Region’s policy on Mugabe has failed - Hain

Southern Africa’s policy of “constructive engagement” towards President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe could have disastrous consequences for the region, Britain’s foreign office minister for Africa, Peter Hain, told South Africa’s ‘Sunday Independent’. “I sometimes wonder whether the leadership of southern Africa understands the gravity of the situation,” Hain said.

“Mugabe has created a police state climate comparable to the one that imprisoned him. How a freedom struggle can be so badly prostituted is a question for ZANU and Mugabe’s conscience,” he added. “I’m not sure Mugabe listens to [South African President Thabo] Mbeki or [Mozambique President Joaquim] Chissano or anyone, any more than to [British Prime Minister Tony] Blair or [British foreign secretary Robyn] Cook or Hain.”

Hain said he wondered if the sub-continent’s leaders fathomed what their responsibilities were “because the truth is, no matter how frustrated I am that no differentiation is being made between South Africa and Zimbabwe, in boardrooms where they make the decisions they don’t distinguish”.