Zimbabwe's Mugabe tells US and Britain: Keep Out! (Roundup)

Sep 26, 2007, 22:24 GMT

New York - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe on Wednesday told Britain and the United States to stay out of his country's business, and said a recent agreement on constitutional changes with the country's opposition showed Zimbabwe could manage its own problems.

Mugabe attacked Britain's new Prime Minister Gordon Brown - who last week called for greater international pressure to bring democracy back to Zimbabwe - and also US President George W Bush.

'Mr Bush and Mr Brown have no role to play in our national affairs,' Mugabe said in a speech before the United Nations General Assembly in New York. 'They are outsiders and mischievious outsiders and should therefore keep out.'

Brown has threatened to boycott a meeting of the European Union and African Union this December is Mugabe is allowed to attend. Bush said Zimbabwe was suffering under a 'tyrannical regime' and the UN should exert pressure on Mugabe to allow greater freedoms, in his own speech before the assembly Tuesday.

Mugabe pointed to an unexpected agreement between his ruling Zanu-PF party and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) last week over constitutional reforms that would allow the parliament to select a new Zimbabwean leader should Mugabe step down or die in office. The MDC had previously said the changes would entrench Mugabe's long-running hold on power.

Mugabe said his country would go forward with presidential elections in March 2008, where he will be seeking another term in office.

Mugabe has ruled Zimbabwe since its independence from Britain in 1980.