(AFP) – Jun 24, 2008

WASHINGTON (AFP) — US President George W. Bush is "quite pleased" with a watered-down UN condemnation of violence in Zimbabwe and call not to hold a presidential vote set for June 27, his spokeswoman said Tuesday.

"The president was actually quite pleased. We think that is a strong statement," Dana Perino said after the UN Security Council passed a non-binding statement that also slammed Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe's government.

"We believe that the international community spoke very clearly and with one voice, in a unified way, to say that the actions of the government of Zimbabwe are deplorable, and that the blame for this horrible situation can be firmly laid at the feet of President Mugabe," Perino told reporters.

"So we think that was actually a strong resolution," she said.

After hours of haggling, the 15-member council unanimously adopted a statement that "condemns the campaign of violence against the political opposition ahead of the second round" of voting scheduled for Friday.

The British-drafted text also made it clear that the violence and restrictions placed on the opposition "have made it impossible for a free and fair election to take place on 27 June."

It also slammed the Harare government for denying its political foes "the right to campaign freely" and urged it "to stop the violence, cease political intimidation, end the restrictions on the right of assembly and release the political leaders who have been detained."

Meanwhile, Washington's ambassador in Harare, James McGee, during a telephone press conference with reporters here Tuesday, called on Zimbabwe's southern African neighbors to adopt an equally tough stance.

"The leaders in the SADC (Southern African Development Community) region need to come out with a clear statement -- just like what we had from the United Nations -- that this is an illegitimate regime that is conducting an illegitimate election," McGee said.

"Mr. Tsvangirai has asked to make this election null and void and we agree that that is probably the best course," the envoy said.

"There is a lot of pressure that can be brought upon Zimbabwe by SADC," McGee added.

"That would have a tremendous and immediate impact on the government of Zimbabwe."

Nevertheless, Zimbabwe's UN Ambassador Boniface Chidyausiku, who attended the security council meeting, said afterward that as far as his government was concerned, "the election (on Friday) goes ahead."

He said that he was taking note of the council's statement but pointedly added that the future of Zimbabwe will be determined by "the people of Zimbabwe and nobody else."

At the insistence of South Africa, a key mediator in the crisis, the text was amended from an earlier draft that stated that "until there is a clearly free and fair second round of the presidential election, the only legitimate basis for a government of Zimbabwe is the outcome of the March 29 (first-round) election."

He said the council merely noted that "the results of the March 29 elections (both the legislative and first-round presidential vote) must be respected."

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