. "We demand that Blair and Bush
leave other countries to run their affairs without
interference. All this euphoria to run other nations
by remote control should stop," the newspaper
directed. Excerpts:


2. "There is an adage that says a rolling stone
gathers no moss. This sounds true for people like
British Prime Minister Tony Blair who appears to be
more obsessed with trying to overthrow foreign
governments instead of addressing Britain's problems.
. . Working together with another rabble-rouser
American President, George W. Bush and organizations
such as the European Union and the Commonwealth, Blair
has sought to isolate Zimbabwe, impose covert
sanctions on Harare with a view to forcing people to
rebel against the Government. . . Together with Bush,
Blair teamed up with rebel groups and ousted the
Taliban administration in Afghanistan in an exercise
that left a lot of people dead under the guise of
fighting international terrorism. Now they are
itching for Iraqi President Saddam Hussein who they
also want ousted. . . It is ironic that Blair
believes his crusade to use military force to remove
other heads of states and replacing them with puppets
is not terrorism. According to the Concise Oxford
Dictionary a terrorist is, `A person who uses or
favors violent and intimidating methods of coercing a
government or community.' So the British and the
American cousins want to fight what they call
terrorism through terrorism? We demand that Blair and
Bush leave other countries to run their affairs
without interference. All this euphoria to run other
nations by remote control should
stop. . . ."

SULLIVAN