Bush Seeks New Zimbabwe Penalties

Sanctions May Include Arms Embargo, Travel Ban On Mugabe Regime Officials

(CBS/ AP)  With Zimbabwe's runoff election over, the country politically divided and tens of thousands terrorized, the next question is how to deal with a newly empowered Robert Mugabe, reports CBS News correspondent Sheila MacVicar.

Zimbabwe came under threat of further sanctions on Saturday as President Bush said the U.S. was working on new ways to punish Mugabe and his allies following the widely denounced presidential runoff election.

Earlier Saturday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the U.S. plans to introduce a U.N. resolution as early as next week seeking tough measures against Zimbabwe.

"We will press for strong action by the United Nations, including an arms embargo on Zimbabwe and travel ban on regime officials," Bush said in a statement.

The European Union said it would not rule out taking sanctions against "those responsible for the tragic events of recent months," according to an EU presidency statement.

For the first time, powerful African neighbors are publicly criticizing Zimbabwe's leader.

"We would like to reiterate that the situation is now out of control in Zimbabwe," said Jacob Zuma, South African ANC leader.

According to human rights groups, at least 86 people died and some 200,000 were forced from their homes leading up to Friday's runoff. Most of the violence was blamed on police, soldiers and Mugabe militants. There were reports of victims being beaten for hours and bodies mutilated. When the main targets could not be found, relatives - elderly parents, young siblings - were attacked.

"The international community has condemned the Mugabe regime's ruthless campaign of politically motivated violence and intimidation with a strong and unified voice that makes clear that yesterday's election was in no way free and fair," Bush said.

The U.S. already has financial and travel penalties in place against more than 170 citizens and entities with ties to Mugabe, White House spokesman Emily Lawrimore said. The Bush administration is considering punishing the government of Zimbabwe as well as further restricting the travel and financial activities of Mugabe supporters, she said.

In Zimbabwe, deputy chief election officer Utloile Silaigwana announced on state television that counting had finished in most wards and that the electoral commission was waiting for results from a few outstanding wards. Results would still need to be verified by the national command center before being released.

Results would still need to be verified by the national command center before being released, but an announcement was expected as early as Saturday - contrasting sharply with the weeks it took to before Zimbabweans learned opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai won the first round.

Tsvangirai came first in a field of four in the first round in March, but the official count didn't give him the margin needed to avoid a runoff against second-place finisher Mugabe. Tsvangirai pulled out of the race after the onslaught of violence.

Earlier, Justice Minister and senior ZANU-PF member Patrick Chinamasa said the party was expecting results either Saturday or Sunday.

"From the information filtering in, it looks like a clear win for our president," he said.

An announcement of the result is expected before Mugabe leaves for Monday's African Union summit in Egypt, so he can attend as a re-elected president.

On Friday, residents said they were forced to vote by threats of violence or arson from Mugabe supporters who searched for anyone without an ink-stained finger - the telltale sign that they had cast a ballot.

"There was a lot of intimidation for people to vote," said Marwick Khumalo, head of the Pan-African Parliament observer mission. "You can tell people just wanted to get the indelible ink to protect themselves from the hooligans."

The Herald, Zimbabwe's state-run newspaper, reported Saturday that a massive voter turnout was "a slap in the face for detractors who claimed this was a 'Mugabe election' that did not have the blessing of the generality of Zimbabweans."

But Khumalo said the turnout was "very, very low." He also said many of those who did vote cast their ballots for Tsvangirai.

Boycotting the poll and spoiling their votes were brave acts by Zimbabweans following the intense violence the opposition faced in the run-up to the election.

Mugabe could try to use the Tsvangirai votes as evidence the election was not a sham, but they are more likely to be seen as a display of the desire to show support for the opposition leader against all odds.

On Saturday, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown urged African nations to help bring an end to Mugabe's rule, and called the election a "new low" in Zimbabwe's affairs. The upcoming African Union summit in Egypt is "an opportunity for the region to restore hope to the people of Zimbabwe. Democracy will ultimately prevail," he said in a statement.

In the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheik where African foreign ministers were meeting ahead of Monday's general AU summit, a Zimbabwe opposition leader asked the AU to send peacekeepers and dedicate a special envoy to help end the violence and political crisis in her country.

"Zimbabwe at the present moment is burning. It is on fire. What the African Union and the African leaders must do is save Zimbabwe before it is burnt beyond recognition," the opposition's vice president, Thokozani Khupe, told The Associated Press.

