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I'm ashamed of my nation's failure over Zimbabwe, says Tutu
Ed Harris24 Dec 2008
Archbishop Desmond Tutu accused South Africa today of failing to stand up to Robert Mugabe as Zimbabwe spiralled deeper into crisis.
The Nobel peace-prize winner said his own country was losing the moral high ground, and force should be an option to get rid of Zimbabwe's president.
"How much more suffering is going to make us say, 'No, we have given Mr Mugabe enough time,'" he said.
"I want to say first of all that I have been very deeply disappointed, saddened by the position that South Africa has taken at the United Nations Security Council in being an obstacle to the Security Council dealing with that matter.
"And I have to say that I am deeply, deeply distressed that we should be found not on the side of the ones who are suffering. I certainly am ashamed of what they've done in the United Nations."
Speaking to Radio 4's Today programme, the human rights campaigner, 77, said: "For the world to say no, we are waiting for South Africa's membership of the Security Council to lapse and then we can take action."
That, the archbishop, said, was an "awful indictment" of a country with a "proud record of a struggle against a vicious system.
"We should have been the ones who for a very long time occupied the moral high ground. I'm afraid we have betrayed our legacy."
The country is suffering a cholera epidemic that has infected more than 18,000 people and is feared to have killed hundreds.
Power-sharing negotiations with the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, widely thought to have won recent elections, have come to a halt as the sides disagree over key appointments.
In a letter to the Times today, Foreign Secretary David Miliband described Mr Mugabe as a "stain" on Zimbabwe.
He wrote: "Any sane person realises that Mugabe's misrule is only spurring Zimbabwe's descent into chaos. If Zimbabwe is to haul itself - with the help it needs and deserves - out of its current meltdown, Mugabe has to go.
"As long as Mugabe rules Zimbabwe he remains a stain on that country. I acknowledge he is also a stain on the international community, which has not been able to deliver the will of the Zimbabwean people."
Mr Miliband said he advocated a sanctions resolution from the UN, which was blocked in July by Russia and China.
He joined Archbishop Tutu in urging South Africa to do more, saying: "It is our strong view that this international crisis requires international attention.
"It is obvious to everyone that neighbouring states, especially South Africa, have most to lose from instability in Zimbabwe and most to gain from change.
That is why we continue to emphasise their role and responsibilities and to urge them to take action."
Mr Mugabe has rejected calls from the US and Britain for him to stand down, branding the country's governments "stupid and foolish".
Reader views (1)
We should cut of all aid to Africa. They have all thrown there support behind Mugabe, let them go down with him.
- Frank, Home Counties, England., 25/12/2008 10:58
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