President Thabo Mbeki’s latest attempt to get Zimbabwe negotiations back on track smacks of self-serving desperation — an attempt to salvage a bloodstained legacy and ensure an easy exit for the murderous tyrant he seems quite happy to consider a friend.
Mbeki as a mediator has no credibility anyway. His antipathy towards the MDC and its leader is well known — as is his implicit support of Mugabe and the brutal suppression of democratic will and political dissent that has accompanied the dictator’s systematic destruction of a once-prosperous nation.
As the suffering of the Zimbabwean people continues, with starvation salaries for those lucky enough to be employed and chronic shortages of food and medicines, it is only too clear that Mbeki has never had the best interests of the ordinary people at heart. He has nailed his unwavering support for a “liberation” elite to the mast, with devastating consequences.
It was inevitable that these farcical negotiations between Zanu-PF and the MDC would flop — because the former has been (and continues to be) extremely reluctant to relinquish its iron-fisted grip on the Zimbabwean people and, of course, all the perks that comes from the wanton pillaging of the state.
Had the South African government even a shred of integrity — or held the belief that human rights and a sustainable democracy are sacrosanct — it would have condemned the behaviour of our neighbour’s government a long time ago.
But its willingness to support an illegitimate regime financially and politically and give the thumbs-up to the sham elections of the past eight years has meant that South Africa and its president are complicit in the Zimbabwean catastrophe.
It is not too late for Mbeki to redeem himself (a little). He could do this if he were to stand up and denounce Mugabe, and do everything in his power — such as imposing smart sanctions — to ensure that the results of the March 29 elections are respected and acted upon. The Zimbabwean people deserve nothing less. But of course that will never happen, and their unnecessary suffering will continue until the inevitable collapse of Mugabe’s crumbling regime.
Mbeki let us believe that the problem was the Lancaster House agreements when Mbeki knew for over 5 years that Mugabe had renaged not Britain. NOTHING Mbeki says, or does not say, can be trusted. He NEVER confides in us ordinary South Africans. I actually wonder if he even let the ANC NEC know the truth !
Well said and I wonder just how this man Mbeki, who is undoubtedly “intelligent”, sleeps at night with all the blood he has on his hands.
Alex
[…] “Mbeki as a mediator has no credibility anyway. His antipathy towards the MDC and its leader is well known — as is his implicit support of Mugabe and the brutal suppression of democratic will and political dissent that has accompanied the dictator’s systematic destruction of a once-prosperous nation” […]
FULL STOP…You didn’t have to go beyond this point…Hmmm! Just to add some sugar in your post; he has no credibility over AIDS related matters, Crime fighting related matters, and he’s fully credible when it comes to ‘clinging on power’, in the process divides his own party into kak segments.
A tragic farce indeed, Alex.
Ag! Yet another kak way to start a week…
The outcome of what has happened in Zimbabwe was predicted by many of us. Did anyone really expect anything different?
Mbeki’s hands are tied. If Bob says no that’s it, no one is going to change his stance, he is used to getting his own way and he will not relinquish that.
Bob does not believe that he is doing anything wrong. After all the country belongs to him, try telling anything different.
This man still gets standing ovations when he visits some African countries so why should he think otherwise.
Let’s just invade and be done with it, right Alex?
Poppy-cock – other useless post with nothing substantive once again.
“smart sanctions”? hahaha. Can you pleeeeeeease tell me when these have ever worked?
What does Zim have to do with brand communications?
“…His antipathy towards the MDC and its leader is well known…” Is there concrete evidence to support his statement you make with such confidence?
Kindly explain to us how “targeted sanctions” and “megaphone diplomacy” would help the negotiation process.
Alex,
Interesting thoughts, indeed – despite that they are not augment on reality of the complexity of the mediation process in Zimbabwe. I wonder, however, if you (and your servilely- and complaisantly smiling natives that are already singing your praises as if they see Santa in you) have considered the MDC’s complicity in this ‘self-serving’ expedition by Mbeki in Zimbabwe; the MDC is reported elsewhere (see link below) as upbeat in having the ‘self-serving’ Mbeki come and continue with the mediating in the Zimbabwean impasse:
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=68&art_id=nw20080908133041287C226268
Of course, you and your ilk have not considered this a bit. Mbeki is to blame, I agree with you. Judging by the way you go in proving us with an “intelligent” analysis, Mbeki is even responsible for the natural disaster (Hurricane Ike) that is reportedly sweeping across the Cuba and Haiti, the floods that have swept across India, the fires that raged in KwaZulu-Natal recently (and practically everything that goes wrong in the world.
Mbeki is the anti-matter of King Midas. Everything Mbeki touches turns to slime. No wonder all he ever does is talk, talk, talk.
Brilliant Alex, absolutely brilliant! You put everything that everyone has been trying to say in a nutshell. Mbeki will go down in history as another African failure, right along with the best of them. I wonder if South Africans are proud to call him their leader. He is a yellow-belly.
Mugabe has rigged elections since 2000, and already kept MDC out of power for 8 years – with Mbeki’s help. ALL Mbeki had to do was TELL us South Africans the truth of what was, or was not, going on, and then consult with the ANC NEC what to do in the interests of SA as well as Zim. I don’t think he did – remember he was NOT reporting to the ANC or to SA but to SADC. AND as Moeletsi Mbeki has pointed out Southern Africa is unique in that it has become an old boys club of former liberation movements who want to entrench themselves in power.
Just for interest sake from what I have read Zimbabwe was of very little assistance to SA in the armed struggle – most of the camps were in Lusaka, Tanzania and Botswana. Also at one time, before they had to close, in Mozambique and Swaziland. However there is no one definative book on the subject that I have been able to find.
Sentletse: Mbeki only met Tsvangirai for the first time when the SADC mediation process started. Before that he prefered to talk to Welshman Ncube (who many in Zim suspect is a ZCIO/SA project to help further divisions in the MDC – why else invite them to the talks?).
Up to 2007, the region largely ignored the MDC, forcing them to go and complain to the West.
More fair treatment of the MDC and sincere diplomatic engagement at the start of the crisis 2000-2004, could have helped resolve issues at that stage and might have even kept ZANU-PF in power.
The ZANU-PF propoganda is all about sketching the situation as the West (through the MDC) wanting to reverse the land reform programme and that stooges of the west are being installed in Zim to destroy the remaining liberation movements.
It is ironic that by refusing to take the MDC seriously from the start, the region has actually made itself more vunerable to Western influence and pressure.
What do you have to say now Alex?