The incomparable South African political observer and journalist Allister Sparks has an important column in the Cape Times. Here is the introduction:
While everyone is anxious to see the Zimbabwe negotiations succeed in bringing relief to the long-suffering people of that country, it is nonetheless galling that the process should be taking place at all. For it is sending a terrible message to tyrants everywhere.
It is telling them that when you face defeat in an election, the thing to do is to launch mayhem in your country, beating and butchering and bludgeoning your own people until horrified peacekeepers come hurrying to the scene to stop the carnage and you can then negotiate an ongoing role for yourself in the power structure.
Sparks is right. But all along those of us observing the sad situation in Zimbabwe have known that we cannot allow the perfect to be the enemy of the good. These negotiations were never the ideal path. We all wish that in a free and fair election Morgan Tsvangirai had been recognized as the clear winner and he would be in the process of governing and bringing Zimbabwe back from the abyss. But we do not inhabit that ideal world, we live in our very real, very messy one. Sparks recognizes as much, but still points out numerous failings within that real world context over the last few months.