President Robert Mugabe on Monday rejected calls for talks with Zimbabwe's opposition leader on resolving the country's political and economic crisis. In a clear reference to neighboring South Africa, Mugabe said he is getting pressure to hold talks with opposition Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai from "quarters that should know better." "Today we tell all those calling for such ill-conceived talks to please stop their misdirected efforts," Mugabe told thousands of cheering supporters at the annual commemoration of the war to end white rule in this former breakaway British colony.Zimbabwe has asked South Africa for a $1 billion loan to pay arrears on its loan from the International Monetary Fund and to buy critically short supplies like food and fuel. South Africa reportedly is pressuring Zimbabwe to make economic policy changes and to take steps to resolve its political crisis as conditions for an emergency loan. Movement for Democratic Change spokesman Paul Themba-Nyathi accused Mugabe of failing to lead the country in a positive direction and said that naturally concerned neighbors like South Africa. "Only someone with his head firmly buried in the sand would not understand why there are calls for dialogue," Themba-Nyathi said. In his speech, Mugabe scoffed at critics of his human rights and governance record, including the United States and Britain. He also said his "Look East" policy toward China and other Asian countries was having "quantifiable results."
| I guess you could call a precipitous slide into starvation and anarchy "quantifiable results"... |