the only way Mugabe can save face is by stepping down after the election.
i think this has been all staged with MDC's co-operation.

at least that is what i hope.

this running away to the Dutch Embassy smells a bit fishy to me.

why not run to the South African Embassy or any Embassy in Zimbabwe surely the soldiers would not march straight into an Embassy and start shooting.
Mugabe isn't looking for an international incident .. the final spark many nations are waiting for except maybe Namibia who most likely will fight side by side with Bob and lose in more ways then can be imagined.

"Bush would love one last chance at trying to save the world"

If this sham of an election and its result is in any way, shape or form accepted and respected by SADC and the AU then democracy may as well shut up shop on our continent.

How SADC and AU can now regard the Harare regime as legitimate is misterious and inconceivable, to say the least. There is absolutely no basis for legitimcay considering that the second round of the presidential vote was neither free, nor fair.

Too much violence, torture, intimidation and repression directed at the oppositon MDC and its candidates and organisers has now been documented and proved beyond reasonable doubt by African and other orgnaisaitons for the poll to have any claim to be a reflection of the will of the people.

It is a cruel, sadistic charade and sham of an election that tramples the Zimbabwean people's wishes for freedom, peace, development and a change in political leadership with contempt.

If SADC and AU now legitimise the Mugabe regime, then let us stop pretending we are seeking true representative dmeocracy on our continent, along with the rule of law. If it is true that democracy is not a state, but a process, then we will have taken another 10 steps back, instead of inching forward.

For the Namibian government to - once again - turn a blind eye to the violence and claim that it is "mere rumours" reflects the sad reality that SWAPO cannot and should not be trusted to defend the rights and freedoms of the citizens in other SADC countries, never mind its own.

Neither should Mbeki be trusted anymore. The ANC is starting to distance itself from ZNAu-PF and Mugabe, but not nearly enough for it to be able to claim that it respects the aspirations of the Zimbabwean people.

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"Nothing is complete and thus nothing is exempt from criticism." - James Luther Adams:

How can we expect the AU to not legitimise Mugabe's regime? Half of them are dictators and tyrants who have neither been democratically elected. I understand your sentiments, Comrade_007, but I'm sad to say it won't happen. SADC and AU will recognise the regime, because they don't have another plan how to deal with the regime if they don't - old story this - and because they would not want the same to happen to them. Old boys club,. this, and the boys protect each other when the going gets tough. DOn't expect principled stands against oppression for you will be disappointed. Yes, we can expect them to, and hold them to not recognise the regime and Mugabe as President, but the reality is that they will. We are miles away from representative democracy in the liberal sense, Comrade_007. Miles. Zimbabwe is yet another milestone on the bumpy road. But this does not mean that things do not change.

Interesting one: the presidency in SA has issued a statement denying that it has endorsed Mugabe's election, and that it recognises him as legitimate president of Zimbabwe. Very interestign devleopment indeed, and to be expected. I mean how can they say the elections were not free and fair and should not have been conducted and then go and recognise the election results? I think they are in a bit of a fix, and will have no choice but to call for fresh internationally observed elections for any result oto have any credibility or legitimacy.

Check this out on our Shebeen: http://www.theshebeen.org/blogs/news...es-mugabe.html

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"Nothing is complete and thus nothing is exempt from criticism." - James Luther Adams:

The elections were free and fair in Zimbabwe as we know it in Namibia. Its only the western world leaders who don't like Mugabe, who like to destroy his image, that propagate this Bull sh*t, I personally would say:" Kom lek tog my g*t, and keep your nose out of other peoples business."

Stop interfere in the politics of other countries, focus on the misery in your country, this is my advice.

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pangkas

Pangkas - you may have to do that to yourself. There are some enlightened and democratic people in our region after all. It appears that the SADC observer mission has deemed the polls neither fair nor democratic. I wish to congratulate the mission for their observations and conclusions, although it would not have taken a cerebral feat to come to this conclusion, given the dead and thousands of displaced people inside Zimbabwe. You underestimate us Africans, Pangkas and it is apologists of oppression and undemocratic tendendies that give our region a bad name.

Here's the full story, if you are really interested to hear part of the truth:

http://www.theshebeen.org/blogs/news...emocratic.html

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"Nothing is complete and thus nothing is exempt from criticism." - James Luther Adams:

HistoryMatters has just posted the AU statement on Zimbabwe: http://www.theshebeen.org/blogs/hist...-zimbabwe.html

HistoryMatters has also posted the interim statement of the Pan-African Parliament election observer mission to Zimbabwe: http://www.theshebeen.org/blogs/hist...-zimbabwe.html

With the millions of words on the man, this sums it up more or less perfectly:

I wholeheartedly support Mike Campbell's international legal challenge to President Robert Mugabe's violent farm seizures, if only because I support a due legal process in the matter. One wonder's why he was tortured. Is ZANU-PF afraid they could possibly lose the case? Is there no rule of law in zimbabwe after all?

http://www.theshebeen.org/blogs/news...land-grab.html

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"Nothing is complete and thus nothing is exempt from criticism." - James Luther Adams: