Powell condemns President Mugabe

Mugabe: Powell called on him to hold free elections

The American Secretary of State, Colin Powell has launched a stinging attack on President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, accusing him of clinging to power.

Speaking in Johannesburg on a four-nation tour of Africa, Mr Powell condemned Mr Mugabe for the turmoil in Zimbabwe and called on him to hold democratic elections.

I hope we can put the right kind of political pressure on him

Colin Powell

"We are pressing for a responsible set of political acts on the part of Mr Mugabe in order to avoid the kind of crisis that is slowly building," Mr Powell said.

Zimbabwe has seen a campaign of violence and intimidation that started before last year's parliamentary election.

Colin Powell praised Zambia's President Chiluba

Ruling party militants, headed by veterans of the bush war that led to independence in 1980, have carried out violent occupations of hundreds of white-owned farms. They have recently begun threatening businesses in urban areas.

"I hope we can put the right kind of political pressure on him [Mugabe] so that he will yield to the desire of the people to have a free and fair election and that he will bring the war veterans under control so they will stop terrorising the communities in Zimbabwe," said Mr Powell.

Under the constitution, Mr Mugabe must call presidential elections by early next year.

Praise

In the same speech, at Johannesburg's University of the Witwatersrand, Mr Powell praised Zambian President Frederick Chiluba for announcing he would abide by the constitution and step down after his term ends.

Mr Powell has made HIV-Aids a theme of his trip

President Chiluba, who came to power after the 27-year dictatorship of Kenneth Kaunda, had made moves to have the constitution changed to allow himself to remain in office. But earlier this month he said he had no plans to run again.

"He will secure his democratic legacy by leaving office, in keeping with his country's constitution," said Mr Powell, the first African-American US Secretary of State.

Earlier, Mr Powell toured an Aids clinic in nearby Soweto, following his comments on Thursday that South African President Thabo Mbeki was committed to combating HIV-Aids. Mr Mbeki has caused controversy by questioning the link between HIV and Aids.

Mr Powell has made the global battle against Aids a major theme of his Africa trip. He arrived in South Africa on Thursday after visiting Mali. He will go on to visit Kenya and Uganda.