A defiant Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe told critics of his government to ”go hang” themselves on Thursday in his first response to the arrest and assault of opposition chief Morgan Tsvangirai.
After talks with Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, who had gone to Harare in a bid to mediate between Mugabe and the opposition, the veteran leader accused Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) of instigating violence.
Images of a badly beaten Tsvangirai and his supporters have triggered worldwide condemnation, particularly from Mugabe’s arch-foes in London and Washington, but Mugabe showed no signs of softening his stance.
”When they criticise the government when it tries to prevent violence and punish perpetrators of that violence, we take the position that they can go hang,” said Mugabe at a joint press conference with Kikwete.
”Here are groups of people [the MDC] who went out of their way to effect acts of violence. We hear no criticism to this campaign from Western governments. This is the West that has always supported the opposition elsewhere, again showing its true colours. We don’t accept their criticism.”
Mugabe also acidly told Western governments that while they should keep their nose out of Zimbabwe’s affairs, he would deign to accept their charity in a country where more than 80% of the people are living in poverty.
”We have no objection to their giving charitable assistance to our community, but when they indulge in our politics, we differ with them,” he said.
Mediation
A Foreign Ministry official in Tanzania had said that Kikwete had gone to mediate between Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party and the MDC, citing the worldwide condemnation that was triggered by the apparent assaults on the opposition.
But the Tanzanian president, who has recently returned from Europe, gave few details about the talks with Mugabe. ”I came to brief the president on my visit to Europe and discussions that always come up on the situation in Zimbabwe,” he said. ”There are so many issues we discussed and we agreed on the way forward on a number of issues.”
Tanzania, along with Namibia and Lesotho, is charged with dealing with the Zimbabwe crisis within the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the 14-nation regional bloc promoting development and democracy in the region.
Reaction from SADC countries to events in Zimbabwe has been largely muted so far, although South Africa eased off its normal policy of ”quiet diplomacy” by calling on the government to respect the rights of political leaders.
Speaking earlier this week, United States ambassador to South Africa Eric Bost said he was ”disappointed we have not heard from many of the SADC countries speaking out and taking some action because the people of Zimbabwe are suffering”.
Announcing plans for a possible evacuation of its citizens from Zimbabwe, Australia’s Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, also took a swipe at the apparent lack of pressure on Harare from countries in the region. ”The situation in Zimbabwe is going from awful to catastrophic and I have to say there really has to be a much bigger effort from neighbouring countries.”
Ghana’s President John Kufuor, the current chairperson of the African Union, conceded on Wednesday in London that the 53-member bloc had been embarrassed, and fended off accusations that Africa is not doing enough to rein in Mugabe.
Tsvangirai, meanwhile, remained in hospital on Thursday but in brief comments to the media he expressed hope that he would soon be discharged as early as Friday. ”I can’t talk right now because the nurses won’t allow me, but maybe I will be out tomorrow [Friday],” he said, his face still badly swollen.
Tsvangirai has been told by doctors that he is out of danger and suffered no brain damage after being beaten by the security forces, his deputy said on Thursday.
”He is now out of danger; most probably he will come out tomorrow [Friday] if nothing comes up,” Thokozani Khupe, deputy president of the MDC, told reporters after seeing Tsvangirai in hospital.
Khupe said doctors who had conducted a scan on the 55-year-old Tsvangirai had found no signs of damage to his brain or scalp after his weekend arrest and subsequent assault.
‘Tepid’ response
Despite strident calls in and around the South African Parliament on Thursday, the South African government again stopped short of openly condemning the seemingly rising tide of violence and repression in Zimbabwe.
Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) MP Ben Skosana was one of several members to raise the issue in the National Assembly. In a member’s statement, he called on President Thabo Mbeki to ”put Zimbabwe on the agendas” of the African Union, the SADC and the Pan African Parliament.
In another member’s statement in the House, Freedom Front Plus leader Pieter Mulder said Mbeki has done much to address ”the negative and stereotypical views of corrupt and poor democracies in Africa” in the eyes of the world.
