Mbeki is a joke....

Imbeki looks like a drug addict.

How can Mbeki say all that?

President Mbeki has done everything, short of invading Zimbabwe. It is a pity that Mugabe never took him seriously, but he has the best intentions for Zimbabwe.

It is unfortunately that with the collapse of the election rerun in Zimbabwe, President Mbeki takes all the blame! It is very disappointing the way Mbeki was treated by President Mugabe. What a way to send a man of his calibre into retirement in disagrace! This must be one of the most humiliating experience for President Mbeki! Give Mbeki a break, it is not all his faulty, he tried. The Challenge is for Zimbabweans to face their own problems head on! Please, stop the blame game on Mbeki.

President Mbeki has been at the forefront for creating a forward looking and active SADC community. He has emphasized on economics and empowerment for Blacks in SA, than Mandela or anybody else.

Phiri - with the greatest respect, I cannot agree with you that President Mbeki 'has done everything, short of invading Zimbabwe.'

Just have a look at this latest statement; when asked for his opinion as to whether or not the run-off election should be postponed, he does not even have the intestinal fortitude to express an opinion, one way or another. Instead he gets out of the question by blandly stating that this is a question for the Zimbabwean people. How embarrassing it must be for the South African government that the Secretary General of The United Nations has a very clear opinion on that matter. How embarrassing it must be that the Security Council, with the involvement and support of China and Russia, have overnight passed a resolution clearly laying the blame for the aborted run-off at the feet of Robert Mugabe. That is far, far more than Mbeki has been prepared to say.

In Zimbabwe, Thabo Mbeki has had ample opportunity and good cause to show the world at large that his vision of a New Africa is real. He has conspicuously failed to do so. Instead, it has been left to the relatively 'minor' Heads of State to show their displeasure and concern with the regime in Harare. They will not forget this lack of leadership,and they especially will not forget that Mbeki declined to return the phone calls from the reigning SADC Chairman.

The end result is that both Mugabe and Mbeki have been diminished in the eyes of millions of Africans.

My brother! Please allow me to call you brother....Believe it or not President Mbeki is doing his best. He is a pan-african and he has the best of Zims at heart. Why do you not tell us exactly what you have in mind? What do you want him to do precisely? Do you mean he should send his army to do the waste for the west? To waste Zims? No thinking african talks WAR WAR WAR. What are the possible scenarios of the region after such a war. ... . the destruction of towns, bridges and dams eg over the zambebzi or Kafue or Manyami (Hunyani) rivers, millions of Zimbabweans settled in Zambia in the past 60years uprooted and the same for millions of Zambians in Zimbabwe... and the suffering of half-half people like me and you. The problem for Europe is to make an EXAMPLE of Zimbabwe to ensure no African would ever dare take steps such as ZANU-pf has done, namely to dare think that "independence" is something more than being given a NEW FLAG designed by you- know-who and a NEW ANTHEM and a NEW STADIUM. Mwanawasa should know all this. The question is why has he decided to be worse than Tshombe? Lets have the Central African Federation again, with Mozambque included, and l, for one, would vote for any one called BANDA or KAPWEPWE.

Akapfunde1 - by all means you can call me 'my brother' - we are all brothers with hopefully the best interests of all Zimbabweans at heart.

It appears that I am not the only one to think that Mbeki's efforts have been pitiful. Apart from the UN Secretary General, the UN Security Council, the Chairman of SADC, and the President of the ANC it now appears that SADC itself is prepared to condemn Mugabe for his greed and brutality. Conspicuously though, Mbeki has not and has now become marginalised.

It would not take hostile military intervention to close down this brutal regime, and I am not aware of any Western governments who are advocating such a thing.

If you recall your history of the Second Chimurenga in an objective and factual manner, you will remember that the antagonists had fought themselves to a standstill. The Rhodesian Security Forces were unable to wind back the infiltratrion of the countryside by the forces on Zanla and Zipra, whilst at the same time Zanla and Zipra were unable to defeat the Rhodesians militarily and take control of the urban areas.In this situation, whilst the Frontline States were exhausted by the on-going war and were keenly looking for an end to the problem, it was left to the Americans to bring pressure to bear on South Africa, without whose support Rhodesia could not hope to survive. Once South Africa advised Smith that he no longer had their support, and the Frontline States advised Mugabe to negotiate or lose their support the stalemate was broken and the negotiations at Lancaster House followed.

Zimbabwe today is no less dependent on South Africa than Rhodesia was 30 years ago. South Africa has the economic and diplomatic leverage to swiftly bring Mugabe to his senses; there is no need to resort to hostile military intervention. Just let the lights go out, the pumps run dry and close the borders and then you will see proper meaningful negotiations quickly follow.