HARARE —
President Robert Mugabe on Sunday threatened “tit-for-tat” retaliation against British and American companies operating in Zimbabwe if the two countries continue to put pressure on his administration following the July polls the West says were flawed and did not reflect the will of the Zimbabwean people.
Mr. Mugabe, speaking at the burial of retired Air Commodore Mike Karakadzai at the national heroes acre, said the two countries have been harassing him and his government for a long time, adding ‘but time will come when we will say well, tit-for-tat, you hit me I hit you’.
The just-inaugurated President also took a swipe at Harare and Bulawayo for voting for the MDC-T saying he was shocked that in a country blessed with educated people, they chose to vote for former Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai whom he described as an ‘ignoramus’.
But most of the venom was reserved for Britain and the United States. The two countries have said the July 31 elections were not credible with England calling for an independent of the vote. The U.S. said sanctions against Mr. Mugabe and members of his inner circle would remain firmly in place while the European Union said the so-called targeted sanctions against Harare would remain suspended with a review expected in six months.
“They should not continue to harass us, the British and Americans,” said Mr. Mugabe.
“We have not done anything to their companies here - the British have several companies in this country - and we have not imposed any controls, any sanctions against them, but time will come when we will say well, tit-for-tat, you hit me I hit you.”
British companies in Zimbabwe include financial houses Standard Chartered Plc and Barclays Plc.
“They think, we the blacks are inferior, they are superior. But in Zimbabwe we will never accept that a white man, merely because he is white is superior, no. We will chase them away.”
Mr. Mugabe, speaking at the burial of retired Air Commodore Mike Karakadzai at the national heroes acre, said the two countries have been harassing him and his government for a long time, adding ‘but time will come when we will say well, tit-for-tat, you hit me I hit you’.
The just-inaugurated President also took a swipe at Harare and Bulawayo for voting for the MDC-T saying he was shocked that in a country blessed with educated people, they chose to vote for former Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai whom he described as an ‘ignoramus’.
But most of the venom was reserved for Britain and the United States. The two countries have said the July 31 elections were not credible with England calling for an independent of the vote. The U.S. said sanctions against Mr. Mugabe and members of his inner circle would remain firmly in place while the European Union said the so-called targeted sanctions against Harare would remain suspended with a review expected in six months.
“They should not continue to harass us, the British and Americans,” said Mr. Mugabe.
“We have not done anything to their companies here - the British have several companies in this country - and we have not imposed any controls, any sanctions against them, but time will come when we will say well, tit-for-tat, you hit me I hit you.”
British companies in Zimbabwe include financial houses Standard Chartered Plc and Barclays Plc.
“They think, we the blacks are inferior, they are superior. But in Zimbabwe we will never accept that a white man, merely because he is white is superior, no. We will chase them away.”