Pressure mounts on SADC leaders to resolve Zim crisis

By Alex Bell
23 June 2008

The pressure is now squarely on Zimbabwe’s neighbours to step in to resolve the worsening crisis, as the country remains under violent siege by ZANU PF.

Southern African ministers gathered for long overdue talks on the crisis on Monday, following calls by Morgan Tsvangerai for SADC, the AU and the United Nations to intervene urgently “to restore the rule of law, peace and conditions for a free and fair election.” Angolan Foreign Minister Joao Miranda said at the opening of the meeting that a team from the 14-nation Southern African Development Community had concluded that "the situation is extremely grave" in Zimbabwe.

Zambian President and SADC chair, Levy Mwanawasa, said on Sunday the election should be postponed and urged fellow leaders in southern Africa to support his call. He told reporters in Lusaka that a postponement “is vital because it is meant to avert a looming catastrophe in Zimbabwe and that might affect the region”.

He also labelled the region’s silence on the issue as “scandalous” and blasted SADC appointed mediator Thabo Mbeki for his so called mediation efforts, which have seen no end to the violence and intimidation.
Mbeki meanwhile, despite attending Monday’s emergency meeting with AU and SADC leaders, has continued along the same route of “quiet diplomacy” and has called for Mugabe and Tsvangerai to meet to discuss Zimbabwe's political crisis, after the opposition leader pulled out of the June 27 presidential run-off vote. “From our point of view it is still necessary that the political leadership of Zimbabwe should get together and find a solution to the challenges that face Zimbabwe,” Mbeki told South African public broadcaster the SABC.

At the same time, AU Commission Chairman Jean Ping “stresses the need for all Zimbabwean stakeholders to exercise restraint and reiterates his call for an immediate end to all acts of violence,” according to an e-mailed statement from the Addis Ababa-based organization. “He urges all Zimbabwean parties to work together to overcome the challenges facing their country in this critical phase of its history,” the statement read.

Senior Researcher at the Institute for Security Studies in South Africa, Chris Maroleng, told Newsreel on Monday that SADC needs to increase its efforts to effectively intervene in the political crisis. He said Mbeki’s role as mediator will be more important than ever “to broker an agreement between Mugabe and Tsvangerai in the interest of the people”. Such an agreement is being discussed as a last resort. Mbeki’s efforts thus far, as well as widespread calls for the South African president to step down as mediator, make it unlikely that he will be able to live up to any expectation of resolving the crisis.
Maroleng also said the days leading up to Friday’s run off is an opportunity “for more focus and more momentum to create a unity government”, an agreement Maroleng said could ensure there is an end to violence.

Meanwhile, as global condemnation of the situation continues to swell, there is one name that has not joined the ranks of leaders calling for peace and stability. Nelson Mandela, who turns 90 in July, stepped out of the public spotlight recently, but calls have been mounting for the former South African president to add his name to the protest against Mugabe’s regime.
Maroleng told Newsreel that Mandela’s public support of mediation efforts and condemnation of the violence is needed, and his message would go a long way in regional and international resolution efforts.