via Obama shuts out Mugabe – NewsDay Zimbabwe January 23, 2014
A DIPLOMATIC storm has erupted between Zimbabwe and the United States following reports that United States President Barack Obama will not invite his Zimbabwean counterpart President Robert Mugabe for a US-Africa summit in August.
Obama, who has had problems with the veteran Zimbabwean leader over governance matters and human rights, will invite 47 out of 54 African leaders to the summit seeking to widen US trade, development and security ties with an increasingly dynamic continent to which he traces part of his ancestry.
He has, however, invited Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta who is facing charges of crime against humanity at the International Criminal Court
following the 2007 violence that left more than 1 000 people dead.
The snubbing of Mugabe has riled the Zimbabwean government with Mugabe’s spokesperson George Charamba yesterday saying: “If the summit is about US and Africa, then maybe the US President would need to be reminded that Zimbabwe and Egypt are in Africa and of Africa. His decision not to invite those countries can only get people to realise that it’s not about US and Africa, it’s about US and certain African countries.
“You want to know that the African Growth and Opportunity Act came and went without Zimbabwe and Zimbabwe remains. The world is larger than America. So we are not bothered,” Mugabe’s spokesperson said.
“In any case, it would have been very cynical for an American President presiding over runners of sanctions against Zimbabwe to invite its president for dinner.”
Obama is expected to send out invitations to all African nations currently either in good standing with the US or are not suspended from the African Union — meaning there will be no place for countries like Egypt or Zimbabwe.
The talks will be on August 5 and 6 and they will seek to cement progress from the American president’s trip to Africa last year.
A White House statement said the trip would “advance the administration’s focus on trade and investment in Africa, and highlight America’s commitment to Africa’s security, its democratic development, and its people”.
Egypt, which has caused the Obama administration to thread a foreign policy needle with an erstwhile ally after a military takeover, is not eligible to attend as it is currently suspended from the African Union.
The United States maintains sanctions against the Zimbabwean government of Mugabe and key officials over suppression of democracy and what Washington sees as politically motivated violence.
Other notable absentees on the invitation list include Sudan and Madagascar.
COMMENTS
It is not possible for there to be a diplomatic storm between the USA and Zimbabwe. For there to be a storm some sort of equality, which does not exist, would be implied. USA is the leading nation of the world in every field of human activity. The Zimbabwe government on the other hand is a tiny little screw up, smaller than thousands of companies that exist in the world. Everything the Zimbabwe government touches becomes a disaster. Zimbabwe leads the world in nothing. It has no great influence anywhere. It’s leading politicians are all goons. It’s academics weak and corruptible in the Johnathan Moyo mould. The “storm” is in Harare only
I disagree, Zimbabwe certainly leads the world in may things –
Unemployment.
Political ineptitude.
Debt repayment.
Presidential greed.
Murder and mayhem.
Illegal electoral results.
Political reprisals…
Don’t simply blow Zimbabwe off like that –
it is a world leader in many ways!
Zimababwe’s economy in real terms is equivalent to medium sized Italian village….what would this failed state have to offer the United States ??
@John Thomas &Chiwaridza & All the other geniuses
Palestine’s economy is massive,thats why USA secretary of state makes frequent trips there.
North Korea grows most of the food eaten in the states.
The Burmese own half of silicon valley.
Figure it out.
Dude everything you just said was a lie. Are you high? North Korea sell heroin and missiles to Iran, their food aid comes from the US. When you and Ra stop calling everything and everyone gay, try to realise you cant fool people on this forum, and your comments just make you guys look like idiots – xenophobic, hate filled idiots.
You are an ill- informed moron
The reason visit are made there fool,
is because the US props up Israel
in it’s illegal occupancy of Palestine.
No high level personnel ever visit North Korea
and as for Burma, the visits are to try and
stop the human suffering and genocide.
So you are once again high as a kite, and need
to follow the threads in these discussions.
Don’t embarrass us, after all Zimbabwe had the
highest rate of literacy in Africa.
Con’t spoil it Wanhasi?
It is ludicrous that the powers that be can liberally commit gross human rights injustices, loot the nation, steal elections and then expect a gilt edged invitation? How is that for crazy. Murimi. Good morning, North Korea feeding the States????
