British invasion foiled by SADC – Shamuyarira(23-11-06)

made the startling remarks in Bulawayo last week during a seminar organized by the Centre for Peace Initiatives in Africa. He did not state which countries foiled the planned military intervention, which he claimed was aimed at bringing “Baghdad-style carnage to Harare.”
“Britain wanted to come in but was stopped when the neighbouring countries said they supported Zimbabwe’s policies,” Shamuyarira said. “Britain would have intervened forcefully in Zimbabwe had it not been told to back off by neighbouring countries. That kind of solidarity is the bedrock on which the African Union is built.”
Britain has rejected the charge as “absurd” saying it had not at any point discussed invading Zimbabwe but had sought constructive dialogue with the crisis-torn country as a conflict resolution measure.
Shamuyarira said Britain wanted to use the invasion of Zimbabwe to divert attention from the “disastrous performance of British troops in Iraq.”
He claimed that Britain, angered by the “highly successful” land reform programme, wanted to deploy massive fire power to Harare to unseat President Robert Mugabe and Zanu (PF) from power as a way of avenging the eviction of thousands of white farmers under the agrarian reform programme.