HAVE YOU EVER READ SO MUCH UNADULTEREATED CRAP AS THAT RECENTLY EMANATING FROM LONGTIME ZIMBABWE DICTATOR, ROBERT MUGABE...


NZ City 4 June 2008
Agriculture Minister Jim Anderton says he refused to be lectured by Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe at the United Nations global food summit in Rome, so boycotted his speech.

Mr Mugabe blamed Britain "and its friends" including New Zealand, for crippling his country economically with illegal sanctions. He said sanctions have crippled Zimbabwe's economy "and thereby effect illegal regime change in our country."

Mr Anderton says it was an easy decision not to turn up for the speech. He says he has no time for Mr Mugabe given what he has put his people through and it would have been been a bit rich to have been lectured by him.

"If it wasn't so tragic it would be laughable. He took over a country that was renowned as the bread basket of Africa and now he has millions of people virtually starving. He was blaming everyone including New Zealand."

Mr Anderton speaks at the conference tomorrow and will call for a coordinated approach to the issue from the UN.

The Iranian president used the summit to attack Israel and America. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad claims US policy in the Middle East has been aggressive, yet he said that the state of Israel will certainly disappear.

Mr Ahmadinejad also slammed the West over its handling of the food crisis, accusing certain "big powers" of sometimes acting with "devilish" motives.