Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Where We Issue South Africa a Booking for It's Zimbabwe Policy



I'm not going to go into the details here regarding Zimbabwe. Suffice it to say the state has failed. And as African nations demand that this is an African problem and should be dealt with by the Africans ( a view I wholeheartedly endorse), we now have this from South African President Kgalema Motlanthke:

"Asked how bad things had to get before South Africa, the region's economic powerhouse, joined calls for the 84-year-old dictator to leave office, Mr Motlanthe told journalists: “It's really not for us. I mean I don't know if the British feel qualified to impose that on the people of Zimbabwe, but we feel that we should support and take our cue from what they [Zimbabweans] want.”

What they want? I've not Henry Kissinger here, but I’ve probably got a good idea what they want. How about the democratic and internationally certified elections where the Opposition won to count for something? How bout an end to the worst inflation since Kurt Weill was writing plays? How about their children not dying of Cholera? How about opposition journalists not abducted in the middle of the night. You think “They” might like that?

What is clear here is that South Africa, the only thing close to a power broker in South Africa is clearly in denial of the fact to their north, and has no interest in removing from kleptocratic power a fellow “liberator”. Well, why should we doubt them, after all they had the brilliant medical foresight to insist that AIDS is not caused by HIV and can be cured by pesto.

So fine, you don’t want to interfere? That is your prerogative. However the inevitable instability that is coming to Southern Africa means that you must lose your bid to host the 2010 World Cup. An idea whose time has come.

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