Madam Deputy Speaker, in Afrikaans we have an idiomatic expression that says ``Sagte hande maak stinkende wonde''. This means leaving a wound to fester.
This is exactly what happened in Zimbabwe. This government's policy of appeasement of the Mugabe regime has now resulted in a negative no-win situation. Zimbabwe is no longer a democracy but a dictatorship. The fact that Mr Mugabe, following the withdrawal of Mr Tsvangirai, automatically becomes the President of Zimbabwe, should be seen as a covert but successful coup by Mugabe and his militant Zanu-PF leaders.
When the electorate of Zimbabwe expressed themselves on 29 March 2008, the majority elected a new MDC government to parliament and the majority supported Tsvangirai. After three months, however, Mugabe is the winner, not because the people said so but because of his abuse of power.
The AU and other leaders in SADC have clear guidelines and decisions as to how a free and fair election should be run and what action should be taken against countries where coups have taken place. Mugabe has blatantly contravened every election guideline of the AU and SADC. The AU and SADC should view the Zimbabwean election as a coup and act accordingly. This means, amongst other things, that Mugabe and his illegal government should not be recognised by African states following his coming to power.
By dealing with Mugabe as a dictator, which he is, and by describing the pseudo-election as covert coup, which it is, credibility could still be regained also for our country, South Africa. Thank you.