HARLEM (FinalCall.com)�Two heads of state�icons of the liberation struggles of oppressed peoples�were saluted for their courage and contributions Sept. 7 and 8 by the grassroots communities who supported their efforts from afar.

More than 1,200 people filled Harlem�s Mt. Olivet Church until it overflowed Sept. 7 as Robert Mugabe, president of Zimbabwe, responded to the outpour of love with a raised clinched fist. The chant "Free the land" was an appropriate welcome for the man who is embroiled in controversy as he tries to return millions of acres to native Zimbabweans who fought for liberation. The land in dispute, the most arable in the country, now is occupied by the white remnants of the former colonial power, England.

In another part of Harlem on Sept. 8, a crowd that filled Riverside Church, with an overflow wrapping five blocks down the street, greeted Cuban President Fidel Castro, whose socialist government has withstood nearly four decades of U.S. opposition, blockades and embargoes.

Clad in his traditional green military uniform, the revolutionary leader who turned 74 in August, was greeted by the crowd with cheers and a belated happy birthday song.

It was two days of celebration that made Harlem a place of rest and refuge for many of the 100 heads of state attending the Sept. 6-8 UN Millennium Summit, as many of their struggles for liberation were supported from these streets.

"In 1980, when I came to the UN with a message from the people of Zimbabwe, that they desired to be a part of the UN, I came to Harlem and addressed you, mainly to express to you the deep sense of gratitude and appreciation the people of Zimbabwe have for you because of your solidarity with them," Pres. Mugabe said.

"I then said to you, thank you. Now we say to you, very warmly, come home," he said.

He urged the mostly Black audience to come home physically�to reside�or to render service in helping to develop the country�s economy through trade, investments and technology. He asked that all continue to support the country�s struggle morally and spiritually.

Although independence has come to the country, formerly known as Rhodesia under British rule, it has come mainly in political terms, Pres. Mugabe said, adding that colonialist tentacles continue to hamper the country�s economic independence.

He has been painted as a pariah in much of the western press for his support of Zimbabwe�s war veterans to reclaim land from whites. Highlighting the west�s continued unity in its fight to deprive Zimbabweans of fairness and justice, Pres. Mugabe pointed out a bill in the U.S. Senate that would punish his government if he seizes the land.

That bill, the Zimbabwe Democracy Act of 2000, seeks to restrict U.S. aid and assistance to Zimbabwe "until certain conditions are satisfied and to support democratic and economic transition" in the country.

The bill calls for the U.S. to urge international financing institutions like the IMF and World Bank to oppose extending aid and to cancel any debt reduction for Zimbabwe. It calls for respect for existing ownership and title to property by paying fair, market-based compensation to sellers and to increase.