UN gives Mugabe platform to rail against 'evil' West

Robert Mugabe, President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, speaks during at the UN General Assembly on September 25, 2014 in New York. By Timothy A. Clary (AFP/File)

United Nations (United States) (AFP) - The UN General Assembly on Thursday served once again as podium for Zimbabwean leader and international pariah Robert Mugabe to rail against the "evil machinations" of the West.

The 90-year-old firebrand told the United Nations that Western countries were seeking regime change in Zimbabwe and demanded an end to their "evil" sanctions.

The man whose land reforms have been blamed for impoverishing the former bread basket of Africa said Zimbabwe had merely sought "the empowerment of its people economically."

But instead Zimbabwe had been made "a victim of the evil machinations of Western countries."

"Regime change is a diabolical illegal policy of interference in the domestic affairs of my country," he said.

Mugabe called on all those hostile to Zimbabwe to "review their hard positions and open a new chapter" in relations based on "friendly cooperation."

Once seen as a post-colonial role model, Zimbabwe's economy has been in a downward spiral since thousands of white-owned farms began being seized under a controversial land reform program.

Mugabe and his ZANU-PF party launched the land reforms in 2000, saying they were meant to correct colonial land ownership imbalances.

Critics have blamed the program for low production on the farms as the majority of the beneficiaries lacked the means and skills to work the land.

Zimbabwe was a net food exporter before 2000 but now faces food shortages and relies on imports from neighboring countries.