Tsvangirai disowns article published in UK paper
Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai had disowned an article published under his name in Britain's Guardian newspaper on Wednesday, 25 June 2008, in which he was said to have called for “words of indignation by world leaders to be backed by the moral rectitude of military force”.
Tsvangirai's denial, issued late Wednesday, will raise questions about how much input he makes or indeed checks on articles passed onto newspapers under his name.
In the article, which has since been removed from the Guardian's website, Tsvangirai was said to have slammed South African President Thabo Mbeki's approach towards Zimbabwe, saying it "sought to massage a defeated dictator rather than show him the door and prod him towards it.”
The Guardian could not clarify how the article was sent to it, but by Tsvangirai's admission, the paper was “given assurances from credible sources that I had approved the article (although) this was not the case.”
