South African President Thabo Mbeki criticised the United States for calling Zimbabwe an ”outpost of tyranny” saying, in an interview published on Tuesday, that it went against Washington’s efforts to promote democracy worldwide.
The comment was made by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who listed six ”outposts of tyranny” last month; Zimbabwe, Belarus, Cuba, Iran, Myanmar and North Korea.
”It’s an exaggeration and whatever [the US] government wants to do with that list of six countries, or however many, it’s really somewhat discredited,” Mbeki told The Financial Times.
South Africa has served as an important mediator with its troubled neighbour, trying to encourage reforms through a controversial ”quiet diplomacy” that avoids overt criticism of human rights abuse, media clampdowns and harassment of the political opposition in the country.
If South Africa were ”to shout, they would shout back at us, and that would be the end of the story,” he said.
”I’m actually the only head of government that I know anywhere in the world who has actually gone to Zimbabwe and spoken publicly, very critically, of the things they’re doing.”
Mbeki characterised his relations with Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe as ”very good”, and repeated his wish to see a ”free and fair” vote in parliamentary elections being held there next month.
Meanwhile, a South Africa foreign minister said on Monday he wanted election observers invited by Zimbabwe to monitor next month’s key parliamentary vote there as soon as possible.
”The quicker the various observer missions go in now, the better they will be able to help contribute to making sure that the guidelines are implemented,” said Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad in Pretoria.
”We still have 40 days or more to ensure that we can make a contribution, with all Zimbabweans, to ensure that the climate is there for free and fair elections to take place,” he said.
Zimbabwe has invited 32 observer missions for the March 31 ballot, which will be closely watched as a test of Harare’s commitment to hold free and fair polls after elections in 2000 and 2002 which were marred by allegations of violence and fraud.
Twenty-three of the teams are from African nations, five are from Asia, three from the Americas and the Russia Federation is the only nation from Europe to be invited by the government of President Mugabe, who has ruled the southern African state for nearly 25 years.
The African Union (AU), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa), the Non-Aligned Movement and the United Nations are among the regional and international organisations to which invitations have been extended.
South Africa’s African National Congress (ANC), Tanzania’s Chama Chama Pinduzi and Mozambique’s Frelimo are some of the former liberation movements turned governing parties coming to witness the closely watched polls.
Mugabe did not allow an observer mission from the European Union for the 2002 presidential election which was slammed as fraudulent and violence-marred by the opposition and observers from the Commonwealth.
EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on Monday agreed to extend sanctions, including an arms embargo, against Zimbabwe for another year.
However, the ministers are to review the decision — which marks the fourth year in a row of EU sanctions against Harare ‒ after the legislative elections.
The measures consist of an arms embargo as well as a travel ban and freeze on funds of people suspected of having committed human rights violations in the country. – Sapa-AFP