allAfrica.com: Southern Africa: SADC Leaders Behave 'Like Cowards' (Page 1 of 3)

The CoD Majority under the leadership of Nora Schimming-Chase, MP, is "100,000"% (percent) behind the heroic and courageous people of Zimbabwe in their just and democratic struggle against a callous and calamitous dictator and the economic and political beneficiaries and stooges of his regime.

We greatly admire the free and patriotic citizens and business people, like Vekuui Rukoro, for standing up in support of the people of Zimbabwe in their darkest hour since independence in 1980, and for having the civil courage, mincing no words, and calling a spade a spade, in their unwavering condemnation of the atrocities of a brutal and illegitimate regime and its crooked political supporters, at home and abroad.

The CoD Majority, like all civilized and fair-minded and honest people around the globe, was utterly shocked in disbelief, shocked beyond our wildest imagination, to hear from the SADC Leaders at the Emergency Indaba in Lusaka that there was no "crisis" in Zimbabwe and that the delay in the announcement of the results of the Presidential Vote was legally procedural and that we should wait for the ruling of the Zimbabwe High Court (on Monday, April 15, 2008). This was typical political chicanery.

"SWAPO of Namibia (the South West Africa People's Organization) appears completely confused about the developments in Zimbabwe. Its position is in utter disarray.

Our President, Hifikepunye Lukas Pohamba, even went out of his way on arrival back home from Lusaka to try to appease Mugabe by saying that the Zimbabwe High Court would soon amicably resolve the elections issue, the controversial issue of the Presidential Vote, before there is any need for outside interference.

He said: "Immediately after the Court pronounces itself, the Electoral Commission will have to announce the results in accordance with the law."

This appears to be a misjudgement. What he predicted did not happen. The opposite - the perpetuation, the stalemate, the uncertainty, remained.

The disarray in SWAPO policy on Zimbabwe was also perpetuated by other events, namely:

a) Jerry Ekandjo, who once said in Sweden in 1991 that it would not be fair and necessary to blame the Whites or Apartheid for the lack of development progress in Namibia after 10-15 years of Independence, is reported in the local newspapers that we should not meddle in the Zimbabwe situation and should leave it to the people of Zimbabwe to resolve it.

b) Elijah Ngurare told us on the Talk of the nation to put all the blame for the mess in Zimbabwe on the British and Americans and the West generally and to support "our friends" in ZANU-PF.

c) The President is stone silent about the outcome of the trips to Zimbabwe by his Special Envoy, Dr Hage Godfried Geingob, and Foreign Minister Marco Hausiku.

The question now is: Where does Namibia stand on the situation in Zimbabwe today?

If the Namibian Constitution is the basis for our domestic and foreign policies, then President Pohamba, and SWAPO should be careful to preach democracy, the rule of law, transparency, accountability, unity and good governance at home while dancing tango with dictators abroad.

They can embarrass you at the wrong time and in an unexpected manner.

If the SWAPO Administration, not the so-called SWAPO-led Government, because we neither have a Coalition Government nor a Government of National Unity, but a SWAPO majority government, followed Article 96 of the Namibian constitution, on foreign relations, we would not be confused on Zimbabwe or find ourselves in foreign adventures like in the DRC or the civil war in Angola.

The relevant Article (96) says:

a) Adopts and maintains a policy of Non-alignment;

b) Promotes international co-operation, peace and security;

c) Creates and maintains just and mutually beneficial relations among nations;

d) Fosters respect for international law and treaty obligations;

e) Encourages the settlement of international disputes by peaceful means.

To ignore the yawning but tightening time-gap between the announcement of the Parliament and Local Government Elections and the missing Presidential Vote for more than three weeks after the elections and to declare 'No Crisis" in Zimbabwe in Lusaka and then to go back home, pressured by opposite views by your own party, and shift gear 180 degrees, calling for a "rapid release" of the Presidential Election result, smack of frightening political cowardice and a monumental degree of political opportunism by the majority of SADC leaders.

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