With all due respect, Mr President, allow me to define crisis for you
So, clever Mr Mbeki has half succeeded in getting a lot of people, including the heads of state who attended the SADC emergency summit to actually begin to doubt whether there is a crisis in Zimbabwe. His immortal words “There is no crisis in Zimbabwe,” really left a lot of minds boggled.
What do you call a 37 year life-expectancy, an inflation rate over 165 000%, 85% unemployment, an education system gone to the dogs, intermittent to no supply of water and electricity, supermarket shelves that are literally empty and hospitals that can only prescribe paracetamol for all ailments? Moreover, in case you haven’t noticed Mr Mbeki, there are at least over 3 million Zimbabweans living as asylum seekers in your country. Is that not a crisis? Will that not somehow degenerate into a crisis?
Now look what you’ve done, even more sensible people are actually finding it hard not to believe a respectable man like yourself, yet you really misrepresented the situation going down here. This wait and see policy smacks of cruelty. How badly do you want the situation to degenerate before something can be done? How many times has SADC told itself it has learnt lessons from disasters of old like the Rwanda genocide or most recently, the Kenya political turmoil that saw many lives needlessly destroyed? Next, SADC is going to learn from Zimbabwe too, but only after deaths occur? It is sad to note that regional leaders cant seem to realize that if the situation in Zimbabwe fails to stabilize, it affects the whole region through the creation of economic and political refugees.
How will you live with yourself, with innocent people’s blood on your hands? I can understand if there really isn’t much you can do, but the least you can do is discard that distressing hear-no-evil, see-no-evil speak-no-evil attitude and probably keep quiet rather than calling a stain no stain.
Or you could at least encourage the ZEC to just tell us the presidential result already. It’s now so apparent your friend is going nowhere, so please, help make it official. However, it’s a consolation to know South Africans will not have such a hard time getting rid of their president.
Thursday, April 17th 2008 at 12:12 am
As a Zimbabwean, it pains me to watch the disgraceful and unconscionable support that Mbeki continues to give the most darkly satanic force on the planet, Rigger Mugabe. I cannot believe the world community has accepted Mbeki as a so-called mediator in Zimbabwe’s – Mbeki has personally endorsed every election that Mugabe has run and lost (please read “stolen”)since 2000 (4 in all) and by extension endorsed the beatings, maimings, killings, theft and plunder of my country. I dont’ know who I HATE more- Mbeki or Mugabe- maybe they are the same person
Thursday, April 17th 2008 at 8:38 am
I’m beginning to think that the first casualty of democracy (real or rigged) in Zimbabwe might not be Mugabe, but Thabo Mbeki. He is being treated with growing incredulity here in RSA. But, more importantly, Jacob Zuma is starting to pick up credibility as an alternative President of the Republic. See http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=3045&art_id=nw20080416191422226C662205
Let’s see – I’m betting JZ’s next move is southern African shuttle diplomacy of his own. He’s already met Morgan. He might go as far as meeting Gordon Brown, but that would be a naked declaration of intent.
What is probably holding poor JZ back is the eventual question that he must face – what, exactly, do democratic Zimbabweans expect South Africa to do? Thabo Mbeki is right about one thing – it’s your country, and in the end getting rid of your dictator must be your solution. Every thinking South African agrees that we are not doing enough to help you. But, if we were to offer genuine, unalloyed and uncompromised help, such as JZ might likely offer, then what would you want from us?
Please help JZ make a success of this. He – and we, and you – needs guidance.
Thursday, April 17th 2008 at 1:21 pm
Well, I saw President Thabo Mbeki gives a press conference at the UN. When aked about “…there’s no crisis in Zimbabwe…” statement he replied that what he was refering to was the “electioneering” and went on further to admit that indeed there is a crisis in Zim. He also commented on his “Quite Diplomacy”; he said whatever he had to say about Zim, he was constrained by his role as a mediator and can only do to the parties involved and show partisan and/or condemn anyone.
Regardless. I wonder how long the Zim people will tolerate this situation. I myself am begining to doubt if there is infact a crisis Zim. I do not see it from the Zimbabweans. What is clear right now is that there is a crisis with food prices the world over, the olympics have been threatened by China’s human rights question regarding Tibat, the price of crude oil threatens the world economy, I have to contend with inteminent electricity supply here in SA. Zim? I think it’s all good over there.