Also Saturday, the international aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres said that South Africa had deported some 450 Zimbabweans overnight from a border detention center who were "fleeing instability and political violence."

Siobhan McCarthy, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Home Affairs, said she didn't know "the particulars of this case.

"My assumption would be that they would be in the country illegally and do not qualify for refugee status and therefore were returned to Zimbabwe," McCarthy said.

Mugabe, who has led the country since independence in 1980, was once hailed as a post-independence leader committed to development and reconciliation. But in recent years, he has been accused of ruining Zimbabwe's economy and holding onto power through fraud and intimidation.

The official inflation rate was put at 165,000 percent by the government in February, but independent estimates put the real figure closer to 4 million percent.

Since the first round of elections, shortages of basic goods have worsened, public services have come to virtual standstill, and power and water outages have continued daily.

[rowdywicca]

Hmmmmm...seems like BUSH and OBAMA should be experts on election shams! :(

[wdrussell1]

Dude, come into the 21st century.
All you need is Diebold machines and you could stay in power forever.

[sgtrds-e4]

BUSH is calling another country''s election a SHAM! Where in the hell does HE get the balls to do that? He''s the biggest SHAM in American history! The only concern Bush has with Mugabe is seeing if he can use his methods to seize permanent power here over us!

[one-american]

Robert Mugabe is a Marxist.

Just like Barack Obama''s dad was.

Deal with it, liberals.

[skyk-2009]

Robert Mugabe is a Marxist.

Just like Barack Obama''''s dad was.

Deal with it, liberals.

Posted by One-American at 12:01 PM : Jun 28, 2008


Let me guess?? In your VERY small and VERY Racist little mind this is suppose to influence us all to vote for the fascist canidate?? ROFLMAO Man were do these freaks come from?? ROFLMAO Sieg Heil Bush! Dumb as a box of rocks!!

[skyk-2009]

Hmmmmm...seems like BUSH and OBAMA should be experts on election shams! :(

Posted by RowdyWicca at 11:51 AM : Jun 28, 2008
+ repor

You know YOU have tried just about every line, every LIE and every rumor you can dig up but HONESTLY!! Comparing Obama to Bush?? ROFLMAO Oh That''s going to fly!! ROFLMAO Obama opens his MOUTH and you''re exposed swastika breath!! ROFLMAO Now stand... let''s let the Fuhrer know you''re doing all you can to keep the "Party" in power!! Sing it out!! SIEG HEIL BUSH!! God how DID you get THIS stupid in ONE lifetime... ROFLMAO Bush and Obama?? ROFLMAO

[downtowner97]

Bush knows a sham election when he sees one!

[rushlimpdrug]

Yeah, we must all treat this man
with kid gloves ''cause he is black.

Unlike obama.

[sgtrds-e4]

God how DID you get THIS stupid in ONE lifetime... ROFLMAO Bush and Obama?? ROFLMAO

Posted by skyk at 12:08 PM : Jun 28, 2008

She seems to work at it very hard. She''s called Obama just about every name in the book, most of which she doesn''t seem to know what they mean. Bitter is one thing, but she''s nuts.

[barbaraf4]

If I were the benefactee (is that a word?) of two "sham" elections, I would be embarrassed to death to stand up and point a finger at another.

[idnnsg]

One-American said:
"
Robert Mugabe is a Marxist.
Just like Barack Obama''s dad was.
Deal with it, liberals.
"

Hey, MY dad is a republican imbecile. So what???

The repug''s "fearless leader" is a chimp! But none of you re.tards have dealt with that! You want to elect a crazy, senile old man who has cancer just so he can continue in Bush''s footsteps!

In case you are too re.tarded to understand my point, let me spell it out for you: OBAMA IS NOT A MARXIST, SO IT DOES NOT MATTER IF THE FATHER WHO DIDN''T EVEN RAISE HIM IS A MARXIST!

Similarly, Obama is NOT a racist, he is NOT going to "get whitey", he is NOT a Muslim, he is NOT an "appeaser", etc. You sickos will just make up any lie can think of about Obama because you can''t run on the republican record of "accomplishments", viz. lying to start an unnecessary war, torturing and killing countless innocent people, illegally spying on EVERY single US citizen, violating the US Constitution ("It''s just a G-d d@mm piece of paper" says der Fruher), and borrowing and spending so much money that our country is broke and in hock to the Chinese and our children and grand-children and great-grandchildren will all be working for the Chinese to pay it back!

