I saw a little trail for the African Union Conference on BBC News 24 the other day and the state of nonsense that embroiled the media came into sharp focus. As the camera panned across the room it flashed across delegates from various countries; in a few seconds we'd gone past the leaders of Angola, Egypt and Algeria.
Had we kept watching the number of delegates that could plausibly claim to be from countries that conduct even relatively peaceful, free and fair bourgeois elections could be counted on one hand. The number from one-party states, from countries where elections are more or less entirely rigged, where governments are co-operative lash-ups between warring factions could not be counted on one hand.
So this was the hope of Mr.Tsvangirai? That Hosni Mubarak would have the chutzpah to tell Mugabe to hold free and fair elections? To refrain from meeting out to his opponents the same treatment that he routinely inflicts on his own people?
Levy Mwanawasa, the Zambian President, a prominent critic of Mugabe was himself mired in an election rigging scandal just two years ago when very strong questions were asked about his victory over Mugabe ally Michael Sata.
From where does the expectation come that the majority of these leaders would be likely allies of the MDC?
It is about time that the opposition in Zimbabwe came to terms with the reality that the international community cannot and will not ride to its rescue. Their movement will have to stand or fall on its own strength, it must plan to remove the Mugabe with whatever resources are available to it. The longer it holds its collective breath in expectation of salvation from outside the greater the chance it will pass out and die before even attempting to wrest control of their country away from Mugabe.
