2007: IMPORTANT: Zim: ANC ready to help quell Zim clashes

(005320.38-:E-003569.93:N-HO:R-SU:C-30:V)   

---

---

Original Post Date: 2007-03-22 Time: 00:00:00 Posted By: Jan

[I don’t trust the ANC bastards as mediators in Zim. On the one hand they’re probably only moving their butts because the USA and Europe are jumping all over their cases. So finally, the ANC must PRETEND to be interested and it must PRETEND to want to bring peace to Zimbabwe. I believe the ANC likes Mugabe’s reign of terror and approves of it. There was hardly a murmur out of their mouths when Morgan Tsvangirai was so badly beaten that he had to get a blood transfusion and end up in ICU. So now the ANC must actually try to play the role they have pretending to want to play all along. So they will probably go and resume their role as the DISHONEST BROKER of a “peace” in Zimbabwe. If the MDC stands their ground they will find that the ANC is firmly on Dictator Mugabe’s side. It will all be a complete waste of time for all parties concerned. But the ANC must put on their suits and ties and pretend that they care for civilisation and the rule of law and the will of the masses in Zimbabwe. Jan]

The ANC says it is trying to get in touch with all political role players in Zimbabwe in an effort to bring political stability after the recent civil turmoil in Harare.

ANC spokesperson Smuts Ngonyama on Tuesday said party secretary-general Kgalema Motlanthe was attempting to reach his counterpart in that country to discuss ways of resolving the problems.

This comes after Morgan Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change faction attempted to face up to Robert Mugabe’s regime and was brutally crushed.

Ngonyama said they would try to facilitate a meeting with all parties if possible.

The ANC’s recent call came amid international condemnation of the detention and torture of opposition party supporters, including Tsvangirai, by Mugabe’s police.

In a cabinet briefing on Tuesday the government expressed its concerns about the deteriorating situation in Zimbabwe and reaffirmed its position that “only dialogue among the main political protagonists can help bring about a lasting solution to the current political and economic challenges facing Zimbabwe.”

The ANC on Tuesday urged the South African government to assist in finding solutions among all players in “whatever way” to establish peace and stability in the country.

Government spokesperson Themba Maseko said South Africa was ready to provide whatever assistance was required in bringing about a peaceful and lasting solution to the situation in Zimbabwe.

On Tuesday Ayesha Kajee, a senior political analyst from the South African Institute of International Affairs, said the government and all South Africans should condemn the abuses of civil rights in Zimbabwe.

“I’m not sure if it is enough, but it will send a strong signal to other countries that South Africa won’t stand back and passively condone what is happening,” said Kajee.

Meanwhile, Christopher Dell, US ambassador to Zimbabwe, said opposition to Mugabe has reached a tipping point because the people no longer fear the regime and believe they have nothing left to lose. Tensions in the ruling Zanu-PF party are rising, he added, largely because of the impending succession question. Mugabe, 83, has indicated he might run for another term next year, but many want him to step down now and there is fighting over who will succeed him, said Dell.

In Zimbabwe, Tsvangirai met South Africa’s ambassador on Tuesday to protest against the silence of African leaders “while these atrocities are being perpetrated by one of their number”.

Tsvangirai said the silence made a “complete mockery” of South Africa’s abolition of apartheid and its transition to democracy.

Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa – who takes over the presidency of the 13-nation Southern African Development Community in August – said he hoped the bloc would develop a common stance on the crisis in the coming days. – Political Bureau,

URL: http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click

Source: http://archive.africancrisis.info/?p=11266

---

---