An open letter to President Mbeki: Speak out on Zimbabwe before it is too late

An open letter to President Mbeki: Speak out on Zimbabwe before it is too late

Dear President Mbeki
There is a crisis in Zimbabwe. Everyone recognises this now.
This week, the international community was united in its condemnation
of the arrest and detention of Morgan Tsvangirai by the Zimbabwean
security forces. Yesterday, Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga
described President Robert Mugabe as a dictator and an embarrassment
to Africa.
You said nothing.
What will it take for you to acknowledge what is happening in
Zimbabwe? How many more people must be detained, tortured or killed?
Since the parliamentary and presidential elections on 29 March, it has
become clear that President Mugabe will do whatever it takes to stay
in power. I refer to:

The arrest of opposition leaders Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara;
The halting of food aid to 100 000 children in MDC strongholds;
Zanu-PF's systematic intimidation campaign, which has reportedly
resulted in the killing of 65 MDC supporters and the displacement of
25 000 people;
Rumours of an assassination plot against Morgan Tsvangirai;
The intensified use of the state-controlled media as a propaganda arm
of Zanu-PF;
The arrest and intimidation of journalists, including three South
Africans jailed for six months for being in possession of broadcasting
equipment; and
The detention of US and British diplomats.

These developments, added to the systemic flaws in Zimbabwean
electoral law, remove any vestige of hope that the presidential
run-off election on 27 June will be free and fair.
What are you in your role as mediator doing to ensure that the
election reflects the will of the Zimbabwean people? How have your
mediation efforts improved the situation in Zimbabwe?
The time for quiet diplomacy is well and truly over. It has served
only to prop up a dictator and prevent real change in Zimbabwe. By
appeasing Mugabe and endorsing every fundamentally flawed election in
Zimbabwe, you are complicit in the tyranny that has befallen that
country.
Now that you are starting to think about your legacy, you should focus
on policy areas where you can make a real difference in the time you
have left. Zimbabwe is one of them.
It is essential that you publicly call on President Mugabe to:

Immediately halt state-sponsored political violence and intimidation
of opposition parties;
Release all journalists and opposition supporters currently detained
by the security forces;
Lift all restrictions on independent media, both domestic and foreign;
Allow for the deployment of international electoral observers to
Zimbabwe to monitor the presidential run-off election; and
Reinstate the NGOs responsible for food aid in areas of need.

These measures, if implemented, will not ensure that the presidential
run-off election is free and fair. But they may enable the will of the
Zimbabwean people to triumph despite the systemic flaws in the
electoral process.
As the President of the leading power in Africa and the appointed
mediator in Zimbabwe you are in a position to exert considerable
pressure on Mugabe to implement such measures. It is well within your
power to lobby for Zimbabwe's immediate suspension from the Southern
African Development Community and the African Union. There is nothing
stopping you from imposing targeted travel and financial sanctions on
Zanu-PF's ruling elite.
Your perceived complicity with the Mugabe regime has done immeasurable
damage to South Africa's reputation abroad and to the morale of our
people at home. I urge you to take this one last chance to signal to
the world and the region that your government is committed to
furthering democracy, not despotism, on the African continent.