Fresh diplomatic push to break Zim impasse

"The United States and its allies have congratulated President Hamid Karzai on winning a second term following a proclamation by the country's election commission."

These are the countries that have slapped sanctions against Zimbabwe over a disputed electoral outcome. Karzai refuses to comply with the opposition guy's demand that he fire the head of the electoral commission and he is showered with congratulatory messages after the guy pulls out. Tsvangirai asks for Mugabe to do the same, Mugabe refuses and goes ahead with the run off and he is slapped with sanctions. Talk about double speak.

This is why I only have faith with SADC and the AU to deal with Zimbabwe's situation. The US, EU and UN have too much self interest to deal with Zimbabwe. Karzai was always their preferred candidate just like Tsvangirai is in Zimbabwe.

What happened in Afghanistan was clear electoral theft. In a surprise move, Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State, said the Afghan elections would still be legitimate even if Abdullah boycotted the run-off.

She said: "We see that happen in our own country where, for whatever combination of reasons, one of the candidates decides not to go forward.

"I don't think it has anything to do with the legitimacy of the election."

The response was a sharp contrast to the US’s rejection of Zimbabwe’s presidential run-off vote in June last year when main opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai pulled out over vote fraud fears and allegations of attacks on his supporters by pro-Mugabe militants.

Even Gordon Brown not to be out done was on the phone to personally congratulate Karzai contrary to his proclamation that Mugabe's re-election was illegitimate because Tsvangirai had pulled out.

"The United States and its allies have congratulated President Hamid Karzai on winning a second term following a proclamation by the country's election commission."

These are the countries that have slapped sanctions against Zimbabwe over a disputed electoral outcome. Karzai refuses to comply with the opposition guy's demand that he fire the head of the electoral commission and he is showered with congratulatory messages after the guy pulls out. Tsvangirai asks for Mugabe to do the same, Mugabe refuses and goes ahead with the run off and he is slapped with sanctions. Talk about double speak.

This is why I only have faith with SADC and the AU to deal with Zimbabwe's situation. The US, EU and UN have too much self interest to deal with Zimbabwe. Karzai was always their preferred candidate just like Tsvangirai is in Zimbabwe.

What happened in Afghanistan was clear electoral theft. In a surprise move, Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State, said the Afghan elections would still be legitimate even if Abdullah boycotted the run-off.

She said: "We see that happen in our own country where, for whatever combination of reasons, one of the candidates decides not to go forward.

"I don't think it has anything to do with the legitimacy of the election."

The response was a sharp contrast to the US’s rejection of Zimbabwe’s presidential run-off vote in June last year when main opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai pulled out over vote fraud fears and allegations of attacks on his supporters by pro-Mugabe militants.

Even Gordon Brown not to be out done was on the phone to personally congratulate Karzai contrary to his proclamation that Mugabe's re-election was illegitimate because Tsvangirai had pulled out.

A Kabila trying to act as mediator/peacemaker? Is that not like getting a fox to calm down the chickens?

It's a farce, perpetuated by people ill suited, at best, to speak for a faceless majority-who have no say in any case. And once again, people expect the AU/SADC to come to the rescue when both bodies clearly don't care about the average Zimbabwean other than that they stay in Zimbabwe and keep quiet. And no, I don't have a better/practical solution(boiling Bob in oil is unfeaseable in todays economy. And probably not good for my soul either) but I know a bad one when I see it. ;-)

Fungayi, what does anything that the UK/US/Afghani/whomever say have ANY bearing on what's happening in Zim? Apart from refusing to deal with the mamparas who "speak" for the people of Zimbabwe? CAN you blame them?

Jason you cannot divorce the Zimbabwe situation from the US and EU because they imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe over disputed electoral results unless they are now admitting that it was over land. We blame them because they have been very vocal especially Hillary Clinton as she was one of the sponsors of ZDERA and Gordon who actually gave a press conference to denounce Mugabe's run off electoral win. Clinton is on record to have declared the Zimbabwean run off electoral outcome a sham even though she is now happily endorsing a clear sham of an election.

The European Union and America’s swift backing of Karzai, compared to their position on Mugabe’s "one-man election", shows breathtaking Anglo-Saxon hypocrisy. The UN unfortunately has been complicit in this farce as the Secretary General has not criticised this obvious electoral theft under his watch. Worse still he was actually in Afghanistan when the declaration was made.

To all those saying Zimbabwe needs UN monitored elections just look at the mess they have made in Afganistan.

