Hopes for a diplomatic solution to the crisis in Zimbabwe dimmed yesterday as police unleashed a new crackdown on the Opposition, and news emerged that Robert Mugabe was to boycott today’s emergency summit in Zambia.
Zimbabwe’s northern neighbour called the extraordinary meeting of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in Lusaka, the Zambian capital, in an attempt to put pressure on Mr Mugabe over the unreleased results from last month’s election.
The call followed an intense diplomatic tour by the opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai during which he appealed to southern African leaders to drop their policy of appeasement and hold Mr Mugabe to account....Yesterday, however, the Government announced that Mr Mugabe would not attend the summit but would be represented by three ministers. The news has heightened suspicions that he is no longer in control of the country and is being kept in power only by the military.
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The military may be keeping Mugabe in power, but the leaders of other nations in the region are helping. It is about time Zambian President Mwanawasa and others speak out forcefully to validate the democratic elections in Zimbabwe. While the threat posed to the regional economy is very real, and violence against Zimbabwe's citizens should not be allowed, there is another major reason for members of the SADC to speak up. When leaders like South Africa's President Mbeki endorse Mugabe's corruption of the democratic process by their silence, they send a message to the rest of the world that they, too, have no regard for the rights of people--including the citizens of their own countries--to choose their own leaders.
Dave Donelson, author of Heart of Diamonds
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