South Africa's policy of “silent diplomacy” with regard to Zim has been endlessly frustrating for many of us who feel that Thabo Mbeki needs to be more assertive publicly with regard to Robert Mugabe. It would be one thing if Mbeki adhered to the old Teddy Roosevelt approach of speaking softly but carrying a big stick, but quite clearly Mbeki has wielded virtually no stick. Even those of us who believe that South Africa's most strident critics have yet to answer the question of what concretely South Africa could do to force change in Zimbabwe wish that Mbeki would at least speak more forcefully on behalf of the Zimbabwean people squeezed in Mugabe's iron grip.
Perhaps we are seeing the first fissure in the dam of reticence. respected human rights lawyer, senior member of the African National Congress executive, MP, and former cabinet Minister Kader Asmal has issued a blistering condemnation of Mugabe and his regime. Speaking at the launch of exiled Zimbabwean activist Judith Todd's book “Through the Darkness” Asmal:
said to a packed launch, attended by Zimbabwean exiles, among others: “Why do I speak now? I should have done so in the 1980s, when thousands of people were murdered by the infamous Fifth Brigade in Matabeleland. I did not do so. Neither did I do so during Operation Murambatsvina, when those who want to retain power refer to their hapless fellow citizens as 'shits who have to be removed’. The so-called clean-up campaign, which involved the Pol-Potian destruction of houses, clinics, and businesses, left hundreds of thousands of Zimbabwean's homeless, destitute and starving, Asmal said, referring to the murderous Cambodian regime of Pol Pot.
Asmal went on to say that “Pol Pot's main henchmen are now being tried for crimes against humanity,” a remark that was widely interpreted by members of the audience as implying that President Robert Mugabe and his lieutenants should similarly be tried. But Asmal denied this was what he meant when asked about it afterwards, saying he had only made the remark to illustrate his general point that under international law today governments could be held accountable for what they did internally. Asmal said he also had taken to heart former United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan's appeal during this year's Nelson Mandela lecture. “Speaking in a country which asked for and received solidarity from most parts of the world, Kofi Annan reminded us that Africans must guard against a pernicious, self-destructive racism that unites citizens to rise up and expel tyrannical rules who are white, but to excuse tyrannical rulers who are black.”
Asmal said that South Africans were “constantly reminded by our betters” that only Zimbabweans could decide their future. But you can only be conscious actors for change if there is a level political field, not only for the holding of elections but also in the run-up. There is no normality in Zimbabwe. Instead we have the ‘destruction of the rule of law, the judiciary, the press and economy and the brutalisation of the population’, with a quarter of the country's population now living in the diaspora and with the army and the civil service, both instruments and controllers of the ruling party.” Todd's book reminded that silence could give rise to complicity. “I am here to add my voice to Judy Todd's appeal to assist the people of Zimbabwe. But there is also a selfish reason: the majority of our neighbours are now starving, or sick, or brutalised and without hope. Many were now fleeing to South Africa and to neighbouring countries. Therefore remember: Zimbabwe, for various reasons, has now become our crisis also.”
One wonders if this will be enough to get other South African leaders to speak out against Mugabe and what he has done to Zimbabwe. And if enough speak out, could that advance the ball a little further down the pitch in terms of prompting Mbeki at least to take a sterner approach to his dalliances with the mediation process? While it is still unclear precisely what power South Africa has over Mugabe, a policy of sickly conciliation is not enough.
