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The African National Congress's decision to sack President Thabo Mbeki has been described by some South African commentators as "regicide". Certainly it is unprecedented in South African history that a head of state is dismissed in this way. Nor is the ANC the kind of organisation that goes in for this humiliation of its leaders. So why did it happen? The immediate cause was Mr Mbeki's ongoing feud with his former deputy, the ANC party leader Jacob Zuma. But this was not just a personal vendetta between two men. Behind these events lie two major factors: one political, one personal....

An epic battle for power has ended with a ‘Zulu peasant’ ousting a president in South Africa SOUTH AFRICA’S president, Thabo Mbeki, was toppled from power yesterday by his rival Jacob Zuma, president of the ruling African National Congress (ANC), when its national executive committee took the decision to sack him. Gwede Mantashe, the ANC’s secretary-general, announced that the executive had “decided to recall the president of the republic before his term of office expires”. Mbeki, 66, instructed his office to issue a statement saying: “The president has obliged and will step down after all constitutional requirements have been met.”...

International pressure seems to have finally had an effect on South Africa’s Thabo Mbeki. The man who almost singlehandedly shielded Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe from regional and global efforts to oust him has finally told his crony that he has two choices — resign or face prosecution for a myriad of crimes. Mugabe must hand real power to his political enemy, Morgan Tsvangirai, or else face complete isolation:The president of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, has been warned by Thabo Mbeki, the South African president, that he faces prosecution for the crimes he has committed during his 28 years in office unless he...

PRETORIA (AFP) — South Africa on Tuesday labelled as "unacceptable" suggestions by a US ambassador at the United Nations that President Thabo Mbeki was "out of touch" regarding Zimbabwe's political crisis. "The extraordinary and unacceptable statements made will be taken up through diplomatic channels," South African deputy foreign minister Aziz Pahad said. "A British representative said South African mediation efforts had come to nought and we have achieved nothing," he added. "The US representative made remarks about Russia not being a worthy member of the G8 and suggested that President Thabo Mbeki is out of touch with his own country....

Two stories in this edition spotlight the paradox of President Thabo Mbeki's handling of the Zimbabwean crisis, as the president of a neighbouring African state and the region's appointed mediator. On the one hand there is the hard-hitting analysis Mbeki sent President Robert Mugabe in 2001, lambasting Mugabe's economic mismanagement and assaults on democracy. Presciently, the South African leader warns of Zimbabwe's growing isolation, of the danger posed by the violent "war veterans" who have swamped the ruling party and of the potential fallout for the region of a deepening crisis. He calls on Mugabe to cooperate with the emerging...

The horrors of Zimbabwe’s political violence will not feature on the agenda of the United Nations Security Council meeting today. Thanks to South Africa, which blocked an attempt to put the crisis on the agenda, the council will discuss only the dire humanitarian situation. It is hard to see how the two can be divorced. The deliberate displacement of thousands of people, the militarisation of food aid and the ban on international aid agencies are all political tactics that have greatly deepened Zimbabwe’s suffering. The US and Britain are furious with South Africa’s block, achieved with Russia’s help. They had...

An outbreak of xenophobic violence, also known as ethnic cleansing, has resulted in the murders of 56 people and forced thousands more to take shelter in camps, community halls and churches across South Africa – the victims are foreigners who are strictly forbidden from owning guns. Foreigners in Gauteng Province are suffering from gunshot and stab wounds, while many others have been raped, fatally beaten and burned alive. Thomas Eastes, national chairman of Gun Owners of South Africa, said foreigners are unable to defend themselves from such atrocities because they are not allowed to be armed in South Africa. He...

South Africa: Cape Town on high alert as Thabo Mbeki deploys troops to quell violence Last Updated: 8:31PM BST 21/05/2008 President Thabo Mbeki tonight ordered troops into South Africa’s troubled townships as violence against black migrant workers spread across the country, threatening the city of Cape Town. Attacks on migrant workers erupted around Johannesburg over the weekend, forcing foreigners to return to their neighboring countries. Violence flared against foreigners in the provinces of KwaZulu-Nataland and Mpumalanga and police in Cape Town were put on high alert. Mr Mbeki, who has been criticised for his lack of leadership during a week...

