martysmith.org » Mbeki

Honorables

marty — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 14:26:00 +0000

MDC to cave…

marty — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 03:54:03 +0000

Full story here.
The deal will/would give the:

MDC:
End to political violence
Release of supporters
Resumption of aid
Permanent AU envoy
Swearing in of MPs

Zanu-PF:
Mugabe recognised as president

Sigh. If only that one thing under the Zanu-PF column wasn’t such a killer. There is some background on the deal (before it looked as though the MDC would go for it) here.

Looks like Mbeki and Mugabe will be tearing up the town in a few days..

Bobby sicks. Thabo? Yes, him too.

marty — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 04:14:41 +0000

Thabo Mbeki has really shown he is ~~a pussy~~ made of nothing nice and everything that owes to Bobby. Full story here. This is not the first time that we have spoken about Thabo’s legacy, but this would seem to ensure that his legacy is one of shitty inaction. Hmm… Who does that remind you of?

I take it all back!

marty — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 22:42:23 +0000

In a 180 I now like Zuma. From the Cape Argus article here.

Taking a dig at Mbeki’s policy of “quiet diplomacy” towards Zimbabwe, Zuma said it was tragic that there were world leaders who witnessed repression and pretended that it was not happening or was exaggerated.

“When history eventually deals with the dictators, those who stood by and watched the deterioration of nations should bear the consequences,” Zuma said.

Carry on my fair populist! Give ‘em hell.

Zuma vs. is the ANC?

marty — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 15:36:25 +0000

Things are heating up within the ANC, creating a sort of internal two party system within South Africa’s only viable political party. At the beginning of the ANC election conference Jacob Zuma’s supporters set the tone by heckling the opposition, here.
This story has many interesting sides. Will the ANC implode? Does Mbeki deserve to have this happen to him? Is Zuma even a viable political leader or is this just the trappings of populism with some tribal overtones? This article from US Politics Today touches on a few of these issues.
Nelson Mandela has added his thoughts on the leadership rift:

“Whatever decision you are to make at this conference, including decisions about leadership positions in the organization, let the noble history of the ANC guide you, Of course it saddens us to see and hear of the nature of the differences currently in the organization.”

Has Mbeki been good for South Africa? One has to wonder if the certain to come fallout of the ANC’s struggles will have any change on the impact of Mbeki’s relative silence towards and about Mugabe as it is/relates to Mbeki’s legacy. Two years is a long time.

And would a Zuma-in-office emulate the man who gave evidence in his rape trial and denounced gay marriage, or the man who apologised for both? We simply do not know.

Full story (from a year ago) about “some as President” thoughts.

Also in an unexpected move, Zanu-PF announced support of Robert Mugabe as their presidential candidate! Full story here.

Zim Updates

marty — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 12:54:00 +0000

Australia says it will deport eight Zimbabwean university students whose parents are senior members of the government of President Robert Mugabe.

Full Beeb story here. As the Dude might say “That’s fucking interesting man.”

In other Zim news, two people were crushed in a sugar shopping stampede. Here. I can’t even fathom what it must be like to a Zimbabwean right now. Me thinks the Grinch’s heart needs to cease to beat.

Finally as a follow up to the SADC summit news from yesterday it seems that SADC officals are keeping a lid on Mbeki’s report on the political climate/situation/travesty in Zimbabwe. Story here. Could it be that they are just embarrassed to release Mbeki’s musings?
“Bob is my hero. Bob should not be as bad as he is, oh I mean bad as in good bad. I swoon for Bobby. We held hands and gazed into one another’s eyes for hours. No one shall bad mouth my Bobby. Sincerely, Thabo “Bob’s #1 Fan” Mbeki“