A public rebuke of President Robert Mugabe might not be enough to save Zimbabwe, but it could allow South Africa to salvage some national pride, Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille said in a statement on Thursday.
”The time has come for President [Thabo] Mbeki to stop attacking governments and individuals who express concern at the developments in Zimbabwe and turn his attention towards the real villains,” she said.
Zille was reacting to Mbeki’s dismissal of criticism of his stance on Zimbabwe in opening debate in the National Assembly on the presidency’s budget vote.
Mbeki said there were ”some farther afield from us who choose to describe us as a so-called rogue democracy … because we refuse to serve as their subservient klipgooiers [stone throwers] against especially President Robert Mugabe.
”Given all this, government … will continue to engage the Zimbabweans to convey to them our views and feelings about any matter we believe is fundamentally or otherwise at variance with processes that must respect the will of the people,” he said.
”It seems to me perfectly obvious that one of our principal tasks in this regard is to assist the people of Zimbabwe to find one another with regard to the resolution of the immense problems they face.”
‘Weak defence’
Zille said Mbeki’s ”weak defence” of his stance further underscored the need for him to step down as the mediator between the ruling Zanu-PF and its opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
”It is deeply ironic that within hours of Mbeki’s defence of quiet diplomacy, [MDC leader] Morgan Tsvangirai was detained by the Zimbabwean security police for the third time in a week,” she said.
Tsvangirai was released by police on Thursday after being detained for two hours.
Said Zille: ”The president says that South Africa will continue to insist that the people of Zimbabwe be allowed to freely choose their leaders and government, but he has done nothing to try to secure such conditions in the face of rampant intimidation of the MDC.
”As a result, the situation there has deteriorated to the point that a free and fair presidential run-off in two weeks time is impossible.”
MDC official arrested
Meanwhile, Zimbabwean police arrested a top MDC official shortly after he flew home from South Africa on Thursday.
Police had sought Biti, the party’s number three, for announcing results of the March 29 first round prematurely.
”We are charging him with treason and communicating statements prejudicial to the state. For the treason charge he faces the death penalty or life in prison. He is in police custody and we are still investigating the matter,” police spokesperson Wayne Bvudzijena said.
”This is just a deliberate attempt to delay us, it is just harassment,” Tsvangirai’s spokesperson George Sibotshiwe said.
The MDC said Tsvangirai resumed his run-off campaign after he was released.
Tsvangirai defeated Mugabe in a March 29 election but failed to win the absolute majority needed to avoid a second ballot.
Mugabe’s support has been eroded by the economic collapse of the once prosperous country he has ruled since independence from Britain in 1980. – Sapa, Reuters