And the Talking and Hand wringing begins

Hello All,

Trawling through the various articles in the media truly underlines my predictions! There is much talking going on, but nothing new. Those states who actually want to do something about Zimbabwe, such as officially not recognising Mugabe as President, and applying full sanctions are powerless to do so. The UN, by it's very nature is crippling itself - rogue states such as China (greedy state in this case) and South Africa, will block every sensible action, whilst pursuing their own agenda's with the absolutely pointless softly, softly approach. In truth the "quiet diplomacy" truly means quiet - Mugabe does what he likes and South Africa tells the world to back off whilst they keep quiet!

From SA NEWS 24:
New York - The United States has prepared a draft text on United Nations sanctions against Zimbabwe that will ban arms sales and freeze assets of specific individuals and firms after last week's widely condemned election.
But council diplomats said it would be difficult to persuade South Africa, Russia, China and other UN Security Council members to accept a sanctions resolution against Zimbabwe.
The seven-page text, titled "Draft Elements for a Chapter VII Sanctions Resolution" and obtained in full by Reuters on Monday, said the council would not recognise Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's June 27 re-election and would impose an embargo on sales of arms or military hardware to Harare.
It asked the council to freeze the assets of and ban travel for anyone who helped the government "undermine democratic processes" or supported politically-motivated violence.
Beating, violence, torture
The legally binding resolution would have the council "expressing deep concern at the gross irregularities during the June 27 run-off presidential election (and) the violence and intimidation perpetrated in the run-up to the election that made impossible the holding of free and fair elections".
It also had the 15-nation council "condemning the continued beating, violence and torture of civilians, sexual violence, and the displacement of thousands of Zimbabweans, many of whom had been driven to take refuge in neighbouring countries".
The draft text condemns the "intimidation and violence directed against supporters of the opposition political party, as well as the detention of its leaders". It also demanded that the government cooperate with "non-partisan investigations of the political violence" between March and June 2008.
US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad told reporters he would probably circulate the draft to the full council this week.
One-candidate election
The Security Council was deeply divided on the issue of Zimbabwe and council diplomats said that South Africa, which opposed the idea of sanctions against President Robert Mugabe's government, had the backing of two powerful veto-wielding council members - Russia and China.
Elected Security Council members Indonesia and Vietnam, which usually preferred to avoid intervening in what they saw as other countries' internal affairs, also appeared to be supporting the South Africans, diplomats said.
Khalilzad said the "credibility of the council is at stake" because of its statement a week ago that condemned the violence and restrictions on the opposition because they made a free and fair election impossible.
"We spoke loudly and clearly, made demands that were ignored," he told reporters. "If we do nothing, if there is no response, what does that say about the council?"
Mugabe went to an African Union summit in Egypt on Monday after being re-elected in a one-candidate election that was condemned by regional monitors and many world leaders.

Now correct me if I'm wrong - targeted travel bans and freezing of assets of individuals in and supporting the Mugabe regime??? Is this something new? I thought we already had that? Where are the trade sanctions? Where are the border blockades? Where is the financial pressure on Mbeki's South Africa to get with the programme? Where is the firm statement to African countries that there is a global intolerance of violent governance that could lead to the Rwandan style genocide????? Did I miss something????

And then, following a link from the SA NEWS24 website, I found this article, which, for the most part makes, one or two reasonable points, but is underlined by the fact that the writer is an imbecile!:

(The url - should you wish to read more of his clap-trap is: http://www.fin24.com/articles/default/display_article.aspx?Nav=ns&ArticleID=1518-25_2349373)