If you want to continue this cr@p (at least until shortly after he bombs Iran and then the world strikes back and we are annihilated), then go ahead and vote for McCain! You deserve him!

[ubrew12]

I''m embarrassed by the many ''gung ho'' Americans who had no trouble killing 300,000 Iraqi''s to take their oil, but now quiver at the thought of sending one Predator missile up Mugabe''s a*s. Seems they are awfully quiet when it comes to preventing a humanitarian disaster.

[usmcvn1]

"Bush Calls Zimbabwe Election A "Sham"

DAMM!! THE POT CALLING THE KETTLE BLACK!! ROFLMFAO!!!

[sioux4life1]

Bush calling elections in Zimbabwe a sham! I can''t stop laughing at that one! Takes one to know one I guess huh Shrubs? And you fools out there voted for him twice.

[trillion1]

Kinda like bush''s "elections".

[neobrian-2009]

SHRUB KNOWS " Election SHAMS "
As The " GODFATHER " Of Election Fraud,Shrub Is a Pro at this game! Election Fraud Is One of the FEW Successes of KING Idiot !His legacy Will Be One For '' Criminals to Pattern themselves after '' !

[racam_us]

It would probably come in at least third behind the Presidential elections in the United States, 2000 and 2004. For Bush this is like the pot calling the kettle black.

[barbaraf4]

