Rev Kenneth Meshoe, M.P. and President of the ACDP has added his voice to the calls for President Mbeki to step down from mediating in the Zimbabwe crisis, and applauds unions for not offloading arms destined for Zimbabwe.
President Mbeki was appointed to mediate in a crisis situation in Zimbabwe which he has not only failed to resolve but in which he has shown an unacceptable partiality. The ACDP joins over a dozen Zimbabwean civic rights groups who have sent a petition to the Zimbabwe embassy in Pretoria making demands that President Mbeki recuse himself from the mediation process.
The petition says that cognisant of the fact that since President Mbeki’s pronouncement that there is no crisis in their country, many Zimbabweans have lost faith in his ability to remain impartial towards a resolution.
We are surprised that at the press conference after the UN Security Council meeting he denied ever having said there was no crisis in Zimbabwe. Reports say that he did, in fact, do so. The ACDP believes it is time President Mbeki took ownership of his own mistakes rather than denying them to protect his own back.
Zimbabwe needs, as mediator, an individual whose impartiality and credibility is not questionable and who will not be afraid to tell Robert Mugabe where he is wrong.
President Mbeki undermines his own credibility by supporting a presidential run-off vote without demanding that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission release the original results of the election to justify such a run off, and he has not spoken out against the beatings and reprisals reportedly taking place by state agents against those who are perceived not to have voted for ZANU-PF and Robert Mugabe.
The ACDP also supports and applauds the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union, (SATAWU) for their decision that members will not off-load the shipment of arms from China destined for Zimbabwe. We know that they will be used to kill members of the opposition and innocent civilians.
We call on SADC and International Human rights organisations to investigate allegations of reports of brutal beatings takings taking place throughout the country against MDC polling agents and those perceived not to support ZANU PF- and bring an end to this repressive regime.
Post published in: News