NEW YORK (GIN)�Growing pressure by European nations demanding to send observers to oversee Zimbabwe�s general elections scheduled for this month is creating resentment among some African leaders.

Europe has been threatening to impose severe economic sanctions if Zimbabwe refuses to permit an observer team, led by a Swedish diplomat, to monitor the upcoming vote.

Recently, in an interview with journalists in Zambia, Amara Essy, leader of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), expressed frustration and a measure of resentment at the Europeans� demands.

"I am not happy to see observers from outside," he said. "They do not ask or invite us to go to the (United States) or Europe to monitor elections there, or to check whether their elections were free and fair."

Western countries, he said, should not force themselves to monitor elections in other countries, adding, "I hope this will not continue in the next decade."

In South Africa, President Thabo Mbeki lashed out at some western countries saying their interest in Zimbabwe was not about democracy, but the need to control the country.

Speaking to the South African Broadcasting Corporation in Johannesburg, Mr. Mbeki said: "I do not believe that you have a pre-determined outcome to the Zimbabwe elections. I do not believe that the Zimbabwean population has been intimidated, whatever the direction, to such an extent that they will not be able, if we get the conditions right between now and Election Day, to take a decision which is truly their decision."
Echoing these concerns, Kedibone Milema, national secretary of the South African Azanian People�s Organization, charged that the West had mounted a vicious campaign to vilify Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe because that country�s leader was "stepping on the corn on the foot of the West."

She was speaking in Johannesburg after having accompanied Azapo President Mosibudi Mangena and a delegation to Zimbabwe on a recent fact-finding mission.

Referring to the Swedish diplomat, Pierre Schori, whose attempts to monitor Zimbabwe�s election were cut short by his expulsion on Feb. 16, Ms. Milema said: "If you go to somebody�s house when you know you are not welcome you can expect trouble. It served him right."

Ms. Milema defended the right of President Mugabe to remain in power even after serving 22 years in office. It was a common practice and a "very African tradition" for leaders to stay in power for long periods of time, she said, citing the 24-year-long leadership of Kenyan leader Daniel Arap Moi as an example.

This month, President Mugabe is expected to face one of the toughest battles of his career against opposition candidates, principally from the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), to retain his seat and the majority rule of his party Zanu-PF.

The election takes place at a time of heightened instability and violence since veterans of the country�s liberation wars last year began to forcibly occupy farmlands held by Whites after promises of land reform by the government failed to materialize.

Ownership of the county�s 4,000 productive farms is now up in the air as Pres. Mugabe has declared his intention to repossess all the farms. Zimbabwe�s objections to the head of the European monitors, Pierre Schori, stem from the fact that an earlier EU mission headed by Mr. Schori declared the June 2000 parliamentary elections neither free nor fair.

Reacting angrily, Zimbabwe accused the European Union of seeking to continue its colonial domination of the Southern African country. Invited observers for the election include those from the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the Organization of African Unity (OAU), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Common Market for East and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).