South Africa's shame

Mbeki is sticking with Mugabe right to the end, it seems:

Hopes that Zimbabwe's neighbours would act to end its deepening crisis were dashed this morning when an all-night summit ended with a statement failing to acknowledge an emergency and calling only for the immediate release of election results.

Even that call looked toothless as Zimbabwe announced there would be a recount of results in 23 constituencies, 22 of them at the demand of Robert Mugabe's ruling Zanu PF party.

Leaders of the 14-nation Southern African Development Community talked long through the night in the Zambian capital, Lusaka, to try and reach agreement on what they could do about the election impasse in Zimbabwe.

Mr. Mugabe's sudden eleventh-hour withdrawal from the summit had raised hopes among the contingent from the opposition Movement for Democratic Change that their voices would be better heard in his absence.

But the surprise arrival in Harare of Thabo Mbeki, the South African president, just hours before the summit, meant that Mr. Mugabe's case was well heard before talks in Lusaka began.

Western diplomats, who were instrumental in setting up the summit, were appalled to hear Mr. Mbeki announced there was "no crisis in Zimbabwe" after his meeting with Mr. Mugabe – a sentiment later echoed by Zambia, previously the strongest Mugabe critic in the region.

When the history of early-21st-century Africa is written, the continent's other rulers won't come off much better than the man who destroyed Zimbabwe.

Damian P.

Posted by damian at April 13, 2008 10:39 AM