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Toyako: Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete suggested African leaders and the Group of Eight (G8) differed yesterday over how to respond to elections in Zimbabwe that President George W. Bush called a sham.
Standing next to Kikwete after a meeting between the G8 and seven African leaders aimed at assessing the progress of the rich nations club's pledges to the world's poorest continent, Bush said Zimbabwe was discussed extensively at the meeting. "I care deeply about the people of Zimbabwe, I am extremely disappointed in the elections which I labelled a sham election," Bush said.
Kikwete, who is also head of the African Union, said: "I want to assure you that the concerns that you have expressed are indeed the concerns of many of us in the African continent."
"The only area that we may differ is on the way forward. You see differently but for us in Africa we see differently, but I think again there is still room for us for discussions."
Understanding
Kikwete, who called for a unity government, said discussions would continue, "and as friends at the end of the day we'll come to an understanding".
British prime minister Gordon Brown earlier called for the G8 to send a strong message to Zimbabwe, a Japanese official told reporters yesterday.
The G8 nations were meeting on the first day of a three-day summit in northern Japan.
"I believe the G8 should send a strong message so as to ensure that democracy in Zimbabwe will be protected," Brown was quoted as saying in a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda.
Response
Japan's foreign ministry press secretary, Kazuo Kodama, said Fukuda responded by saying that he was concerned about the situation in Zimbabwe and agreed that the G8 nations should send a message. Zimbabwe has been condemned by the international community since Mugabe, who has held power since its independence from Britain in 1980, was declared re-elected after a run-off in June in which he was the only candidate after the opposition withdrew.
The G8 foreign ministers, as well as the UN Security Council, issued statements last month deploring the situation in the nation.
The African Union summit issued a resolution last week calling for talks leading to a national unity government in Zimbabwe.
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