Zambian officials say reports that President Levy Mwanawasa has died are false.
Information
Minister Mike Mulongoti made a televised address Thursday to
say the foreign media reports are not true. He said President
Mwanawasa remains in stable condition in a Paris hospital, and is being
treated for hypertension.
Mr. Mwanawasa was flown to France Tuesday after suffering a stroke Sunday while in Egypt for an African Union summit.
The
summit was dominated by the political crisis in Zimbabwe, and the
absence of Mr. Mwanawasa, a critic of Zimbabwean President Robert
Mugabe, was said to hurt attempts to put more pressure on Harare.
Mr.
Mwanawasa is 59 years old and has served as Zambia's president since
2002. He is also the current leader of the Southern African
Development Community.
He suffered a mild stroke two years ago.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.