We know most of our readers need no further proof that internationalist organizations such as the Commonwealth, the United Nations and the African Union (AU) are nothing more than toothless debating societies. But those few who need more convincing need look no further than Zimbabwe. Robert Mugabe is stealing last month's elections in plain sight, and not one of the major talk-shops is lifting a finger to stop him. Sunday will mark three weeks since Zimbabweans voted for a parliament and president, and still the official results have not been released. The country's national election commission, appointed by Mr. Mugabe,...

Mugabe regime ordered 77 tonnes of Chinese arms three days AFTER disputed electionsBy IAN EVANS and WILLIAM LOWTHER - More by this author » Last updated at 21:33pm on 18th April 2008  A huge cargo of Chinese guns and ammunition sits marooned aboard a ship off South Africa. It would have been used to arm the tyrant Robert Mugabe's thugs in Zimbabwe. But dockers in South African port of Durban won't unload the 77 tons of mortars, ammunition and rocket-propelled grenades and other weapons. Scroll down for more...Danger cargo: The ship is believed to be carrying 77 tonnes of...

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African President Thabo Mbeki can no longer govern effectively after losing the leadership of the country's ruling party, ANC leader Jacob Zuma was quoted as saying on Friday. Zuma defeated Mbeki at a party election in December and is likely to become state president when Mbeki must step down in 2009 if he defeats corruption charges in court. In an unusually strong and direct attack on Mbeki, Zuma said power was firmly concentrated in the hands of the African National Congress (ANC), suggesting the president's authority had slipped away. "... if he's not part of the...

President Thabo Mbeki received a stinging rebuff yesterday from supporters of his bitter rival, Jacob Zuma, in the lead-up to a crucial leadership vote at the national conference of the ruling African National Congress. Moments after Mbeki's speech, his last chance to win over support, thousands of delegates signaled their disapproval by standing up and singing Zuma's trademark song, which loosely translates as "Bring Me My Machine [Gun]." ...Results of a vote by 6,000 delegates are expected today. Mbeki is barred from seeking reelection when his term as national president expires in 2009, but wants to be reelected as party...

THE editor of one of South Africa’s leading newspapers faces arrest this week for having exposed the minister of health as an alcoholic. Mondli Makhanya, editor of the Johannesburg Sunday Times (which has no connection with this newspaper), published an investigation of Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, the minister, under the headline “Manto: a drunk and a thief”. The article revealed how she had been kicked out of Botswana, where she practised as a hospital doctor, for stealing the possessions of a patient who was under anaesthetic. It also disclosed that she had a liver transplant earlier this year because of cirrhosis brought...

Representatives of Zimbabwean President Mugabe offered a positive, upbeat assessment of their country at the most recent Southern African Development Community meeting in Lukasha, Zambia. "Political reform is not necessary in my country because we are a democracy like any other democracy in the world," Patrick Chinamasa, minister of justice, legal and parliamentary affairs, told reporters as the two-day summit opened in the Zambian capital Lusaka. CNN (16 Aug, 2007) Chinamasa also dismissed calls for a dialogue with Zimbabwean political opposition leaders such as Morgan Tsvangirai. He accused them of harboring plots to dethrone Robert Mugabe."There can be no justification...

Leon: Mbeki has 'race myopia'23/03/2007 21:20  - (SA)    Cape Town - President Thabo Mbeki has "race myopia" and his shortsightedness is costing South Africa and the sub-continent dearly, said Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Tony Leon. Leon said: "On the three overriding crises that have occurred on his presidential watch - HIV/Aids, crime and Zimbabwe - the president's steadfast refusal to take necessary action is traceable to a blinkered attitude towards race." In his weekly newsletter, published on his party's SA Today website, Leon said Mbeki's "refusal to tackle the real problem" was typical of the racial myopia that had become a...

FACED with soaring public anger and international fears about violent crime in South African, Thabo Mbeki, the country's president, conceded for the first time yesterday that it was a deeply serious problem, as he announced an increase in police numbers of nearly 20 per cent.In his annual State of the Nation address, he said: "We cannot erase that which is ugly and repulsive and claim the happiness that comes with freedom if communities lived in fear, closeted behind walls and barbed wire, ever anxious in their houses, on the streets, unable freely to enjoy our public spaces." South Africa has...

