G8 to 'strongly condemn' Mugabe

Washington - The White House said on Saturday that G8 leaders are likely to "strongly condemn" Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe and "strongly question" his government's legitimacy, at their Japan summit beginning Monday. Dennis Wilder, the National Security Council's senior director for Asia affairs, said he believed that Zimbabwe would be condemned as part of the G8 leaders' official statement. "I think the G8 will strongly condemn what Mugabe has done. It will strongly question the legitimacy of his government," Wilder said aboard Air Force One on the way to Japan. Mugabe was inaugurated for a sixth term last Sunday, two days on from a run-off election in which he was the only candidate after main opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai pulled out of the contest. The Movement for Democratic Change leader had won the first round of the... [read full story]