All this good work is being destroyed by Mugabe, and events in Zimbabwe are an embarrassment to Africa and South Africa, and should also be to Mbeki. Mugabe’s actions, as well as the abuse of power by his police, strengthen and confirm all the existing stereotypes about Africa and democracy.
South Africa cannot afford Mbeki, in these times, being involved in seeking a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian crisis in the Middle-East, but not saying a word about Zimbabwe and Mugabe’s offences, Mulder said.
IFP chief whip Koos van der Merwe called for a parliamentary debate on Zimbabwe. In a media statement on behalf of the IFP caucus, he said: ”We have requested an urgent debate on the deteriorating situation in Zimbabwe and its political, economic and social consequences for Zimbabwe, South Africa and the Southern African region.”
In yet another media statement, IFP leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi said the violent backlash against the domestic political opposition in Zimbabwe should be denounced immediately, decisively and irrevocably.
”If we, as South Africans, are to live up to our often declared respect for civil liberties and human rights at home and our noble ambition for an African renaissance elsewhere on the continent, we must be clear in our condemnation of these brutal acts and the suspension of the basic human right of free assembly,” he said.
Also on Thursday, the South African Institute of Race Relations added its voice to those condemning ”in the strongest possible terms” the assaults on opposition MPs and civil rights activists in Zimbabwe. In a statement, the institute expressed grave concern at the South African government’s ”tepid” response to reports of the latest abuses in Zimbabwe.
In failing clearly to condemn what is happening in Zimbabwe, the South African government risks squandering any ”moral capital” it has left, it said.
International sanctions
Meanwhile, new United Nations Deputy Secretary General Asha-Rose Migiro said on Thursday that international sanctions against regimes such as Zimbabwe should be carefully tailored in order not to hurt ordinary people.
”Sanctions have to be weighed carefully because of the experience we have had in the past where sanctions have had counter-productive effects against innocent citizens of a particular country,” she told reporters in response to a question on Zimbabwe.
The Tanzanian diplomat stressed the importance of standing by ”the principles of human rights, dignity and freedom of expression”.
Her comments came the day after the US State Department said that Washington was considering fresh sanctions against the Zimbabwean government following the arrests and beatings of opposition leaders by the Mugabe regime.
Last month, the European Union extended its sanctions against Zimbabwe until February 2008, including an arms embargo and a travel ban on Mugabe.
The EU slapped sanctions on the Zimbabwean leader and his coterie after the long-serving ruler won elections in 2002 that the opposition insists were rigged.
The travel ban and an assets freeze extend to anyone who has ”taken part in activities which seriously endangered democracy, respect for human rights and the rule of law in Zimbabwe”.
‘Subversive material’
African trade unions on Thursday joined a growing chorus of condemnation of Mugabe after the brutal crackdown on the opposition demonstration.
”The use of live ammunition against innocent and unarmed people is unacceptable given the current economic crisis and suffering Zimbabweans,” said the Nairobi-based African chapter of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU-Afro) in a letter sent to Mugabe released in a statement on Thursday.
”The general secretary denounced the ruthless attack on the opposition leader,” the statement said.
In addition, ICFTU-Afro poured scorn on Mugabe’s government for a Sunday raid on the offices of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions in search of alleged ”subversive material” and the beating up of staff.
”These attacks and harassment appear to continue with no let-up and have been going on for more than a decade. In other words, this is a systematic repression on the trade unions in Zimbabwe,” lamented Andrew Kailembo, ICFTU-Afro general secretary.
Meanwhile, it was reported on Thursday that twelve members of the MDC have been arrested in Zimbabwe’s second city of Bulawayo after holding a meeting in the city, the opposition party said on Thursday.
Party spokesperson Khumbulani Muzavazi said he expected the group to be brought to court on Friday although it was not known what charges they would face.
The Zimbabwean authorities have effectively outlawed opposition gatherings by demanding that they receive prior approval.– Sapa, AFP