Mum about Zimbabwe

//2007-02-09: African Path
"...While I understand diplomacy and everyone minding their own business, Zimbabwe's political unrest will only lead to greater unrest in Southern Africa. With refugees slipping into South Africa by the thousands, President Thabo Mbeki and his government have remained mum over the situation for way too long. Now that refugees have begun arriving within its borders, the government of Zambia decided to let go of all pretense and address the situation before it gets any worse.

The Mail & Guardian Newspaper reports, Joe Seremane (SA's Democratic Alliance Party chairperson) as saying:

“Zambian Foreign Affairs Minister Mundia Sikatana "should be commended and supported in his drive to get his country's counterparts in the Southern African Development Community [SADC] to stop pretending that 'all is well in Zimbabwe'".

Sikatana's acknowledgement of the problems in Zimbabwe is "one of the frankest, most upfront so far by any political leader in Southern Africa since Zimbabwean President Mugabe first began his despotic ways in 1999".

Seremane said South African President Thabo Mbeki "now, more than ever, needs to break his curious silence on the deteriorating political and economic situation in Zimbabwe or face further ridicule in this regard".....