Posted on 12/16/2003 3:00:47 AM PST by Prodigal Son
ANC divide feared: Similar policy would have perpetuated apartheid
Tim Butcher The Daily Telegraph
Tuesday, December 16, 2003
JOHANNESBURG - Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the moral leader of the fight against apartheid, yesterday turned on the African leaders who still support President Robert Mugabe's tyrannical regime in Zimbabwe.
Although he did not cite Thabo Mbeki by name, it was clear the South African President was the subject of Archbishop Tutu's stinging criticism.
The prelate hit out at those who have called for Zimbabwe to be readmitted to the Commonwealth in the face of Mr. Mugabe's continuing human rights violations and abuse of the rule of law.
Archbishop Tutu, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, said the struggle against apartheid would not have been won if Mr. Mbeki's logic had been applied in the 1970s and 1980s.
"Had the international community invoked the rubric of non-interference, then we would have been in dire straits in our anti-apartheid struggle," the former Archbishop of Cape Town said in a statement released by his office.
"We appealed for the world to intervene and interfere in South Africa's internal affairs. We could not have defeated apartheid on our own. What is sauce for the goose must be sauce for the gander, too."
The former head of the Anglican Church in South Africa also said he was "baffled" by the behaviour of Mr. Mbeki and other apologists for the Mugabe regime.
"I am sad that we South Africans declared that the last elections in Zimbabwe, though not free, were yet legitimate," the statement said.
"That is distressing semantic games. Human rights are human rights and they are of universal validity or they are nothing.
"There are no peculiarly African human rights. What has been reported as happening in Zimbabwe is totally unacceptable and reprehensible and we ought to say so, regretting that it should have been necessary to condemn erstwhile comrades. The credibility of our democracy demands this."
Mr. Mbeki's supporters said his position on Zimbabwe is justified by the desire to encourage dialogue within the country.
The South African President repeatedly argues "Zimbabweans alone" must solve their problems, a position that has stopped him from criticizing the Mugabe elite for plundering Zimbabwe's economy and condemning millions of black Zimbabweans to a life of oppression and poverty.
Archbishop Tutu's comments threaten to open up a yawning divide within South Africa's ruling African National Congress.
His remarks came after former president Nelson Mandela implicitly criticized Mr. Mbeki's policy on HIV and AIDS.
The disagreements raised the prospect of a serious divide within the ANC, between the Old Guard, who are known around the world for their role in the fight against apartheid, and a younger group of Mr. Mbeki's supporters.
Although the Old Guard within the ANC are acutely loyal to the movement, they occasionally dare to criticize the young bloods around Mr. Mbeki who are now in power.
Two years ago, Mr. Mandela publicly criticized those in the ANC who have used political power to steal public money. His position on AIDS is now diametrically opposed to Mr. Mbeki's position of playing down the disease.
While Mr. Mbeki has said he does not know anyone who has died from AIDS, Mr. Mandela has spoken of the disease claiming members of his own family.
Mr. Mandela also moved quickly recently to try to stem attempts by Mr. Mbeki to change the constitution so he could remain in power beyond the current limit of two terms.
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