Arms to Zim?
The news cycle is tough to predict. That much I think we can all agree upon. As much as the world has been outraged by the events of recent weeks in Zimbabwe, who knew that it would take a bizarre arms shipment to sharpen the focus? Even China, whose willingness to destabilize Africa for its own benefit appears to have no limits, and which obtusely sees nothing wrong with the scenario they have fomented, seems to be wavering on whether the infamous ship bearing arms bound for Zimbabwe, a country that certainly does not need more weapons right now, will reach its destination. African leaders, including many in South Africa, are finally beginning to rouse from their seeming somnolence to question this deal and in some cases to condemn it, or at least to make clear that they will not facilitate it. In the end, it is possible that the ship may reach Zim, but for that to happen, some country will have to facilitate the arms getting overland to landlocked Zimbabwe, and one hopes that regional pressure will be enough to prevent that from happening.
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:15 am
[…] The ongoing Zimbabwe arms shipment fiasco has not seen Thabo Mbeki at his best. At The Mail & Guardian Richard Calland argues that Mbeki’s handling of the Zimbabwe crisis has further damaged a reputation that already was on a downward spiral. But he further believes that human rights problems at home undercut South Africa’s ability to function effectively abroad. It’s an interesting, if arguably overstated, argument. […]