We must all curse the day a few British (or is it Brutish?)settlers bulldozed their way into Zimbabwe. For had they not brutally stolen the land from black Zimbabweans, there would never have been any Chimurengas, no need for land restoration, no need for the loss of lives during the liberation wars, no need for Robert Mugabe. Greed is the root cause of the mess Africa is in, and that greed can be traced straight to the door steps of those who want to be seen as holier than thou - those who believe that by dint of the colour of their skin, they must have it all, and the rest can go stuff themselves. Ultimately, good always triumphs over evil. Let there be fairness in this world, then the bitterness shown by Mugabe will be a thing of the past.

Dear Fungayi Dzvinyangoma, are you aware that the larget African diaspora in the world is in Brasil? Where there are more descendants of AFrican slaves from the Portuguese and Spanish slave trade (not the British) thatn the entire population of SA?

Or are you completely ignorant of the history of Africa, colonialism, slavery and present day spread of the African peoples?

EU and USA imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe openly. They are racists and have colonised Africa openly but now we have Mugabe and his cronies who bruitalise people before and after elections, do all sorts of evils to win elections and appear to the world saying we are clean. They are as evil as colonialists and use the same ways used by colonisers to oppress Africans. Bob and his cronies know that without elections they are not acceptable in the world. These evil hypocrites! I have been in Botswana , South Africa and Zambia when they were preparing for elections and after elections. I have not seen bruitality as I have witnessed in Zimbabwe. Dont lie to the world the world has got eyes. Your propaganda will never work. The are no white people beating blacks in Zimbabwe but Zanu PF thugs terrorising unarmed civilians.

Alisdair Budd, what's your point? Is that to make you feel better as a British person? The West Indies and USA are replete with British history of slavery. Of course you are going to try and wash your hands off the US but history points to Britain. Have you ever been to Liverpool?

Isn't it pathetic that you are trying to say Britain's guilt over slavery is less because there are more descendants of African slaves in Brazil from the Portuguese and Spanish? I feel sorry for you. It's funny that you want to call me ignorant when it's you who is sounding more ignorant. You actually sat there and thought this was a master stroke?

I understand your ignorance on issues of slavery and colonialism because the British air brushed that part from their history books. Schools do not teach that part of British history because of the British authorities' guilt over the attrocities they have committed against black people over time.

Fungayi. YOU cannot tell me that I "cannot divorce the Zimbabwe situation from the US and EU because they imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe" because they are irrellevant to the matter at hand. Indeed, irrellevant to the whole of Zimbabwe. In fact, apart from a few dirty mamparas, it affects the rest of Zimbabwe only because aforementioned mamparas have forced themselves into a position of power over "Joe Zimbabwean". Since they are the ones controlling access and have proven to be untrustworthy in the extreme, no one will deal with them. The way you go on and on and on and on about it, makes me think you have a personal stake in the matter. Are you a distant relative of Bob's? Or Graceless? Could this affect you if it was extended and they booted you from the UK?

Once again, statements like "breathtaking Anglo-Saxon hypocrisy" shows your true colours. You are subdividing people on race and using it as a gross generalisation, which tells me that you are not as enlightened as you like to pretend to be, you horrible little racist. (Look I got to justifiably say it again ;-) )

And once AGAIN, you seek to divert attention from the issue at hand, by pointing fingers at others. ie the Afghan situation, which I(probably most who read here, but would not presume to speak for) have very little knowledge of, or even interest, as I prefer to deal with the Zimbabwean situation instead. Which is that ZANU is corrupt and does NOT have the backing, or best interests at heart, of the majority of Zimbabwean citizens. Time will tell if the MDC is cut from the same cloth, but right now they are NOT Bob and his henchmen- BIG selling point. ;-)

Fungayi, I do not like what has happened in Afghanistan, neither do I like what is happening in Guinea or any other place where the explicit wishes of the people are either fraudulently manipulated or blatantly ignored. Once again you are trying to shift everyone's attention away from Mugabe and trying to make others focus on the activities of your arch foe, the United States and the British. Whatever wrongs the US, Russia, China, Britain or anyone else may commit must not in any way detract from the manner in which Mugabe defrauded the nation at the last elections and how SADC, the mediators, allowed it to pass.

