Colin Powell booed
Posted: Thursday, September 5, 2002

From Munyaradzi Huni in JOHANNESBURG

UNITED States Secretary of State Mr Colin Powell's bid to blame Zimbabwe for the prevailing food crisis yesterday backfired when he was booed and jeered by delegates to the Earth Summit.

All hell broke loose when Mr Powell charged that Zimbabwe's alleged lack of respect for human rights and democracy was causing the food crisis in the country and pushing "millions of people to the brink of starvation".

Mr Powell, who was addressing the summit, was scolded by delegates who saw the attack on Zimbabwe as an attempt to exonerate British Prime Minister Tony Blair from the humiliating dressing down by President Mugabe over Britain's interference in Zimbabwe on Monday.

The delegates jeered Mr Powell so loudly that South African Foreign Mini-ster, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma who was chairing the session, had to intervene to enable the American Secretary of State to continue with his address.

Mr Powell was at one point forced to shout back at his hecklers saying: "I have now heard you".

Some delegates described his speech as "shameless and inadequate". MORE 

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