SADC's hypocrisy over Madagascar

The SADC is meeting in South Africa on Saturday in order to try and “restore political order” to the ongoing strife in Madagascar. International efforts at mediation have broken down and the Southern African Development Community are hearing report backs from the mediators who took part in the talks.

The SADC suspended Madagascar during March, refusing to recognise the government of Andry Rajoelina, as a result of what they perceived to be a coup in that country.

“The political turmoil has wrought havoc on the Indian Ocean island’s $390-million-a-year tourism sector and unnerved foreign companies investing in its booming oil and mineral sectors. Rajoelina, a 34-year-old former disc jockey, came to power in March when President Marc Ravalomanana stepped aside after intense pressure from the opposition and army chiefs. (Reuters)

Ravalomanana claims to be the legitimate ruler and is disinterested in any power-sharing arrangement. This is playing havoc with suggestions of new elections to sort this out once and for all.

Comesa, the African economic bloc, in turn has not ruled out military intervention.

The SADC meeting is due to be attended by Ravalomanana and, can you Adam and Eve it, President Robert Mugabe from Zimbabwe.

Therein lies the rub.

Was it not the stance of South Africa and the SADC that Zimbabwe’s problems could only be solved by Zimbabweans?

Was not every suggestion of international mediation rejected out of hand?

When was Zimbabwe suspended from the SADC?

Madagascar is relatively peaceful while Zimbabweans were fleeing into exile in their millions, starving in their millions, being killed in political violence in their thousands and being displaced in their hundreds of thousands yet any call for SADC action was met with a deafening silence.

Was Mugabe’s stealing of an election he clearly lost not tantamount to a coup?

Of course any suggestion that he be ousted by the SADC to save five million starving Zimbabweans was laughed off as a joke.

Military intervention. Are Comesa shitting us?

Go back and read through the reactions of shock and horror by SADC representatives when this was suggested to save millions of starving Zimbabweans.

For the SADC and South Africa to carry on in the way they are in respect of Madagascar — after their disgusting conduct with respect to Zimbabwe — is breathtakingly hypocritical.

Inviting Mugabe to the SADC meeting to tell Madagascar to accept everything he point-blank refused to do, is nothing short of mind blowing.

The president has gone out of his way to do the right thing since his inauguration — let’s not get foreign affairs back to where it was under the previous government.