Tutu 'ashamed' of SA over Zim
2008-12-24 10:17
Johannesburg - Nobel peace laureate Desmond Tutu has accused South Africa of betraying its legacy of struggling against apartheid by failing to take strong action against Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe.
Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai agreed on September 15 to form a unity government. But that agreement has unravelled due to a fight over control of important ministries.
Mugabe, one of Africa's longest-serving leaders, has come under increasing pressure to step down from Western countries, who say he has reneged on the deal in a bid to hold on to power.
Military force
Tutu also told the BBC in an interview that military force against Mugabe's government should not be ruled out.
"How much more suffering is going to make us say 'No we have
given Mr Mugabe enough time?'," Tutu asked in an interview with
the BBC's Radio 4.
While regional countries Botswana and Zambia have taken a
tough line against Mugabe, most African leaders, including
influential neighbour South Africa, chair of regional grouping
of nations SADC and a UN Security Council member, have stopped
short of calling on him to quit.
South Africa had strong historic links with Mugabe, who
provided support during the struggle against apartheid.
Speedy resolution
African National Congress (ANC) leader Jacob Zuma called for a quick end to Zimbabwe's political and economic crisis.
"The New Year must bring a speedy resolution to this utterly
untenable situation," said Zuma in a Christmas message.
Zimbabweans were hoping a new leadership would rescue the
economy. Instead Zimbabwe has sunk deeper into crisis as the
stalemate drags on.
Hyper-inflation means prices double every day, a cholera
epidemic has killed more than 1,100 people and the opposition
has accused the ruling party of abducting its supporters, a
charge it denies.
'Awful indictment'
Tutu also criticised South Africa for not taking tougher
stands at the United Nations against countries with a record of
human rights abuses.
"I want to say first of all that I have been very deeply disappointed, saddened by the position that South Africa has taken at the United Nations Security Council in being an obstacle to the security council dealing with that matter.
"And I have to say that I am deeply, deeply distressed that we should be found not on the side of the ones who are suffering.
"I certainly am ashamed of what they've done in the United Nations. For the world to say no, we are waiting for South Africa's membership of the Security Council to lapse and then we can take action."
That is an "awful indictment" to a country that had a "proud record of a struggle against a vicious system", Tutu said.
"We should have been the ones who for a very long time occupied the moral high ground. I'm afraid we have betrayed our legacy."