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Zuma against Zim blockade
15/02/2005 12:13 - (SA)
Donwald Pressly
The planned blockade of
South Africa's borders with neighbouring Zimbabwe by the Congress of
South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) appears not to have the support of
the African National Congress-led government.
At a media briefing on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-
Zuma was asked about the planned blockade by Cosatu in the run-up to
the Zimbabwe parliamentary elections on March 31. She said the
government "will be guided by our own (South African) laws and our own
rules of the country."
"We are a law-abiding state," she said. "No country simply allows
blockades of its borders."
Referring to the upcoming poll, Dlamini-Zuma said she was quite
heartened to hear the leader of Zimbabwe's opposition saying that the
violence had declined and that the police were taking a 'no tolerance'
approach to violence.
She noted too that the Zimbabwean president - Robert Mugabe - had
"publicly called for a violent free campaign from his supporters".
Indicating that she was concerned that the Southern African
Development Community (SADC) had not yet been invited to observe the
elections, she noted that a mission representing the member states was
being put together.
Dlamini-Zuma said: "Yes, we would like the SADC to be there and
observe ... the elections are according to the SADC guidelines and that
is why there are ongoing discussions. Of course if we are not invited
we will be very concerned. "
In the end we will be very concerned as we
were hoping (that) by this time last week... the invitation would
materialise. We are still hoping that it will materialise."
- I-Net Bridge (News24)
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