Fuck you Thabo Mbeki! your loyalty to zimbabwean president robert mugabe, who continues to pillage his people and defy all practices of democracy, is nothing short of sickening, and is a betrayel to the african struggle.
youre a complete embarressment to all south african citizens, black and white, and your actions set a worrying trend for the future of democracy in our own country.
good luck with the new south africa mate, and COUNT ME OUT!
The below article is taken from http://www.africasia.com (THIS IS THE LAST STRAW.. BEING THANKED FOR SUPPORTING SEVERE HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSE!)
Zimbabwe’s government thanked Saturday the countries that blocked UN sanctions against its regime, and particularly South African President Thabo Mbeki for having refused to yield to Western pressure.
“We would like to thank countries that supported us at the United Nations and we would like to tell them that we would not disappoint them as we would address our problems ourselves,” Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu said.
“We would like to thank President Thabo Mbeki, who is a leader par excellence as he has not yielded to international pressure and to the machinations of the West led by Britain and United States,” Ndlovu told AFP.
China and Russia on Friday vetoed targeted UN sanctions on Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe over his disputed re-election.
South Africa voted against the US draft which received the support of nine of the UN Security Council 15 members.
“Yesterday’s veto at the United Nations is an international diplomatic victory, not only for Zimbabwe, but for the rest of Africa, (the) Southern African Development Community and the developing world,” added Ndlovu.
“It is a victory that is really welcome, as for the first time Britain and United States wanted to use the United Nations to install their own puppet as president here,” he said.
Mugabe was re-elected in a run-off last month after main opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), pulled out, citing a campaign of intimidation and violence against his supporters that killed dozens and injured thousands.
Tsvangirai had earlier won the first round but fell short of a majority.
Britain, the former colonial power in Zimbabwe, has been vocal in criticising Mugabe and his ruling ZANU-PF party over the elections amid claims of rigging. The US dismissed the election as a “sham.”
“Britain and United States wanted to practice international racism against us at the UN,” said Ndlovu, adding that it was pleased that the UN had refused to allow members to use the Security Council to “settle their scores.”
“We are not a British colony, we are happy that reason prevailed at the end of the day and we hope such things never happen again,” he added.
Tsvangirai has been critical of Mbeki and earlier called for him to be axed as the region’s mediator over his perceived bias towards Mugabe.
Shmeim, I think your anger against Mbeki is a bit much. The key to my reasoning lies in the last sentence of that article: Mbeki is the “region’s mediator”. You can’t be a mediator if you take sides.
I don’t think he vetoed it to support Zimbabwe, but rather to not be on the side against him. No choice either way would have been good – can you imagine the ammunition Mugabe would have taken if Mbeki had voted for it? Mugabe would have been full of righteousness, saying it was true what he had been saying all along that the international community was bullying him and the rest of Africa, and he would have become even more defiant (if that is possible).
All that besides, the sanctions weren’t much more broad ranging than the ones that were already placed on key Zim ‘leaders’, and Mugabe successfully turned those ones to work for him in gathering Zanu PF support. They certainly weren’t going to solve the problem in Zim.
Mbeki sticking to his guns as an official mediator doesn’t insult democracy. Nobody is happy with the situation in Zim, but if you want to hate somebody, focus your hate on Mugabe.
By: David on July 19, 2008
at 2:52 pm
Dave, I see your point, it certainly isn’t Mbeki’s fault that this happened, but to me his lack of action and lack of criticism is starting to show all the hallmarks of the typical African leader.
i was always a Thabo supporter, and i backed him for many years. But his quiet diplomacy has proved ineffective and yet he refuses to budge from this personal stand.
This was a great chance to prove that Africa can solve African problems. Yet by saying nothing, Mbeki at best proves that nothing has changed. At worst he gives the appearance that he supports a regime who has a lot to answer for.
By: Marc on July 19, 2008
at 8:31 pm
Yeah, I understand where you coming from and I agree with you to an extent. But three things:
1. Mbeki supporting UN sanctions brought to the table by the US and Europe is not Africa solving African problems. In fact its best to avoid that (as Mbeki did) if you want to portray the image of Africa looking after itself.
2. But I understand that this particular event was not the main reason for you awarding Mbeki the prestigeous C*cksucker of the Week award, you were more concerned with his general lack of action. To this I say, it amazes me how people can dislike the Americans so much for their foreign affairs actions yet when it comes to the Zim situation people want Mbeki to act like George Bush.
3. Come the next elections Mbeki will no longer be in power in South Africa. This is the key element that separates him from the “typical African leader” and ensures that his actions are not harming democracy in SA. Every country has ‘bad’ presidents every now and again, that’s why SA has a system where presidents serve (limited) periods and then we get to choose again. You may not like what Mbeki does, but he is not bigger than the democratic system in SA, unlike Mugabe in Zim.
By: David on July 20, 2008
at 11:54 pm