Liquid Zimbabwe

Archbishop Desmond Tutu has called on England cricketers to boycott Zimbabwe, on Robert Mugabe to resign and on the United Nations to send in peacekeepers for the presidential run-off. South Africa’s Nobel Peace Prize laureate is in no mood to allow the violence that is destabilising the region to go on unchallenged.

Captain Courageous, never scared to have a full go, is leading the way hot on the heels of Morgan Tsvangirai’s confirmation that a unity government cannot be entertained in terms of the rules. How this will fit in with the ongoing discussions between Zanu-PF and the MDC is unclear at this stage.

IOL has reported that Local Government Minister Sydney Mufamadi was in talks with the parties while the UN Security Council geared up for a special debate.

iAfrica.com also has an article in which it submits that the proposed government of national unity might be along the lines of the one adopted by the Kenyan government.

The response from the international community comes against a backdrop of the BBC confirming that a military junta had taken over, the Times of London alleging that Mugabe-backed thugs are burning people alive, and the Times of South Africa reporting on Human Rights Watch spokesperson Tiseke Kasambala, who says soldiers are threatening whole villages against voting for the MDC.

Jacob Zuma, speaking on behalf of the ANC, confirmed the party’s alarm at the reports of violence coming from Zimbabwe, as well as the effect this would have on the election. As you may recall, the Democratic Alliance’s Helen Zille called upon Zuma to speak out.

Into this maelstrom, throw in former Zanu-PF member and third-placed presidential candidate Simba Makoni, who believes that it is impossible to hold a run-off at this point.

This is backed by a government official who endorses a unity structure as set out in an article in the International Herald Tribune, and seen amid the latest outrage of Mugabe raiding churches as confirmed in Christian Today.

Finally, China has told foreign journalists in Beijing that it will not meddle in the affairs of Zimbabwe, which it feels is quite capable of sorting out its own affairs. Wonder where we heard that one before?

That is just a cross-section of the news pouring out of Zimbabwe. Chances are that much of it will have been overtaken by the events on the ground by the time you read this; that’s how fluid the situation is.

What is clear is that the world community is ready to act. Mediation is ongoing. The situation on the ground is nothing short of hell on Earth.

Would a government of national unity send the wrong signal to leaders who abuse their subjects, or would it provide a vehicle to ensure smooth transition to the people’s elected choice by avoiding a junta-driven civil war?

Isn’t the answer to this question down to how effective and quick the international community will be in persuading the government to stop the violence and allow in the peacekeepers and monitors?

If, as we are led to believe, Zanu-PF is concerned about retaliation (rather than clinging to power), how do you deal with this without setting the example that after abusing your subjects, your best bet is to hold them ransom to facilitate your escape?

And while you’re at it, how do you build a sand castle on a roundabout when those bloody kids keep spinning it round and round, faster and faster, until it’s going so fast that you have to cling to the middle?

And when it stops and you get off, why is it that the first thing you want to do is vomit?