@NBS.Yes,because some clever people beleive the states only has issues wit u if u hav a large,prosperous economy.
Obama should shut out every leader from the SADC bloc for legitimizing the sham election and then putting Mugabe in charge.
The talks are in August, the Gukurahundi will be dead by then. Besides, this meeting has an age limit.
No invitations for 90 year olds. Obama has no bedrooms for these people, since the Gukurahundi is known to be prone to sleep!!
It does not make sense for mugabe to go to this summit because he doesn’t represents the wills of zimbabweans at heart ,instead he and his delegates will be busy drowsing
@ Mark Talbot, Mthwakazi and Rockstone why not cry about your leader Tsvangingirai as he is not invited. He is the one who should represents your will there in United States. Even if Robert Mugabe was invited he was not going to waste his time going and dealing with a fool like barack obama!
I can not be led by an intellectual dwarf like Tsvangirayi. I am not mad.
“Mugabe dealing with the fool that is Obama”, what
an uneducated statement.
The most powerful, influential, feared and courted man
on the planet – wake up fellow!
Mugarbage is worthless, useless, spent
and unwelcome everywhere, except North Korea and Cuba.
No one wants him dribbling as he sleeps in these meetings,
his nappies (diapers) smell and his cancer is odorous too.
Mugarbage is history, he just won’t keel over and die, dammit…
Barack obama is a gay, tsvangirai is a gay their followers like mthwakwazi are also gays and lesbians who are fighting for their gay rights by trying to undermine the honourable Presisident Robert Mugabe.
RA and Mthwakazi TWO VERY SICK INDIVIDUALS.
The gukurahundi will be dead by Aug 2014, mark my words!!
i wanted to debate with u guys but, u have no idea what the world out there looks like, u think zim is worse go out there and see for yourselves,u are lazy u want someone to work for and just spoon fed,nothing comes on a silver plate.
Hello Tommy what did you want to debate about? Seems like you’ve started. Tell us what we have not seen out there in this cruel world.
@Tom,Stewart.U might have a grammatical grasp of english,but your understanding is primary school stuff.Re-read the comment,incl the ones above,
Wanhasi, before deriding another, check your total lack of punctuation, eg: “U” for you, english for English and no spaces between words, such ‘as,this’.
“Remove the moat from thine own eye,
before trying to remove it from another”.
the people of Zimbabwe don’t want Bob why should the Americans???
guys u a all biased who cares if mugabe contuine ruling obama must shut up
Obama doesn’t give a damn for Mugarbage!
Hey Murimi, why does Obama need another tea boy like Mugabe at his party. He would rather have a tea boy that’s awake, than a tea boy who’s asleep all the time!!
I think President Obama has taken the right stance. President Mugabe does not deserve to be invited to such meetings because he will spend all the time sleeping during the summit proceedings. He was not democratically elected and as such he is not authorised to represent Zimbabwean people. There is no “diplomatic storm”, Zimbabwe cannot do anything to the USA. The corrupt Zanu PF geriatrics can now safely bury their heads in shame.
Actually, there must be some stipulations for the invities:
No one should sleep in the meetings
Chinese must pay for the expenses from their diamond loot
Only wives and one or two other important people can come and not the whole cabinet.
Good and acceptable elections must have been held in the past two elections.
No one over 90 years will attend the meeting.
Africa-USA Summit: Africa needs steadfaster leaders who can’t entertain appendage of the West any foreign diplomatic bullies…..our leaders lacking steadfastness n solidarity for one another. Washington administration left out Robert Mugabwe, but no single African leader confronting Obama, with critical question, why Obama barred Robert Mugabwe from attending it, if the summit is really apparently designed to elevate Africans ? This is a serious diplomatic arrogance that Western nations takes advantage of our weakness n lack of team-spirit among ourselves. There is no point calling EU summit for example n you omit out Britain or France and you still calling it EU’ summit. Zimbabwe holds a very significant value for Africa as a whole. Being omit Zimbabwe from African political calendar, has its own subtle negative consequences whether socio-economic or the political integration of the African continent itself.
so long you see ur sorry soul in favour of zanu pf then just go to hell…ndatenda
Jongwe no longer a jongwe but has become a rotten small egg. Ndatenda hangu,Ishe!!!!!!