[The UN is a completely lame and useless organisation. So now there is no exit plan for Mugabe! I’ve been saying all along that all “political solutions” for Mugabe are a complete waste of time. They’re all just time wasting games to keep him in power. In the end, I believe, neither President Mbeki, nor the African Union, nor anyone else will take any form of action against Mugabe.

If you think the UN is useless… then you’ve seen nothing yet. The AU can’t even run itself… The AU is about a hundred times more pathetic and worthless than the UN. The AU in fact, will work as hard as they can to KEEP MUGABE IN POWER. Yes, you heard it from me. The AU supports dictators and one party states. Putting the AU in charge of the future of Zimbabwe is like putting an arch thief in charge of helping another thief.

I still say the bastard should be SHOT OUT OF POWER. Zimbabweans must realise that this will be the only option. All the other supposed “political options” are nothing more than mirages in the air. Jan]

Annan content to leave Zimbabwe issue to AU

Hoped-for exit plan for Mugabe is one of the casualties of turn in negotiations

By: Beauregard Tromp

The UN’s secretary-general, Kofi Annan, apparently rebuffed by President Robert Mugabe, has withdrawn from mediation efforts in Zimbabwe, leaving the job to former Tanzanian president Benjamin Mkapa. Annan made this dramatic announcement at the African Union summit here yesterday after holding talks with Mugabe. His withdrawal dismayed the British government and is likely to come as a shock to President Thabo Mbeki. Both he and British Prime Minister Tony Blair recently touted Annan as the person to take the lead for the international community in trying to resolve the Zimbabwean crisis. But, briefing journalists yesterday after his meeting with Mugabe, Annan said: “President Mkapa has been working quietly with President Mugabe. You do not need two mediators.” Mkapa is Mugabe’s own choice of a mediator between himself and Britain as he has strongly and publicly supported Mugabe. But he does not enjoy any official backing – certainly not from Britain.

The meeting between Mugabe and Annan had been eagerly awaited, with speculation that the UN was preparing to offer anything from a plan for Zimbabwe’s economic recovery to an exit plan for Mugabe in exchange for amnesty against prosecution for misgovernance. The result was an anti-climax. “I told him (Mugabe) I was committed to helping Zimbabwe and the people of Zimbabwe and would support the work of the mediator,” said Annan. “We both agreed that he (Mkapa) should be given the time and space to do his work,” said Annan. British Minister for Africa, Lord David Triesman, reacted with disappointment at Annan’s announcement. “I hoped Kofi Annan would take an initiative,” he said. However, Triesman added that Mkapa was held in high regard in the UK, in spite of his strong defence of Mugabe, and so would be welcome to convey anything to the British government. Mkapa served on Blair’s Commission for Africa, which last year produced a major report on Africa’s development needs. Triesman dismissed Mugabe’s insistence on characterising the stand-off between Britain and Zimbabwe as an ideological “colonial” battle, calling it “cheap theatrics”. He said it was up to the Zimbabwean people to decide their future, and that the UK would continue giving aid.

From The Star (SA), 3 July
Source: WWW.ZwNews.Com