Mortal racist blow for MDC
Jun 30 2008 11:13AM
Vic de Klerk
Pretoria - Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the former Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) in Zimbabwe, is a lightweight. That's in a figurative sense, though in a literal sense he looks like an adult.
Somewhat unexpectedly, he won the March 2008 election in Zimbabwe.
Immediately after that he left for an extended visit to neighbouring states. Then he returned and decided to take part in the run-off election for president. But a week before the election, he took refuge in the Dutch embassy and withdrew the MDC from the election.
For this forceful behaviour, he received worldwide approval, except from SA President Thabo Mbeki.
In the same week, the international icon of courage, perseverance and fairness, SA's own Nelson Mandela celebrated his 90th birthday in the UK.
I couldn't help thinking back to my third year at university. We were listening to the evidence in the Rivonia trial and also to Mandela's statement about what he was prepared to live and die for.
We didn't understand it very well, or didn't want to or couldn't understand it, but we nevertheless shared the disappointment of our economics lecturer when Mandela and his co-accused weren't given the death sentence.
But this week, Tsvangirai wasn't prepared to pay nearly the same price as Mandela was in 1965. Now he's apparently prepared to work with Zimbabwe's legally elected president, Robert Mugabe, in a government of national unity.
Yes, President George Bush, Mugabe is a legally elected president.
You also had problems with those last few votes in Florida where the voters' choices weren't all that clear.
Change Africa perception
But the political argument isn't my point.
As my colleague Bruce Whitfield showed on the cover of this week's Finweek, Africa can no longer afford the Mbeki/Mugabe fiasco.
Africa needs to become known in the world not for its racist and xenophobic politics, but for its human achievements, such as Nelson Mandela proved this week.
I'm using the word racist again. Mugabe is a proven racist. To achieve his aims, he drove whites away, especially farmers, rather than creating wealth for his country.
His knowledge of economics, wherever he may have acquired it, doesn't understand the concept of baking a larger cake and sharing it for the benefit of all. He preferred taking everything there is, destroying it and then trying the distribute the crumbs.
To our dear state president: your friend Mugabe is a racist and also displays xenophobic tendencies. He's power-crazy and has destroyed a country's economy.
In case you don't know, Mr Mbeki, the annual per capita income in Zimbabwe is now less than one-twentieth of what people in Swaziland earn.
It would be better to respect the king of Swaziland at the cost of your friend Mugabe.
The West - let's say the leaders of the white world like Bush, Brown and Merkel, to mention just a few - has openly given its support to Tsvangirai. Is that perhaps the reason, Mr Mbeki, why you're so opposed to supporting the clearly more democratic and less despotic Tsvangirai rather than Mugabe?
Western countries, as well as SA's whites, if I may be allowed to be racist, were right to favour a new government in Zimbabwe, even if it had been under the leadership of a lightweight like Tsvangirai. We were right - yes, I wanted to be part of it - to want to create a new Zimbabwe.
We were keen to transform Zimbabwe from a country of poverty into one of the world's jewels.
A success story that would've brought the humanity of Africa just as much favourable publicity as Nelson Mandela's birthday celebrations in London.
Wouldn't that have been a wonderful birthday present for Mandela, who, incidentally, is our idol too?
Tsvangirai, you took that opportunity away from us, because you were not prepared to walk the full length of the path. Sorry, Mister SA state president, there's an increasing taint of racism, not only in our country, but also in your southern African leadership.
For the Western world - Brown and Bush and others like you - your support for an African political party is often an automatic mortal blow for that party or democratic freedom movement. Perhaps the Zimbabwe fiasco will make racism easier to understand.

I think that Vic must have his head firmly up where the sun doesn't shine! Whilst some of his comments are OK, he is trying to equate Mugabe's election with Bush and Brown. How - the fact is this, first of all, Vic seems to have absolutely no idea about law. Mugabe - LEGALLY elected president????? The mind boggles! So, what he is saying is that if, in fact you have ZERO popular support, get your cronies to go out and beat people until you can do what you like?? Get a life! You simply cannot compare compare Bush and Brown to Mugabe - not in terms of legality - Both of those would have been unseated in a minute if their had been a case for them to answer! Vic - Mugabe is NOT legally elected - he LOST the election - i.e. he had fewer votes (in the first round) than Tsvangirai - despite the rigging that he tried on then! So he should not have a had a second round, and the second round was not held in accordance with the law and there is NO law governing the behaviour of ZANU-PF and it's thugs!!!!!

You really do not understand racism either - racism is where a white person subjugates or dislikes a black person. ONLY. Blacks cannot be racist (If memory serves - that was actually said by Mugabe or one of his cohorts a few years ago!).

I was also disturbed by the news that the white farmers were abducted and beaten. Well, it has certainly hit the headlines - but WHAT ABOUT THE COUNTLESS BLACK ZIMBABWEANS BEING ABDUCTED, BEATEN, RAPED, AND MURDERED DAILY!! Why do their stories not hit the headlines??????? And the world media wants to talk about racism?? Clearly what happened to the white farmers was hideous, terrifying and wrong on so many levels, but why is their story bigger than the comparatively more terrible stuff that happens to black Zimbabweans?????? Anyway - the furore is already beginning it's decline - in this day and age, if you miss your slot to grab world attention in the media to a meaningful level, you will soon be forgotten in the wake of another footballers broken toe!

And I just wanted to recall the CIA's response - "We do not condone violence"... Ahem, by your inactivity and pious rebukes to those of us who are prepared to stop the violence, albeit with force (the only option remaining) you ARE condoning violence. Let us hope to remember their response when Mugabe is gone and the US is in line for a pick of the natural resources of Zimbabwe!

Later.