South Africa faces crime challenge By John Simpson World affairs editor, BBC News Three weeks ago, President Thabo Mbeki insisted that most South Africans did not think the crime rate in their country was getting out of hand. Levels of gun crime are high in South Africa Now, in his annual State of the Nation address to parliament, he has admitted that people live in fear. He has promised an increase in police numbers. It is a turnaround which compares with his change of heart on Aids. In a recent television interview Mr Mbeki said: "Nobody can show that the...

"Renova masters Africa", a Moscow headline shouted in November 2004. It was journalistic hyperbole, perhaps, but the progress of Viktor Vekselberg, the man behind the Russian investment group, has been remarkable. When Vekselberg visited South Africa in February 2004, he got to meet the president, among others. Eighteen months later he co-owned rights to strategic manganese reserves in the Kalahari. This is the story of how the government, through the Department of Minerals and Energy (DME), awarded prospecting rights to a consortium set to benefit both Vekselberg, one of Russia's infamous oligarchs, and Chancellor House, the company we reveal to...

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Callous wealthy nations are indifferent to the plight of the poor as they pursue selfish policies which enrich the few at the expense of the many, South African President Thabo Mbeki said on Tuesday. "These billions of poor people are increasingly becoming impatient because every year they hear us adopt declaration after declaration and yet nothing practical is done to assuage the hunger pains that keep them awake at night," he told the United Nations General Assembly. At the Millennium Summit in September 2000, world leaders at the United Nations agreed a series of goals to...

HAVANA (Reuters) - Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir will attend a United Nations meeting on Darfur, opening the way for further talks despite his rejection of U.N. peacekeeping troops, South Africa said on Sunday. Bashir would "interact" with the U.N. Security Council over the issue and attend a summit of the African Union's peace and security council, said South African President Thabo Mbeki after talks with Bashir and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan. "President Bashir wasn't going to go to New York but we discussed matters with him and he agreed that he would go to New York so that he...

JOHANNESBURG, Sept. 5 — Vladimir V. Putin, the Russian president, arrived in South Africa today for a two-day state visit, the first ever for a Kremlin leader, thus reuniting two old ideological soul mates under a new banner: making money. Hours after landing in Cape Town and meeting with President Thabo Mbeki, Mr. Putin told a news conference that Russia plans multibillion dollar investments in South Africa’s economy, he signed a business cooperation agreement and announced a deal to extend sales of nuclear fuel and technology to South Africa’s nascent nuclear power industry. ... The deal-making decisively overshadowed the historic...

A South African Aids campaigner has called on world leaders to speak out against the government of Thabo Mbeki, which he claims is responsible for the continuing but unnecessary devastation wreaked in his country by Aids. Eight hundred people die from Aids in South Africa every day, said Mark Heywood, of the Aids Law Project at the University of the Witwatersrand and the Treatment Action Campaign (Tac). "We're treating only 17% of people with Aids. What is happening in South Africa is a human rights violation that needs leadership from outside of South Africa to address the crisis being created...

PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe, who is coming under growing pressure to resolve the current crisis or quit, is expected to meet United Nations (UN) secretary-general Kofi Annan and South African President Thabo Mbeki in the Gambia in a fortnight. Diplomatic sources said yesterday a meeting has already been organised for the three leaders in Banjul on the sidelines of the African Union (AU) summit from June 25-July 2. Heads of state usually meet during the last two days of the summit. "The three leaders are expected to meet in Banjul, the Gambia, to discuss the Zimbabwe situation and map the way...

President Mugabe, under heavy local and international pressure to step down, has called for a constitutional amendment that will allow an interim President to be appointed by his Zanu PF party and pave the way for fresh elections for a new government. Official sources said this was the message that had been communicated to President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, who is seen as a key player in delicate manoeuvres towards a transition from a dictatorship to democratic rule in Zimbabwe. It is understood that Mugabe wants his hand picked successor Joice Mujuru, to be the interim President, although this...

Bolivian president-elect Evo Morales, the South American country’s first indigenous leader, visited South Africa last week seeking advice on racial reconciliation and solidarity with his plans to place his country’s vast gas reserves under public ownership and nationalize social services.Evo Morales, Bolivia’s socialist president-elect, ended a global tour this week, returning to South America after visiting Venezuela, China, and Europe, and stopping in South Africa where he discussed economic and political transformation and post-conflict reconciliation. Morales, who will become Bolivia’s first indigenous president after winning a landslide victory on 18 December, left South Africa disappointed only that he had not...