"Go git a fake accent and adopt one of their babies."
Posted by sidvicious89
~~~~~~~~~~~~
It''s not a baby - it''s an accessory.

[harrydoghiny]

If there''s one thing Bush knows about it''s sham elections.

[rowdywicca]

Hmmmmm...seems like BUSH and OBAMA should be experts on election shams! :(

[demwatcher]

"If there''''s one thing Bush knows about it''''s sham elections.

Posted by HarryDoghiny at 12:53 PM : Jun 28, 2008"

"Hmmmmm...seems like BUSH and OBAMA should be experts on election shams! :(

Posted by RowdyWicca at 12:55 PM : Jun 28, 2008"

You mean like all of those DEAD Democrats that voted in the last two presidential elections AND those Democrats that voted in BOTH Florida and New York?

Mugabe has nothing on you Liberals when is comes to dirty electios.

[marcosis78]

Its funny how republicans throw slams at the democrats seeing that they, of all people, don''t have a right to seeing how the last 2 Bush elections went. Republicans and democrats have been doing that "dead mans vote" for a long time so get over it. Its wrong, but both sides use it.

[roger_inkart]

You mean like all of those DEAD Democrats that voted in the last two presidential elections AND those Democrats that voted in BOTH Florida and New York?

Posted by DemWatcher at 01:02 PM : Jun 28, 2008

Link please and citation please? And not one from some rightwing rag like World Net Daily?

[nirak2-2009]

Bush knows all about Shams. The 2000 and the 2004 elections were a sham and look what happened to the country

[rwkincaide]

Yup, Bush knows all about rigging elections, from firsthand experience. If Americans had blocked Bush''s coup d''etat in 2000, 9/11 and none of the other Bush nightmares would have happened.

[downtowner97]

I wonder what the first day as president in the US is like. Some old white guys in suits probably walk in and tell you how it''s going to be, then you just read from the teleprompter.

[downtowner97]

Gore would certainly be working harder to get us off our dependence on oil. I don''t think even Rush Limbaugh could argue that.

[lemonskink]

No wonder the world doesn''t take Bush with an ounce of seriousness. One needs only to look at the last two elections in the US to show what a sham really is.

[roger_inkart]

I don''t think even Rush Limbaugh could argue that.

Posted by downtowner97 at 01:23 PM : Jun 28, 2008

I think you underestimate the capacity for rightwing self-delusion and eagerness to believe falsehoods.

From what I''ve seen if a right winger believes it, or it fits in with their warped world view, it''s a fact - regardless of how illogical or peverse it may be.

Pefect examples:

- Saddam was responsible for 9/11
- WMDs were been found in Iraq
- Most of the world supported the invasion
- Saddam and al-Qaeda were working together.

None of these are true yet you will still find many people stating them as facts. Or at least arguing their validity.

[l8c6]

Bush, it''s almost like the pot calling the kettle black. How ''bout that Diebold? No real and serious investigations on the election fraud that has occurred in recent years in the U.S. The new tactic is to ignore in hopes the implication is that concerns are just conspiracy kooks. The U.S. needs to clean up it''s own act and it will take time for any hope to rebuild the respect of other peoples around the world.

[chalres-2009]

Bush called this election a sham. You have got to be kidding me. Really. What a A-ole. Remember Florida, Ohio. I guess he really would know a sham if he saw one. Obama / 2008

[stn_sage]

Holy cow, batman! This might be the first thing that Bush has said that he''s correct about!

Yes, the Zimbabwean is a ''sham'', ''fraud'', etcetera.

The irony is: who better than Bush to say so!? I mean he should know about stealing elections---the Florida vote/Supreme Court appointment to president in 2000 and the probable vote fixing in 2004!

The point is: to point out it''s a fraud, doesn''t mean much coming from Bush! It''s like Hitler calling Stalin a ''bad guy''! The accuser is NO better than the accused!

[stn_sage]

Note line 2# should read: Yes, the Zimbabwean election/vote is a ''''sham'''', ''''fraud'''', etcetera.

Sorry, about the word omission.

[jumkey]

Sadly Mugabe IS a POS and a brutal dictator.

I say sadly because this accurately describes Bush as well, so it''s pot-kettle-black here and we have no moral high ground.

The only thing left to determine is what economic/political interests are pulling Bush''s strings in this particular case, because clearly legal, ethical or humanitarian issues are of no concern to him.

What a sad state of affairs that the wingnuts in our formally great country have created a government and leader that are no different than a tin-pot African dictator.

[zertrat]

We would never ever want anyone to be president if he didn''t get the most votes.

[rushlimpdrug]

Posted by sidvicious89 at 01:43 PM


Ok Donnie, you can go home now.

[boatdocster]

A SHAM

Just like Bush''s BOGUS WAR

A SHAM

[kailumego1]

The United States, Western Europe, and Israel is so knee deep in "do-do" of the political/economical/social mess in Africa, Bush et al; need to put a sock in it.

Read award winning journalist Keith Harmon Snow''s research on Euro-American-Israeli involvement in Africa.

[kailumego1]

Mr. Bush said the U.S. is ready to support a legitimate government with development aid, debt relief, and normalization with international financial institutions.

Ready to support a "legitimate government", as along as it continues to allow Euro-American-Israeli hegemony in Zimbabwe.

[miamimama3]

Well isn''t that the pot calling the kettle black.

[lambofgoth]

And we need to trust Bush on this sham election thing... He knows a thing or two about it.

[lambofgoth]

So whats up with DemsUnity today. Is this his form of a stutter?

[neobrian-2009]

Dems unity is Perfect example of a Latent Homosexual,. This ''trans-shrubbie '' keeps repeating itself as a Direct result of not enough Brain cells,..The constant " Rush of Shrub come " has left It unable to communicate,except for Grabbing attention like a Little Gay boy,That IT IS !The More IT Repeats ITSELF,..The More Gratified IT BeComes ! SUCH a Typical Shrubbie !,...A True Shame of an ILLiterate Piece of Fecal Matter

[9SLING]

Obviously CBS does not mind DEMSUNITY abuse of their discussion board. I have 3 abuse reports since 7 am and they are still posting. I called the number they list and its a company called Fargo Products. Another liberal lie.

[bluestardad]

THANKS AMERICA AND BRITIAN FOR PUTTING THIS CRIMINAL IN POWER!

THOUSANDS ARE DEAD BECAUSE OF YOUR ACTIONS!

[rowdywicca]

Like I said...Bush and Obama are the experts on election sham!!!

[ioweign]

Obviously CBS does not mind DEMSUNITY abuse of their discussion board. I have 3 abuse reports since 7 am and they are still posting. I called the number they list and its a company called Fargo Products. Another liberal lie.

Posted by Neocon9 at 03:02 PM : Jun 28, 2008

Or a Republican Company outsourcing one of its products to India and then advertising "Buy American" in the Wall Street Journal...

[irliberal]

Bush Calls Zimbabwe Election A "Sham"

He must be right. Bush would know and election sham if he saw one. After all, he pulled one off himself in 2000.

[cdfoxtrot]

"Bush Calls Zimbabwe Election A "Sham". The shrub knows all about "sham" elections, having participated in one himself back in 2000.

[cdfoxtrot]

Like I said...Bush and Obama are the experts on election sham!!!

Posted by RowdyWicca

Don''t you mean "Bush and McCain", aka "Bush and McBush"?