===========================================================================
Statement by the President
===========================================================================

For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary June 28, 2008

Statement by the President

ÿÿWhite House News


On Friday, the Mugabe regime held a sham election that ignored the will of
the people of Zimbabwe. 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. Any legitimate government
of Zimbabwe must represent the interests of all its citizens and the
outcome of the March 29 elections.

Given the Mugabe regime's blatant disregard for the Zimbabwean people's
democratic will and human rights, I am instructing the Secretaries of State
and Treasury to develop sanctions against this illegitimate Government of
Zimbabwe and those who support it. We will press for strong action by the
United Nations, including an arms embargo on Zimbabwe and travel ban on
regime officials. We will continue to work closely with the African Union,
Southern African Development Community, and other world leaders to resolve
this crisis.

The United States stands ready to support a legitimate government through a
robust package of development assistance, debt relief, and normalization
with international financial institutions. In the meantime, we will
continue to support the people of Zimbabwe by providing food assistance to
more than one million people and AIDS treatment to more than 40,000 people.

# # #
===========================================================================
Return to this article at:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/06/20080628-1.html