SADC’s attempt at resolving the deadlock on the allocation of cabinet ministries in Zimbabwe was, unsurprisingly, biased in Robert Mugabe’s favour, and the bloc again proved it has little concern for the rights and the will of the people of Zimbabwe. A mere handful of regional leaders arrived for the weekend’s crucial summit in South Africa, and instead of pressuring Mugabe as was hoped, the group again made recommendations blatantly in the dictator’s favour.
With the deadlock still firmly imposed, and with millions of people facing death as a result of starvation in Zimbabwe, it is the AU that will be expected to do what SADC has proved incapable of doing – pressuring Mugabe to concede power to the rightful winner of this year’s presidential election.
The Forum for the Participation of NGOs in Zimbabwe, has resolved to pressure the AU as the guarantor of the political agreement signed in September, to ensure the immediate and conclusive implementation of the agreement. The Forum also said, after a weekend meeting of the AU Commission on Human and Peoples Rights, that the African Union needs to press Zanu PF to stop all human rights abuses.
Human rights activist, Tabani Moyo explained on Tuesday that this kind of pressure needs to build on the AU, because of the body’s tendency to ignore the human rights violations clearly evident in Zimbabwe. It is their responsibility to make amends for gross violations that have been committed and are still committed, because they oversaw the signing of the agreement, Moyo said. But he questioned whether the AU will have any power to pressure Mugabe, and argued that it was critical that a government chosen by the people of Zimbabwe is formed as soon as possible.
People need food and medical treatment, Moyo explained. But until there is a government, the mechanisms to make this happen cannot be put in place, and this should be the AU’s main concern.
But there is little faith that the AU will have the ability to succeed where SADC has repeatedly failed. The Zimbabwe Youth Forum on Tuesday lashed out at SADC, saying the weekend summit simply endorsed Mugabe’s proposal. The Youth Forum said in a statement the summit proved it is still protecting Mugabe and likened the AU to SADC, saying both groups have always maintained that the elections in Zimbabwe were free and fair. For this reason, the Youth Forum said that the AU does not have the capacity to solve the impasse in this country, since it is just a mere extension of SADC. – SW Radio Africa News