Mugabe under pressure

A consensus seems to be gathering regarding Mugabe's follies. The international community appears to have woken up to the threat Mugabe represents to Zimbabwe and Africa as a whole.

Bill Clinton arrived in South Africa on Monday on a six-nation African tour:

"If you want to build a modern and credible continent you have to speak out against the sort of thing Mugabe is doing," he added.

"If you want credibility you have to fight for basic freedoms. You can't have credibility if no-one speaks out against ploughing up neighbourhoods,"

Even Kofi Annan is concerned (and this makes one hope that his special envoy Anna Tibaijuka's report will condemn the recent destruction of people's homes and livelihoods):

"The secretary-general is increasingly concerned by the human rights and humanitarian impact of the recent demolitions of what the government of Zimbabwe has called illegal settlements," Okabe said.

The EU, in a rare show of decisiveness, said:

"We demand an immediate end to Mugabe regime's forced evictions and insist that unrestricted access be granted to relief and humanitarian agencies assisting those internally displaced.

"We deplore the weak stance of the African Union, in particular South Africa and a number of Zimbabwe's other neighbours, in turning a blind eye to the daily oppression of the people of Zimbabwe and the destruction of the country's economy," the statement said.

The EU Parliament urged the G8 nations to insist upon a clear demonstration on the part of African regional organisations and nations of their commitment to good governance, tackling corruption, democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights, as well as economic progress. They regard Zimbabwe as a test case.

On the other hand:

SA IS set to grant cash-strapped Zimbabwe a substantial line of credit, following the visit to SA of a high-level Zimbabwean delegation last week, and amid growing signs that Harare faces expulsion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

They should set up an escrow account and not let Mugabe touch the money. However, I doubt he will obtain as much as he wants from Mbeki, so he will go begging to China, which, on its part, is already juggling other balls in Africa:

But in return for its extensive economic aid, Beijing has insisted on large mining and other concessions. China could be Mugabe's last ally to forestall his country being taken to the security council now that Russia has condemned him as a "dictator". In the face of accusations that it is preventing more forceful international action in the Darfur province of the Sudan, Beijing could pay a heavy price if it were to protect Zimbabwe on the security council.

Zimbabwe