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Mugabe slams stupid Bush

HARARE, Dec 23 – Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe Tuesday dismissed US calls for him to quit as "stupid," saying they represented "the last kicks of dying horse" as George W. Bush prepares to leave the White House.

"Only two days ago, the American administration declared that they are no longer accepting the process of an inclusive government. The inclusive government does not include Mr Bush and his administration," Mugabe told supporters at a burial of a party faithful.

"Let him keep his comments to himself. They are undeserved, irrelevant, quite stupid and foolish," he said.

Mugabe’s comments came two days after the US assistant secretary of state for African Affairs, Jendayi Frazer, said the Bush administration had lost confidence in the power-sharing pact between Mugabe and the opposition.

"These are the last kicks of a dying horse. We obviously are not going to pay attention to a sunset administration. Zimbabwe’s fate lies in the hands of Zimbabweans."

"Warmongers, African leaders are not foolish" and "Respect Zimbabwe’s right to self-determination" were among banners displayed at the burial.

Earlier Tuesday, state-run The Herald quoted Mugabe’s spokesman George Charamba as criticising the Bush government’s declaration of a loss of confidence in Mugabe as a "diplomatic flute."

The top United States envoy for Africa, Jendayi Frazer, said on Sunday in Pretoria that Zimbabwe’s September power-sharing deal could not work with Mugabe as president.

"We have lost confidence in the power-sharing deal being a success with Mugabe in power. He has lost touch with reality," she said.

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Frazer was in the South African capital to consult with regional leaders about the deteriorating political and economic crises in Zimbabwe, now also in the grip of a cholera epidemic that has already claimed more than 1,120 lives, according to the United Nations.

Mugabe is "completely discredited" and southern African leaders want to know "how do they facilitate a return to democracy without creating a backlash like a military coup or some sort of civil war," she said.

The newspaper quoted Mugabe as describing Frazer as a "little girl" who was out of touch with reality in Zimbabwe and the rest of the world.

"She thinks that Africans are idiots, litle kids who cannot think for themselves," Mugabe, 84, was quoted as saying last week in Bindura while opening his ruling ZANU-PF national conference.

Harare also threw verbal rocks at the British government which has called on Mugabe to go.

Charamba said that Gordon Brown’s administration was also on its way out in Britain and that the prime minister was trying to gain relevance back home through "posturing" on Zimbabwe, the newspaper said.

France has also called for Mugabe to quit the office he has occupied since 1980 when Zimbabwe attained independence from Britain.

And this week, while former Australian prime minister Malcolm Fraser called on neighbouring South Africa to cut off Zimbabwe’s electricity supply to force Mugabe to relinquish power, the US said it would consult its allies on the imposition of international asset freezes and other sanctions against his government.

Harare has admitted receiving relief and medical aid from UNICEF, the UN Population Fund, South Africa, Tanzania and Namibia to tackle the cholera epidemic ravaging nine of its 10 provinces.

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The Herald put the cholera death toll at "at least 750."

UN experts warned Monday that some 5.5 million Zimbabweans — almost half its population — could be in need of food aid and called for increased international help.

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