Ephraim Molai, in case you hadn't noticed your cowardice we are discussing world issues here. Alisdair Budd is British, Marius de Kock is Austrian and most other white people commenting here are South African. Zimbabweans as a whole have been penalised by the British, US and the EU for what they called electoral irregularities regarding Mugabe. Now these world powers are rewarding a clearly fraudulant electoral outcome with legitimacy which they have denied Zimbabwe. ZDERA was specifically enacted for this reason hence the economic collapse of Zimbabwe.

The point here is that there must be consistence when dealing with disputed electoral outcomes especially from the world's most powerful economies. If Mugabe had been accused of electoral fraud while in the good books of the US & EU Tsvangirai would long have been dismissed just like Abdullah has. All this media spotlight would not be on Zimbabwe because the west basically dictates on where media spotlight should fall and what type of coverage the spotlight should get positive or negative.

Obviously you are very naive to notice.

Fungayi: You ok election violence, torturing and the starving of the Zimbabwean people, because of colonialism. So, because of the white man, its ok, to beat up, imprison, kill and torture fellow Zimbabweans?

And you do this all, from your couch in the UK.

You sold out your country, to live in London, but even worse, you still support the violent, senile and corrupt dictator.

Fungayi: Do you live and "work" at Zimbabwe House in London? Is THAT why you have so much time on your hands to sit and moan about how bad the world is compared to Zimbabwe? Can you at least TRY and earn your money?

The Zanoid on here is a lying liar. He, like all Zasnoids, lies by default, he lies even when he doesn't have to. Lying is the culture of Zanoids.

The so called sanctions he refers to are shopping, travel sanctions, imposed on Mugabe and 202 others plus a few companies they use to launder the stolen money Gono has helped them steal from the ordinary Zimbabweans here. These "sanctions" were imposed from late 2001 and have nothing to do with the fact that Mugabe and his Zanoid goons stole the votes of the majority of Zimbabweans who are wishing, desperately for a change of government here from the corrupt incompetence of Mugabe and his goon squad.

The situation in Afghanistan is remarkably different from here. The UN , the USA, the EU are all there and all worked very hard to try and have a successful election. They said they would accept the finding and decision of the Independent Electoral Commission because they see it as independent, unlike the hand picked gang we had here.

The UN and others have accepted that Karzai would have won even if he hadn't fiddled with the process because they were there to watch and evaluate. Here we had no independent observers and the country as well as the world knew that without the violence and the rigging Mugabe would have done far worse than he did , and even then he lost.

Don't pay too much attention to these Zanoids. They fight for the Zimbabwean political elite to stay rich and in power. They know nothing of democracy and couldn't care less for the ordinary Zimbabwean.

Olivier, the last time I checked you have been responding to my posts quite regularly. It's pretty rich isn't it for you to suggest that I should try and earn my money or is it your white superiority complex talking? What's your idea of what I do for a leaving that is different from yours that allows you be making postings around the same time I do? Then you have the audacity to call me a little racist for saying Anglo-Saxon as if that's even a race? It's just like saying Shona-Ndebele or Zulu-Xhosa to educate you. I know you are desparate to prove that blacks are racist too but please don't try too hard.

Fungayi, your tactics are clear to everyone. Your intention is to try and incite or promote racial hatred against the West and try and elevate this whole conflict so that it becomes a West or white versus Africa or black battle - in so doing hoping to shift everyone's attention away from the main villian or culprit, Mugabe, who has done so much damage and harm not only to Zimbabwe but this whole region. What you are failing to take into account though, is that many ZANU PF supporters are beginning to realise what is happening and becoming increasingly disenchanted with their ailing and ageing leader - you are crumbling from within.

@ Fungayi Dzvinyangoma - You must be joking?!?!? SADC sort out Zimbabwe's woes! Hah-hah-hah! They could not sort out the proverbial piss-up in a brewery! You must work for the Zim Govt, because the crap you come up with is on a par with those jokers!

thethinkingman - So you are saying it's you would accept a fraudulant result on the basis that the UN, US and EU were involved. I doubt if you chose the correct pseudonym.

@ the thinking man. you write,'The so called sanctions he refers to are shopping, travel sanctions, imposed on Mugabe and 202 others...'

Your claims are interesting since during his visit to Western capitals, Tvsangirai begged the West to lift sanctions. Early on Biti had also done the same! Recently SADC, AU and even UN members e.g. Venezuela have also joined te call for the illegal sanctions on Zimbabwe to be lifted.

If surely these are 'shopping sanctions', then either Biti, Tsvangirai and the rest have lost it or they are clueless.

Dread Dread
They've lost it and clueless.