Links ~ 29 June 2008
Africa’s top security body discusses Zimbabwe crisis (AFP)
The 15-member African Union’s Peace and Security Council (PSC) held closed-door talks on the crisis in Zimbabwe on Sunday. The African Union (AU) summit is taking place at the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. There has been much disagreement amongst the 54 member states of the AU as to what course of action should be taken with regard to the political crisis in Zimbabwe. Mugabe, sworn in for another term, will be attending the AU summit. The outcome of the PSC meeting would in all probability determine the kind of reception Mugabe will receive on his arrival. In an apparent effort to appease regional leaders, Mugabe called for “serious dialogue” between the political parties in Zimbabwe and heaped praise on his staunch ally, South African President Thabo Mbeki.
China balks at US calls for Zimbabwe arms embargo (AFP)
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that it was time for strong international action to stop the political violence in Zimbabwe. Rice took part in discussions with her Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi in Beijing, China. The US is planning to introduce measures against Robert Mugabe at a UN Security Council meeting this week. Measures would include an arms embargo and a travel ban on Robert Mugabe. China has however proved to be reluctant in lending support to the suggested measures. Jiechi would only say that, “The most pressing task now is to stabilise the situation in Zimbabwe,” said Yang, the Chinese foreign minister.
SADC denounces Zim poll (News24)
A team of observers from the 14-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC) said on Sunday that Zimbabwe’s one-man presidential run-off election failed to reflect the will of the people.
“The pre-election phase was characterised by politically-motivated violence, intimidation and displacements,” Angolan Sports Minister Jose Marcos Barrica, the head of the 400-strong team of observers, said in a statement.
“The process leading up to the presidential run-off held on June 27 did not conform to the SADC principles and guidelines governing democratic elections.
“Based on the above mentioned observations, the mission is of the view that the prevailing environment impinged on the credibility of the electoral process.
“The elections did not represent the will of the people of Zimbabwe.”
Zimbabweans warned not to rely on SADC and AU (SWRadio)
Basildon Peta, the African correspondent for the London Independent newspaper group said that Zimbabweans would not achieve anything if they were waiting for the African Union (AU) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to do something. The AU and the SADC have not acted decisively on the political crisis in Zimbabwe even if they have had many opportunities to do so. The Sunday Times, an influential South African newspaper, has reported that President Thabo Mbeki has been lobbying amongst African leaders to recognise Robert Mugabe as the legitimate leader of Zimbabwe. Peta said that Zimbabweans would have to resort to unconventional means to achieve democratic change in Zimbabwe.
Record number of spoilt ballots in one-man election (SWRadio)
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) said that the number of spoilt ballots on Friday, June 27 totalled at 130 000. Election observers say that the actual figure is in fact much higher. African observers said that they have noticed that there were an unusually large percentage of spoilt ballots and many had ‘unpalatable messages’ written on them.
MDC MP Settlement Chikwinya said that there were so many spoilt ballots in the Midlands region that it would not surprise him if the ZEC chose not disclose the information. The Pan African Parliament (PAP) observer team said that the team has concluded that ‘the atmosphere prevailing in the country did not give rise to the conduct of free, fair and credible elections’. The PAP observer team has called for the holding of a new round of polling.
PAP said: ‘Conditions should be put in place for the holding of free, fair and credible elections as soon as possible. The political environment throughout the country was tense, hostile, and volatile, characterised by an electoral campaign marred by high levels of intimidation, violence, displacement of people, abductions, and loss of life. Political tolerance in Zimbabwe has deteriorated to the lowest ebb in recent history–to unprecedented levels.’
Zimbabwe inflation soars to more than nine million per cent (Pana)
Inflation in Zimbabwe has reached an incredible 9.030 million percent, which is a rise of 7.336 million percentage points above that of last month. The last official inflation figure obtained from the Central Statistical Office (CSO) was when inflation stood at 165 000 percent. The lack of foreign currency, food shortages and the high election-related populist spending by the government are some of the reasons for the Zimbabwe having the highest inflation rate in the world.
