President Thabo Mbeki said on Sunday he could not express himself as African Union president on the situation in Zimbabwe because the AU had not taken a position on that yet.
”You may well ask why it hasn’t happened, but it hasn’t,” he told a conference of editors from Africa, held in Midrand.
Mbeki was responding to a question by a representative from the privately-owned Zimbabwean paper Daily News, on why he could not as AU president express himself more forcefully towards his Zimbabwean counterpart, ”put your foot down”, to tell him that what was happening there was wrong.
If he did this, other leaders would follow suit, the journalist said.
Mbeki said the Southern African Development Community (SADC) was dealing with the situation, including the issue of press freedom and various pieces of legislation related to press, general and political freedoms.
SADC representatives recently received copies of proposed amendments to Zimbabwean laws tabled in parliament.
”I am quite sure the region will look at the amendments to see if they address the concerns,” the president said.
”I am quite sure SADC will continue its engagement with Zimbabwe to ensure the various matters are addressed.”
Those included the reported assaults of people during and after the recent general strike, he said. – Sapa