COSATU calls for isolation of Mugabe

By Violet Gonda
24 June 2008

The powerful Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) has called on international labour organisations to work towards a total isolation of the Zimbabwean government. The trade union said it would start mobilising for a blockade to protest the violence Robert Mugabe has unleashed against his own people. They also plan to organize protest rallies in South Africa in solidarity with the people of Zimbabwe.

“We call on all our unions and those everywhere else in the world, to make sure that they never ever serve Mugabe anywhere, including at airports, restaurants, shops, etc,” COSATU said on Tuesday.

In a strongly worded statement the trade union demanded that the African Union and leaders of SADC should not recognise the “illegal and illegitimate” Zimbabwe government. COSATU also said it sympathises with MDC President Morgan Tsvangirai’s decision to withdraw from the run-off, as the poll was a declaration of war against the people of Zimbabwe by the ruling party.

Meanwhile COSATU’s Tripartite Alliance partners, the African National Congress and the South African Communist Party (SACP) have also issued strongly worded statements on the disturbing events in Zimbabwe.

The ANC said it could not remain "indifferent to the flagrant violation of every principle of democratic governance " and referred to "compelling evidence of violence, intimidation and outright terror". The South African ruling party said it was “deeply dismayed by the actions of the Zimbabwean government which is riding roughshod over hard-won democratic rights".

In a separate statement the SACP called for a cessation of violence and called upon SADC to make an urgent intervention, to create conditions for a free and fair election.

Pressure is mounting on the Zimbabwean government as others, such as Peter Hain, former British minister for Africa, called for tougher sanctions. He said South Africa should cut power supplies to Zimbabwe and African peacekeepers, backed by the European Union and the United Nations, should be ready to go in and restore order.