Bushmen accuse Mbeki of treating them as 'unpure bastards' By Christopher Munnion in Johannesburg (Filed: 07/10/2005) The ancient Khoi-San people, commonly known as the Bushmen, have accused South Africa's government of implying that they are not African at all but mixed race "bastards". Chief Elwin White said the refusal by President Thabo Mbeki's government to grant his 5,000-strong community official status as the country's earliest inhabitants was insulting. He said the government treated them as "highly-stressed coloureds [mixed race people] who are without a sense of belonging, with any creative spirit, confused, anxious and mostly drunk". "The government officially and...

When it comes to twisting the arm of Zimbabwe strongman Robert Mugabe, there's probably only one person with the muscle to do it: South African President Thabo Mbeki. And twist he must, for Mr. Mugabe is running his country into the ground. Triple-digit inflation, a jobless rate of over 70 percent, severe hunger and fuel problems, political oppression, and a cruel urban relocation scheme have created a human rights disaster. Mr. Mbeki has considerable leverage with his neighbor. South Africa is Zimbabwe's largest trading partner, and the two leaders share a bond in having thrown off white rule, but Mbeki...

JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA – After standing by their man for years, a growing number of Africans are pushing Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe to change his ways. The shift in attitude, if it lasts, could mark a new period in Zimbabwe's ongoing crisis - one that tilts the situation toward resolution, thus removing a big blot on Africa's global reputation and helping free Zimbabweans from authoritarianism, soaring inflation, increasing poverty, and hunger. • Zimbabwe has asked regional powerhouse South Africa for a loan of up to $1 billion for fuel, food, and other scarce essentials, and to help prevent it from...

LONDON (Reuters) - United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said on Thursday African leaders must speak out against what he called the wrong policies of any governments on the continent. Annan told the Financial Times in an interview it was vital for African countries to break their silence to protect the continent's credibility in the eyes of the world. "What is important -- and what is lacking on the continent -- is (a willingness) to comment on wrong policies in a neighboring country," he said before attending a summit of the Group of Eight (G8) top industrialized nations in Scotland. Annan...

It's G-8 time again — which means that President Bush is about to face concerted pressure... to see things their way on a host of issues. Not least of these is the question of financial aid to Africa — an issue buoyed by the recent publicity over the politically charged "Live 8" worldwide rock concerts (modestly praised by one performer as "the greatest thing that's ever been in the entire history of the world"), designed to "raise awareness" about Africa's desperate plight. Actually, it's not as if the G-8 leaders are unaware of the intense poverty and despair that has...

Washington - US President George W Bush on Thursday accused Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe of "destroying" his country and urged countries in the region, especially South Africa, to pressure him to change. "Next door to you is a person that is destroying a country because of bad policy, and it's not right. "And the nations in the neighbourhood must be strong," Bush told reporters ahead of next week's G8 summit in Scotland. Asked whether he was disappointed that President Thabo Mbeki has avoided publicly criticising Mugabe, Bush said: "I'm disappointed in Mugabe." "The world needs to speak very clearly...

South Africa in succession crisis as President Mbeki sacks deputy By Christopher Munnion in Johannesburg (Filed: 15/06/2005) President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa provoked a full-blown succession crisis yesterday by sacking his deputy over links to a corruption scandal. Mr Mbeki announced that he was dismissing Jacob Zuma, the man he had groomed to be the country's leader after he steps down in 2009, "in the best interests of our young democratic system". Mr Zuma's enforced departure followed last week's sentencing of a financial adviser and business partner, Schabir Shaik, to 15 years in prison. Sacked deputy Jacob Zuma: ‘...

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa - With a long-simmering political corruption scandal at a boil, all eyes are on President Thabo Mbeki as he weighs how to respond to a court ruling that some experts say is an important test of South Africa's 11-year-old democracy. Mbeki is under pressure to act after a judge asserted that Deputy President Jacob Zuma had a "generally corrupt relationship" with a Durban businessman recently convicted of graft. The question is: Will Mbeki - who appointed Zuma - fire him to demonstrate South Africa's intolerance for impropriety and its commitment to the type of good governance that...

PRESIDENTIAL NEWS OF THE DAY: The President and First Lady are spending the weekend at their Crawford ranch. Undoubtedly Barney and Beezie are with them, but no new photos have turned up on Yahoo News Photos. (Sigh.) British Prime Minister Tony Blair will be visiting the President at the White House on Tuesday. The meeting is intended to be preparatory to the G8 Summit to be held in Scotland next month. They are expected to talk about aid to Africa, as well as the status of things in Afghanistan and Iraq. THE WEEK AHEAD: From White House Press Secretary Scott...

