US Says Zimbabwe's Mugabe Government Not Legitimate Without Runoff

The United States said Monday the government of Zimbabwe's PresidentRobert Mugabe cannot be considered legitimate in the absence of apresidential runoff election. In the wake of opposition candidateMorgan Tsvangirai's forced departure from the campaign, the Bushadministration is pushing for action in the U.N. Security Council. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.

In a talk with reporters, StateDepartment Deputy Spokesman Tom Casey said that Rice's remark about thelegitimacy of the Mugabe government is a statement of the obvious,given the situation.

"Can we stop with the legal niceties here?This is a government that has no legitimacy in the eyes of its people,in the eyes of the United States or in the eyes of the internationalcommunity absent a free and fair election," he said. "That's what itmeans. And whether there will be policy consequences to that or notdepends on the action that this government takes in light of ourstatements, in light of actions in the Security Council, and in lightof the discussions they're having with other regional leaders."

Caseysaid in addition to measures taken by the international community, theUnited States could augment sanctions it already has in place againstMr. Mugabe and key associates.

But he ruled out the withdrawalof U.S. Ambassador James McGee from Harare, saying his presence isneeded to gauge the situation on the ground and maintain contact withthe besieged opposition.

Casey said the United States had norole in Mr. Tsvangirai's decision to pull out of the runoff but issupportive of it under the current conditions, which he said are makingZimbabwe's president an international political pariah.

"All Ican say is it must be a very dark and scary place where Robert Mugabeis right now politically, because it's abundantly clear by actions ofhis government that neither he nor any of those supporting him believethat he would win a free in a and fair election, if they are reresorting to this kind of violence as a response," he said.

Caseydid not specify what steps the Bush administration wants the worldcommunity to take, but that its initial expectation is for a so-calledpresident's statement from the U.N. Security Council condemning theHarare government.

South Africa among others had resistedbringing the issue to the Security Council but Casey said the latestdevelopments have brought a "change in tone" by regional leaders onceprotective of Mr. Mugabe.