The treatment of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe at the Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit has shown that there is no real political will to hold the Zimbabwean leadership accountable for their actions, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Friday.
DA spokesperson on foreign affairs Tony Leon said the way SADC delegates had received the Zimbabwean president was evidence of an unwillingness to improve the political situation in that country.
”The Zimbabwean President was treated to a hero’s welcome in Zambia, and the SADC executive secretary, Tomaz Salamao, blamed much of the economic woes in Zimbabwe on sanctions,” he said in a statement.
The ”cosy attitude” displayed by SADC heads of state towards Mugabe, Leon said, was a further indication that the South African government’s approach to the Zimbabwean crisis was unhelpful and inappropriate.
”Zanu-PF’s attitude and tactics will not be changed by quiet diplomacy or a weak stance by our government,” he said.
Leon said statements made by Zimbabwe’s Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa at the opening of the summit were evidence of the contempt Zanu-PF had for mediation talks spearheaded by Mbeki.
”How many more futile attempts to coax Zanu-PF to behave in a responsible manner will it take before President Mbeki agrees to take a stronger, more critical stance on the matter?” asked Leon.
Chinamasa is on record as saying: ”There can be no justification to make us [engage in] dialogue. Political reform is not necessary in my country because we are a democracy like any other democracy in the world.” — Sapa