police custody on 11th March 2007 and images of his injuries and those of
others were broadcast around the world.
b) The policy of blocking any criticism or proposed actions on Zimbabwe in
international forums. This policy was articulated in the Mbeki
Administration’s refrain that Zimbabwean issue must be resolved “by
Zimbabweans”. (See below for details on this)
c) The policy of deflecting pressure for action on Zimbabwe by claiming that
talks or negotiations between the contesting parties in Zimbabwe are in
progress and nothing should be done while these talks are underway.
An overview of Mbeki and his administration’s policies since 2000, illustrate this quite
clearly.
In 2000, ZANU PF’s complacent hold on power was shaken when a government
sponsored new constitution for Zimbabwe was rejected in a February referendum. Given
that parliamentary elections were scheduled for June, 2000 and that the Constitutional
Referendum had been interpreted more as a vote of no confidence in Mugabe’s rule,
drastic action was required by ZANU PF if it was to regain its previously unwavering
support in rural areas. Widespread invasions of white owned farms began within days,
accompanied by extreme state sponsored violence which left many farm workers and
white farmers dead, women raped, labourers tortured and hundreds of thousands of
workers displaced and rendered jobless. The clear intention was to destroy the support
white farmers were providing to the recently formed MDC opposition and to eliminate
opposition to ZANU PF emanating from farm labour. As much of the world watched
aghast while atrocities took place on the farms, the Mbeki government implemented an
economic “rescue package” for the Mugabe regime of close to R1 billion which had been
announced a few weeks earlier. The “rescue package” included more than twenty joint
investment projects in Zimbabwe, that would benefit ANC supporting Black Economic
Empowerment partners and South Africa's state-owned corporations, such as the
Development Bank of Southern Africa and the Industrial Development Corporation.
Other beneficiaries were South Africa’s power and fuel giants ESKOM and SASOL, to
whom the Mugabe regime was heavily indebted.
Opinion on Zimbabwe, particularly in relation to the land invasions, became divided
along racial lines. Some regarded Mugabe’s land policies as representing a genuine
attempt to address “one of the enduring legacies of colonialism”, namely large-scale
white ownership of land at the expense of the black majority. Others, and particularly
governments in the West viewed the land invasions as a cynical ploy to maintain power
by destroying the base of the opposition. Addressing concerns by the (largely white
supported) opposition Democratic Alliance over rights abuses in Zimbabwe Mbeki made
clear his position on the issue stating that the “clamour over Zimbabwe reveals [the]
continuing racial prejudice in South Africa.” He also commented “We are engaging this
issue. We are in favour of land redistribution in Zimbabwe. You couldn’t sustain a
colonial legacy and let it be”.