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - The United States is willing to look for ways to fund a "Marshall Plan" for Africa even if it opposes Britain's plan for a new lending facility, South African President Thabo Mbeki said on Friday. Mbeki, fresh from meeting President Bush in Washington this week, told the World Economic Forum (WEF) Africa summit in Cape Town the U.S. leader was willing to help Africa, and Bush hoped commitments would be made at the G8 summit. "The U.S. says, we don't agree on the IFF (British-proposed International Financial Facility), but what we agree to is to generate...

ANC leader tainted by trial By Christopher Munnion in Johannesburg (Filed: 03/06/2005) South Africa's establishment was thrown into disarray yesterday after Jacob Zuma, an ANC leader tipped to succeed President Thabo Mbeki, was implicated in the corruption trial of a flamboyant businessman. A close friend and financial adviser to Mr Zuma was found guilty in Durban High Court of soliciting bribes from a French company to pay the deputy president to help win a contract for business with the South African navy. Judge Hilary Squires said he found "convincing and overwhelming evidence of a corrupt relationship" between the convicted man,...

Mbeki lambasts Brown for 'imperial nostalgia' By David Blair in Johannesburg (Filed: 30/05/2005) President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa rebuked Gordon Brown yesterday, accusing the "presumed successor to Tony Blair" of promoting nostalgia for British imperialism and joining in a "discourse" that "demonises" blacks. Mr Brown is leading the Government's efforts to help Africa during Britain's presidency of the G8 group of rich countries. But any credit this might have earned seems, in Mr Mbeki's mind, to have been dashed by remarks the Chancellor made during his tour of Africa in January. While in Tanzania, Mr Brown said the "days...

Q: Is the ANC better or worse than you expected in 1994?A: The ANC turned out to be exactly as was forecasted by the renowned anthropologist Dr. Wiets Beukes who warned of an impending danger. He predicted that South Africa would follow the same patterns as all African states. The demonisation of the Afrikaner community was crucial for the policies of black empowerment to survive international scrutiny. Black empowerment is blatant racial discrimination - even worse than under the apartheid government. Rectifying the injustices of the past was the 'hobby horse' selected. The ANC is now turning out to be...

Q: What is FF+ doing currently to achieve independence or autonomy for Afrikaners? A: Firstly, we are building the party in terms of organisation and members. The party is slowly becoming the only party in the country, and the world, who speaks on behalf of all the Afrikaners in the world. Our experience has shown that the present government reacts to pressure, and only the strong can exert pressure. We, therefore, participate in every municipal election where we have support, to enable our supporters to cast their votes in our favour. We have seen a steady indicator of growing support....

JOHANNESBURG — Even the heads of state who were its members called the old Organization for African Unity a dictators' club, one reason why it was replaced three years ago by a new African Union that was modeled, in name and purpose, on Europe's own union. The old O.A.U. fulminated about colonialism and liberation, but was often silent on human rights and the consent of the governed. The new group, bowing to a democratic breeze blowing from Mali to Mauritius, stood for the premise that the rule of law is in, and despotism out. Take it from Nigeria's president, Olusegun...

Zanu-PF was last night on course to win a two-thirds majority in Zimbabwe’s parliamentary election, but the fraudulent nature of its victory is no guarantee of stability. As the results emerged yesterday , both the head of the opposition and the leading Roman Catholic prelate hinted at mass protests. Morgan Tsvangirai of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said Robert Mugabe’s government had once again stolen the people’s votes and that this time his party was not going to pursue its grievances through the courts. He did not elaborate on what it was planning to do instead, but implied that...

JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA - For years, South African President Thabo Mbeki's approach on the growing autocracy in Zimbabwe has been to use "quiet diplomacy" - supporting President Robert Mugabe in public, cajoling him in private. This used to satisfy the United States. But that's begun to change. President Bush is newly set on "ending tyranny in our world"; his team calls Zimbabwe one of six "outposts of tyranny." Mr. Bush's ambassador to South Africa, Jendayi Frazer, hinted in a speech last month that Zimbabwe's crisis threatens US support for the region. If African organizations are "not seen to act forcefully...