Zim running guns for Africa (The Zimbabwean)
The South African newspaper City Press has obtained bank statements showing that Zimbabwe is part of an international gun trafficking network. Zimbabwe has supplied arms to Liberian warlord Charles Taylor and to other rogue governments. The Zimbabwe Defence Industries (ZDI) has had direct dealings with a Ukrainian mafia kingpin who acted as the prime weapons procurer for Taylor who is facing a war crimes trail in The Hague. The documents detail kickbacks worth millions of rands, paid by the weapons dealers to officials of the Zimbabwe government and other individuals in Zanu-PF. The UN has been investigating the role of the ZDI in laundering huge shipments of armaments that fuelled the civil war in Liberia and in other countries.
June 30th, 2008 11:48
http://africa.reuters.com/top/news/usnBAN024545.html
Perhaps we should start lobbying the Pope to speak out against Mugabe; maybe even excommunicate him? That would really sting, as he claims to be a devout Catholic..
June 30th, 2008 12:25
FOR THE FIRST TIME WATCHING MUGABE BEING SWORN IN AS PRESIDENT I HAD A GOOD LAUGH WHAT A JOKE HE IS AND HE DOESNT SEE IT. PERHAPS HE HAS SENILE DEMENTURE SETTING IN OR HIS CRONIES ARE NOT TELLING HIM THAT HIS PEOPLE DONT WANT HIM WHAT A COMEDIAN AS TO THE SUMMIT I AM SURE THE LEADERS WILL GREAT HIM AND BE TWO FACED. HE SHOULD BE IGNORED.
THERE IS ONLY GOING TO BE ONE WAY THAT MUGABE WILL LEAVE BEING PRESIDENT OF ZIMBABWE? AND YOU CAN GUESS THIS ANSWER.
June 30th, 2008 13:41
I discuss with anyone I can what the pros & cons are, with respect to Zimbabwe, of outside intervention.
Who has the moral high-ground? Who should or should not be involved? Who has the rights to get stuck in there?
And I’ve formed the following opinion:-
Any country being asked to, or feeling as though they should be a donor for humanitarian reasons, in my mind has ABSOLUTE right to insist upon the methods of governance they require before providing aid to said country.
There-in lies the trick to peacekeeping forces, and who can legitimately send them.
For instance South Africa does not provide any free aid as far as I’m aware - so Mbeki’s sentiment counts for nothing. Nobody needs to seek his permission, or for that matter any other outspoken African nation.
Let them put their money where their mouths are. Meanwhile those nations capable of, and in fact already supplying aid - you are the countries who can ensure aid gets to the people who need it the most, and that Bob gets out the way, so that Zimbabwe can be re-started.
June 30th, 2008 13:54
Encouraging to see UN Deputy Secretary General Asha-Rose Migiro speak to her mind about the elections at the summit. Let’s hope the AU will not cave in to this insignificant tyrant.
June 30th, 2008 20:28
Damn - I should be a fortune teller! Check the following link out, and see if I didn’t predict exactly this a day or two ago on this very blog.
http://www.sabcnews.com/africa/southern_africa/0,2172,172413,00.html
Anyway, this is a hollow victory, because I know full well I cannot really see into the future. But without doubt I could predict horribly accurately how the AU ‘leaders’ would respond to something like Mugabe’s stolen election.
Why? How? Because their behaviour reinforces my sentiment over and over. They are childish, immature, gutless, dishonest underhand people who lick each other’s backsides. Try as I might, I cannot find it in my soul to respect them.
June 30th, 2008 21:43
I see nothing wrong in theory with “serious dialogue”, as Mugabe calls it between the parties, as long as those talks are held in a genuine atmosphere of national interest.
However, the amazing thing is that Mugabe thought that he could come to those negotiations from a position of strength, when in fact, by using the innocent and agrieved section of the population as a battering ram, he has, and will now forever more, be viewed as a moral weakling in the eyes of the MDC, in the eyes of any African statemen who may help and participate in the talks, and in the eyes of the world in general.
Therefore, whatever the details of such negotiations, only the moral hero, not the moral coward, could be an acceptable leader. Although, I suppose, in a sort of twisted way, if Morgan is given the premiership with a degree of acceptable power, it probably (and I say this with a very bitter taste in my mouth), it probably wouldn’t be the end of the world if Mugabe were to retain his presidential status until he quietly expires to meet his maker.