SW Radio Africa (London)
Alex Bell
20 June 2008
analysis
With just a week to go until the crucial run off election on June 27, Robert Mugabe, whose violent bid to remain in power has left more than 80 people dead, now finds himself with few remaining allies.
SADC leaders have been at the centre of global criticism for their deafening silence on the Zimbabwean crisis. But in the past few weeks, the number of leaders condemning Mugabe and his ZANU PF party's actions has steadily increased.
In a significant move, Kenya's Prime Minister Raila Odinga called on the international community to demand that Mugabe step down from power, calling the run off vote a "sham". He said there was no chance of a free and fair election and cited the ongoing beatings, arrests and the repeated detention of MDC members.
Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua also condemned Mugabe for disregarding the rule of the law and blasted him for his brutal treatment of the opposition and his critics. He said that what is happening in Zimbabwe "is not in conformity with the rule of the law. I do not subscribe to this."
Rwandan President Paul Kagame joined these former allies and heaped scorn on Mugabe for vowing not to surrender power if beaten. In a news conference in Kigali, Kagame blamed the failure by African leaders to address the problems in Zimbabwe and added: "The whole thing is a joke. I am saying this because of what is obviously a serious problem in Zimbabwe."
In the strongest regional condemnation yet of pre-poll violence perpetrated by the regime, the Tanzanian Foreign Minister Bernard Membe also came forward and severed ties with Mugabe, saying the run off is unlikely to be free or fair. This comment came after observer teams witnessed the cold bloodied murder of two MDC activists. He said: "Of course, it scared most of these observers to the extent that they had to pose the question of why are we here then, and what are we doing?" Membe further said that President Jakaya Kikwete was not supporting some tactics used by the Zimbabwe government, despite good historical ties between the two countries. He said: "Tanzania and Zimbabwe have historical good relations, we supported them when implementing land reforms but we are saddened by the current events in the country ... and do not support it".
Botswana's new president Ian Seretse Khama has also been critical of the Mugabe regime. Khama recently summoned the Zimbabwean Ambassador in Gaborone to protest the mounting violence and the arrests of opposition leaders Morgan Tsvangirai and Tendai Biti.
The condemnation has finally reached global proportions, with world leaders joining together to add their scorn to the growing number of anti - Mugabe protestors. UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the Zimbabwean government is a "cabal of criminals" that threatened to make of mockery of the run off poll. He also declared that Mugabe should not be allowed to steal the election.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon has also expressed his "profound alarm" at the situation and said "Should these conditions continue to prevail, the legitimacy of the election outcomes would be in question". At the same time, US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice said: "It is time for the leaders of Africa to say to President Mugabe that the people of Zimbabwe deserve a free and fair election, that you cannot intimidate opponents, you cannot put opponents in jail".
Rice said she hoped to "bring some international attention" to Zimbabwe when she and her counterpart from Burkina Faso co-chaired "roundtable" talks on Thursday at the UN Security Council, a meeting that her South African counterpart, not surprisingly, failed to attend.
At this point, as Mugabe becomes further isolated from his African neighbours, it seems South Africa in the form of its government and President Thabo Mbeki, are the single remaining allies in Mugabe's circle. Mbeki has only recently spoken out about the violence in Zimbabwe, but failed to attribute its cause to his friend, Mugabe. He has also come under increasing pressure to step down as appointed mediator in the crisis, a role that has seen him again use his approach of "quiet diplomacy" to solve a crisis that needs loud and immediate action.
Read comments. Write your own.
Copyright © 2008 SW Radio Africa. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
Pathetic....How does he think he is going to rule the country after he steals it like this? ZANU Pf and its former supportershave had their party highjacked by this madness!!
Thugs in the name of leaders. Many African leaders have been silent so far on Zimbabwe because they are equally guilty of the abuse of incumbency to frustrate the opposition from power. How dare they try to remove the mole in Mugabe's eyes whiles their eyes are full of mountains? Shame on every leader in Africa. Because of them Africa has become a beggar country(continent), as if by design to steal the wealth for themselves.
If Mugabe and thugs want a peaceful and prosperous nation, they should step aside. Under Mugabe things are now worse for Zimbabweans. Admit he did… [Read Full Text]
Who cares what u have or don't have hope for? Sanctions by the west is why the country is in the state it is now. Everybody knows this but pretend otherwise. May u all burn in hell!
Could you please educate me on these sanctions. I know that Mugabe and his ministers cannot fly to Europe or the US to do their shopping, nor can they deposit their money in either place, nor can they buy guns from them either; but I'm shocked to think that there could be any other sort of sanction that would effect the poor people of Zimbabwe. Surely there would be some international discussion of this if it was true. I've heard none so far and can find none when I do a google search for "Zimbabwe Sanctions." Why not?
The "paid sell outs" are increasing...that is if you are of the boneheaded mentality of the usual mugabe cheerleaders on here. Virutally the whole of africa is now against this horrid murderer. One wonders what he is making of it now..from respected liberation leader to despised murdering disrespected little thug!!!!