| From The People's Daily - not exactly a neutral source. |
Zimbabwe was a friendly country maintaining relations with other countries based on equality and the principle of noninterference in their domestic affairs, he said. "Those countries in Europe who want to befriend us we are ready for you but if you don't want to befriend us stay aloof. Don't interfere with our affairs," Mugabe said.
"We have gone through it all and we have people who have suffered and died for this country. We will never allow any country no matter how big or wealthy to interfere with our political affairs and to try and dominate us," he said.
Mugabe was addressing the ninth annual people's conference of the ruling party Zanu PF which started on Friday at Goromonzi High school, 46 kilometers east of Harare. He said Zimbabwe was a country looking for friends and not enemies and was not in search of masters because "we are our own masters."
Mugabe, who is also Zanu-PF's first secretary, took a swipe at some western countries, particularly the United States and Britain, who are trying to "manipulate the country's internal system to effect regime change."
He said the European countries had no authority over Zimbabwe and that former colonial power Britain, in particular, should respect Zimbabwe's sovereignty.
"We have the power to do things ourselves. The political system is ours and the British have nothing to do with our political system," he added.