PRESIDENT Thabo Mbeki said yesterday the seizure of land would not be necessary if white commercial farmers remained committed to land reform and redistribution. Mbeki, speaking at an imbizo with black farmers at Calvinia in Northern Cape, was replying to a complaint from emerging farmers that it was difficult to access agricultural land. They called on him to seize land to meet their needs. Mbeki’s comments come days after South African Communist Party general secretary Blade Nzimande told a black farmers’ summit it would take another 100 years for government to transfer 30% of commercial agricultural land to blacks. Nzimande...

President Bush has issued a statement on "Ten Years of Democracy in South Africa," conveniently ignoring the fact that South African President Thabo Mbeki is a Marxist who has surrounded himself with followers of radical Islam. The other curious omission is that while the president complimented "South Africa's commitment to progress at home and around the world," evidence is emerging that South Africa has played a role in nuclear weapons proliferation, including to Iran. The evidence is contained in a hot new book, Iran's Nuclear Option: Tehran's Quest for the Atom Bomb, by journalist Al Venter. Some people forget that...

French President J.Chirac’s remarks on President T. Mbeki’s peace efforts in Ivory Coast have unleashed a political and diplomatic tsunami in Africa and in the Diaspora. During a state visit to Senegal in February 2005, the French Head of State said: ”West Africa is West Africa. It has its own characteristics. You have to know it well.”Pr Shadrack described the French President’s comments as representative of a “typical racist mentality of a former colonizer” French President Jacques Chirac’s remarks on President Thabo Mbeki’s peace efforts in Ivory Coast have unleashed a political and diplomatic tsunami in Africa and in the...

A South African spy captured by Zimbabwean counter intelligence is alleged to have been severely tortured before agreeing to co-operate with local officials, the Institute for Security Studies said in Pretoria today. The spy recently was nabbed by Zimbabwean Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) operatives at Victoria Falls and under questioning, revealed the names of his collaborators within the governing Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (Zanu(PF)). Chris Maroleng, an analyst, said the spy would not have naturally agreed to work with the Zimbabweans as they had alleged and therefore must have reached his "pain threshold". "The Zimbabwean CIO are renowned...

London - President Thabo Mbeki criticised the United States for calling Zimbabwe an "outpost of tyranny" saying, in an interview published on Tuesday, that it went against Washington's efforts to promote democracy worldwide. The comment attacked by Mbeki was made by US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, who listed six "outposts of tyranny" last month; Zimbabwe, Belarus, Cuba, Iran, Myanmar and North Korea. "It's an exaggeration and whatever (the US) government wants to do with that list of six countries, or however many, it's really somewhat discredited," Mbeki told the Financial Times. South Africa has served as an important mediator...

Chirac's Mbeki Barb Baffles Foreign Affairs Business Day (Johannesburg) NEWS February 4, 2005 Posted to the web February 4, 2005 By Hopewell Radebe Johannesburg French President Jacques Chirac's criticism of President Thabo Mbeki's peace efforts in west Africa has unleashed a storm, as the foreign affairs department urgently sought clarity on his comments. Chirac's statement in Dakar, Senegal, in which he said Mbeki failed to understand the "psychology and soul" of west Africa, has also set off a diplomatic row. Chirac also claimed Mbeki had not achieved much in the region. Mbeki is the African Union-appointed mediator in the conflict...

Ten years after De Klerk’s unconditional surrender to the ANC clique, Mbeki and his gang are preparing for their second revolution, the “true revolution”. As the ANC and its ally, the SA Communist Party, constantly refer to it, 1994 was merely the “national democratic revolution” that delivered power to the “vanguard of the masses.” Thus far Red October – the SACP has recently launched a campaign by that name – has not occurred. Alternatively known as the “socialist revolution”, this second one will be the inevitable result of the first. Obviously South Africa is no model for Marxist dogma, since...

PRETORIA (AFP) - The African Union is ready to help restore stability and pave the way to elections in Haiti, "an African country outside Africa", AU Commission chairman Alpha Oumar Konare said. Speaking after a meeting with South African President Thabo Mbeki and deposed Haitian leader Jean Bertrand Aristide in Pretoria, Konare said he was wrapping up talks to see what role the 53-member body could play in troubled Haiti. "Haiti is an African country outside of Africa," said Konare who visited the Caribbean nation last month. "The AU wants to help create conditions in which a new government can...