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| The Biography Channel to air exclusive, rare interview with Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe |
| Posted
on Wednesday, December 20, 2006 - 01:06 PM |
The Biography Channel is pleased to premiere an exclusive interview with Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe. The rare interview, a first for foreign media since 2004, is set to air on The Biography Channel on Thursday December 28 at 10:00 p.m. ET. One of Africa's most controversial leaders, Mugabe and his government has attracted international criticism for their actions, questionable economic management and human rights violations.
In the no-holds-barred interview, Mugabe talks about how he would never have predicted he would be in power as long as he has been and has no concerns about the International Criminal Court pursuing charges against him for crimes against humanity and goes on to counter that George W. Bush is the one that should be standing trial.
The controversial leader speaks candidly about the land reform process that effectively dismantled the country's agricultural industry. He still believes it was the right thing to do and goes on to blame British Prime Minister Tony Blair for the negative fallout from the process. Mr. Mugabe also claims operation "Clean the Filth", which destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses, wasn't politically motivated and admits that the government still has not resettled all the people it displaced in 2005.
"Zimbabwe's current political situation is one of the biggest and most important international stories and I hope this interview will shed a little more light on why Canadians need to care and be informed on the subject," said Jonathan Roth, Senior Producer, The Biography Channel Canada.
The interview touches on life expectancy in Zimbabwe, which despite Mugabe's claims, is largely attributable to AIDS. According to statistics from the World Health Organization, Zimbabweans have the shortest life expectancy worldwide, listed as 37 years for men and 34 years for women. Mugabe believes only 18 per cent of Zimbabwe's population is infected with HIV and rejects conflicting statistics brought up by AIDS activists within the country that the real figure could be closer to 40 per cent.
Governing Zimbabwe with dictatorial powers, Mugabe refuses to retire from public office while the ruling party, Zanu-PF, is in shambles and hopes to leave a legacy of "the continuation of freedom and democracy."
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