SW Radio Africa (London)
Lance Guma
17 November 2008
Botswana has said it will not recognise Mugabe's government if the deadlock over a power sharing deal is not resolved within the next 6 months.
Soon after Mugabe's sham one-man presidential election in June, Botswana took a firm position on the matter, declining to recognise his violent re-election following Tsvangirai's withdrawal. A September power sharing accord signed between ZANU PF and the MDC however led to a brief relaxation of Botswana's tough stance.
But last Friday Botswana's Mmegi newspaper reported Foreign Affairs Minister Phandu Skelemani telling Parliament that his country will "go back to square one" if ZANU-PF and the MDC fail to reach a deal in the next six months. MP's in Botswana's parliament also criticized SADC after last Sunday's timid approach to the crisis. Several MP's argued the regional grouping should have taken a firmer stance and told Mugabe 'to his face that he is an embarrassment to the Southern African region.' They also suggested that SADC should invite international bodies such as the United Nations to intervene.
Last week Mugabe's regime were incensed by Botswana's call for fresh elections to break the deadlock. They accused Botswana of training MDC insurgents to destabilize the country. During a parliamentary briefing on the outcome of the SADC summit Skelemani said the allegations were made to divert attention from the real problems affecting Zimbabwe. He proceeded to describe Mugabe as 'ridiculous and absurd.' The more radical MP's in Botswana's parliament suggested the country cut diplomatic ties with Zimbabwe, with immediate effect.
Other regional leaders to express their frustration with Mugabe include the Prime Minister of Lesotho, Pakalitha Mosisili. He revealed to journalists last week; 'I personally told President Robert Mugabe that you don't have the majority, and he said I do. And I said you don't.'
Mosisili said the SADC grouping could not impose a solution on Zimbabwe and that the two rival parties had to resolve the deadlock internally. 'SADC is not a super government. It is just an association of sovereign countries and cannot impose directives in Zimbabwe because it is a sovereign country and we must respect that.'
A reader on one website commented that Mugabe was right in saying he had the majority. 'It depends which majority we are talking about. To me Mugabe has the majority of murderers, rapists, thieves, ancient politicians and all sorts of stupid characters in his ZANU PF party. But if he was talking about supporters and parliamentarians then he was joking.'
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Voices from Paris should be careful: Mugabe never claimed ownership of the peoples of Zimbabwe. Now, should one want to give him such a gruesome gift, Iwould guess that as a gentleman of exquisite taste, he'll turn it down as a vile assault on the dignity of humanity.
As for Botswana, this one baffles me: what is the cash value of Botswana holding its "recognition"? What happened to the doctrine of "non-interference"? Or, the doctrine, to be blunt about it, "mind your own business"?
Cheers.
Jallohlaw, people should be allowed to express their own feelings about Zimbabwe both negative and positive. As a Zimbabwean, I have no problems for our neighbours to say something about Zimbabwe when they see refugees streaming in their own country, cholera in Zimbabwe, blooded opposition members etc. Should they just mind their own business! I think not.
What Batswana are saying about us should motive us to do better! But what I see is scape goating our neighbours, accusing the west every day and the usual Mugabe propaganda. Change must come to Zimbabwe now.
In conformance with the prejudices of "modernity," please keep God out of this human all too human mano mano between the proven fighter, Cdr. MUGABE and the dude with the fastest legs in Africa enire, MT.
Cheers.
If all the Southern African leaders were united in not recognizing the Mugabe government a long time ago, then Mugabe would be out of power and Zimbabwe would be prospering by now and its people would not be starving.
But, except for Botswana, the other "leaders" do not care if their people starve, as long as they can also do a Mugabe and stay in power as long as possible, so that their own tiny self-gratifying little lives are satisfied with every pleasure.
If all the Southern African leaders were united in not recognizing the Mugabe government a long time ago, then Mugabe would be out of power and Zimbabwe would be prospering by now and its people would not be starving.
But, except for Botswana, the other "leaders" do not care if their people starve, as long as they can also do a Mugabe and stay in power as long as possible, so that their own tiny self-gratifying little lives are satisfied with their grubby little pleasures.
Botswana are the only ones taking a stand for what is right. the rest of Southern Africa need to follow their lead otherwise they are just condemning the good people of Zimbabwe to more beatings and poverty. i think all the leaders in the area know that he must go they just dont want to be the one to stand up and say it. Credit to Botswana for showing strength in the face of the Evil Mugarbage.
Please watch your lexicon. You can express your disdain for the fighter Mugabe without putting him in the garabage can. That is called verbal assault, and it is, under these circumstances, undue.
I reiterate: Botswana has no business in the business of Zimbabwe; after all, who does not know how dearly the Bots love the West? Ergo: Mugabe must be evil.
In my opinion, the real evil incarnate is the obscurantist MT; and is it any surprise that he is the center of theoretic0-practical obscurantism, Paris, to CONSTITUTE a cabinet, someone suggested?
Imagine the horror: the constitution of a cabinet in the camp of those who said nothing when Smith was doing it to Mugabe and his fighters in the "Bush," and to the innocent Zimbos.
I personally find MT to be an inept politician, sired in the empty, contentless rhetoric of what policy analysts call " issue rhetoric," rumping IN the oceans of tsumanis of equivocal and affective lexemes: "capitalism," "rule of the people," bla, bla, bla.
Allez, then to Paris, and stay put there, for God's sake.
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Gday Gents I personnaly hve a strong flings about Zimbbwe's attitudes even outside country. This is reflecting the temperature inside Zimbabwe. Mugabe mast go, he is not the owner of the country besides God.. there is no other person to claim that he owns people/ what a shame. ko kunhara mudhara nhaii..