Posted on 08/19/2005 6:37:35 PM PDT by blam
South Africa is ready to get tough with Mugabe regime
By Bill Corcoran in Pretoria
(Filed: 20/08/2005)
President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa has privately conceded that his "quiet diplomatic" approach towards Zimbabwe has failed to yield results, opening the way for a more forceful policy towards the regime of Robert Mugabe.
The signs from South Africa now suggest that the African leaders - who for decades have refused to criticise abuses among their number - are for the first time seriously considering breaking the taboo and taking Mr Mugabe to task for the destruction of his own country.
Mbeki: Policy switch
The South African leader has sacrificed much of his international reputation by declining to criticise President Mugabe's excesses. Instead, South Africa has tried to influence Zimbabwe's regime with behind-the-scenes talks.
Yet the country's descent into economic collapse and political repression has continued unabated, leading Mr Mbeki to think again. "Our President has eventually agreed that the quiet diplomatic approach has not yielded the results that were expected," said Devikarani Jana, a diplomat who received a briefing on Zimbabwe from South African officials on Wednesday.
In an interview in South Africa's capital, Pretoria, before taking up her position as ambassador to Ireland, Miss Jana added that she was personally "not happy" with the behaviour of Zimbabwe's regime, as there were "serious allegations of human rights violations".
These signs that Mr Mbeki is changing his policy towards Zimbabwe come at a critical time. Mr Mugabe has spurned the latest diplomatic efforts made by African leaders to resolve Zimbabwe's crisis.
The African Union, an alliance of all 53 countries on the continent, had decided to send a mediator to Zimbabwe to broker talks between Mr Mugabe and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change. It chose Joaquim Chissano, the former president of Mozambique, for this mission.
But Mr Mugabe refused to receive him and called on those who "should know better" to stop asking him to meet his opponents.
Until deciding on this abortive mission, the AU had always described Zimbabwe's crisis as an "internal matter". When AU leaders gathered for summit meetings, they would ensure that Zimbabwe did not figure on the agenda.
But Miss Jana's remarks indicate that South Africa would no longer object if the AU voiced public criticism of Mr Mugabe's regime. She said that it was "unreasonable" of Western governments to expect South Africa to "go it alone" when dealing with Zimbabwe, saying that the AU held prime responsibility.
"South Africa cannot act as a single country, as it belongs to the AU, and it's up to the AU to take a stand against Zimbabwe," said Miss Jana. She added: "I speak for myself when I say I would like the AU to take stronger measures on that."
She speaks at a time when South Africa has greater bargaining power over Zimbabwe than ever before. Unable to import essential supplies of food or fuel, Mr Mugabe has been forced to turn to his powerful neighbour for a rescue package.
Zimbabwe's economic crisis has reached such proportions that the country faces expulsion from the International Monetary Fund - a move that would cast Mr Mugabe into total isolation.
Miss Jana said South Africa was likely to insist on a number of conditions before issuing the loan. "We have in principle agreed to the loan, but the finer details are still being sorted out at the moment," she said.
Ping.
"Hey, Bob! I've got a cyanide pill in one of my hands. Guess which."
I'm confused. I thought some South Africans considered Mugabe to be a model to follow.
More than several days late and short a pocketful of Rands.
Hey Thabo - go for it: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1429213/posts
Preemption should have been considered sometimes it doesn't pay to wait.
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What good is all the supposed "isolation" if Communist-controlled China has been quite happy to gain more and more influence over Zimbabwe and Sudan? They better hurry and come with an African solution to the problem before they find an Eastern Asian solution.
I'd be very happy to see China bankroll Mugabe and keep him alive a few months more - just long enough to tie the Chicoms to Mogabe indelibly in people's minds. He's bound to go down in a Ceaucescu-style flash of ingnominy, and the longer the Chinese have supported him the more they'll be tarred with his brush. That should stain their self-promotion as the champion of the Third World.
No good. Look at all the atrocities they've committed throughout history, and all they're STILL committing - their 'useful idiots' in all countries and all lands overlook those just as well now as they would overlook Mugabe-support in the future.
Actually, in a macro sense I think the tide is already turning against the Chicoms in the realm of world opinion. When they were harmless it was easy to excuse their excesses. But many Asian countries are starting to worry about them (and the US is doing so openly). This makes aspersions cast against their character stick a little more securely.
I don't think the Chicoms will get a free pass much longer.
Ironically enough, our best long-term military ally against the Chinese may well be Vietnam (hard to swallow for someone over 40!).
Inquiring minds want to know if Thabo is a polygamist, what with sporting those two rings in public.
It doesn't take a rocket scientist...EVERY time socialism, communism and totalitarianism has been tried, people in large numbers die. Economies collapse, starvation is everywhere, and migration is horrendous.
Hey! You democrats/liberals out there, name a successful communist country or dictatorship. (Oh, and don't mention the Chicoms. They're not what they seem, plus some nasty stuff is coming their way.). What's the old saying? Those who refuse to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
Sheesh.
5.56mm
This quote is a demonstration of the mastery of the art of understatement that the Commonwealth has inherited from the Brits.
Two words: Yeah Right.
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