No ‘rooftop diplomacy’ for SA

Although Zimbabwe is undergoing turbulent times not seen since the bloody 2002 presidential elections, South Africa and other regional states have responded in muted tones at a time when Australia is contemplating evacuating about 700 of its citizens from the strife-torn country.

In response to the violent crackdown last weekend, the South African government has reiterated that it will not engage in ‘rooftop diplomacy” when it comes to dealing with the political crisis in Zimbabwe.

Spokesperson for the Foreign Affairs Department, Ronnie Mamoepa, said: ‘The fact that we do not publicly condemn the situation does not mean we are not making a difference in Zimbabwe —

‘The primary thrust of our approach is that Zanu-PF and the MDC [opposition Movement for Democratic Change] must dialogue so that they can find a solution to the problems besetting that country.”

Mamoepa said the so-called quiet diplomacy on Zimbabwe was no different from the approach South Africa took in resolving conflicts in other troubled parts of the continent.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Southern African Development Community told the Mail & Guardian that the regional body ‘had no position at the moment” on what is going on in Zimbabwe.

The African Union has reacted more forcefully, but only when prompted to do so.

AU chairperson and Ghanaian President John Kufour told a gathering at the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London that the AU was ‘very uncomfortable — the situation in [Zimbabwe] is very embarrassing”.

Responding to a question after he delivered a speech in which he made no reference to Zimbabwe, Kufour said that several African presidents had tried to intervene but had been met by a stubborn Robert Mugabe who has dug in on his positions and is refusing to budge.

‘I know personally that presidents like [President Thabo] Mbeki tried desperately to exercise some influence for the better,” he said.

Mamoepa did say that behind the scenes the ANC and members of its ruling alliance had started putting more pressure on Zanu-PF to end the brutal torture of members of the political opposition.

Meanwhile, another senior ANC leader said: ‘We have realised that a stalemate in Zimbabwe does not advance the cause of the people of that country and will have a negative effect on the advances we make as a country.”

Mamoepa added that it was in the interest of the nation to end the political and economic meltdown in Zimbabwe as this had an adverse effect on the performance of the South African economy.

‘For us, unlike those who are shouting from roof tops, it is not a theory but a reality that is already unfolding, that an economic meltdown in Zimbabwe will affect the South Africa economy.

‘We are concerned about the number of Zimbabweans flooding into South Africa as a result of the political and economic meltdown back home.”

He said those who were accusing the South African government of not doing enough to heal the rifts in Zimbabwe were merely calling on the government to play into the hands of populists.

The South African government’s approach, the same approach used by the ANC to achieve democracy in the Nineties, was putting more emphasis on providing conditions for talks and paving a way for democracy to take root in Zimbabwe.

‘The same way in which we ended apartheid and brought an end to violence and brutality inflicted by surrogates of the apartheid government, the advent of democracy in Zimbabwe will bring an end to detention, torture and brutality — This is exporting our home-grown solution which is held internationally as a miracle in peaceful conflict resolution.”

Mamoepa rejected claims that the South African government was treating Zanu-PF and Mugabe with kid gloves while giving the MDC junior status at the negotiation table.

‘We continue to meet with both the MDC and Zanu-PF far away from the glare of the media — Our president is forever in touch with both party leaders —

‘He recently met President Mugabe in Ghana and our own director general was in Victoria Falls recently to prepare for an upcoming meeting of the foreign ministers of both countries.”

Mamoepa acknowledged that South Africa’s supply of electricity helps to keep the Mugabe regime alive, but said the imposition of sanctions on the Mugabe government would not advance the plight of Zimbabweans.

‘Not even the MDC has called or supported calls for sanctions or the cutting of power to Zimbabwe — To whose benefit would we then be acting if we were to do so?”

Danie Biers, spokesperson for the United States embassy in Pretoria, said: ‘We reiterate our strong condemnation of the disgraceful abuse that the detainees suffered at the hands of the police and we call on the government to investigate and prosecute those responsible for this outrage.”

Biers said the Americans were in constant contact with the South Africans to work out a solution to the Zimbabwean crisis.

‘We have ongoing discussions with the South Africans on a wide range of issues, including Zimbabwe.”