South Africa doubts need for U.N. action on Zimbabwe

In a telephone interview with Reuters, South African Ambassador Dumisani Kumalo indicated he would not back the U.S. draft, saying the very premise of the resolution was faulty.

"The biggest challenge of the resolution is the premise that the problem of the election is a threat to international peace and security," he said.

Note to the South Africa government:

The resolution does not merely address a flawed election. It addresses a crisis that has been boiling for years.

Even if you don't want to address the systematic violence that has been perpetrated by the Mugabe regime against democratic actors, you must admit that there have been threats to international peace and security. We've already begun to see tensions within the SADC block because of the Zimbabwe crisis. Because of Mugabe's tyranny, millions of people have been displaced, and have had to move to other countries. This has caused a destabalizing effect in the economies of Zimbabwe's neighbors.

One wonders what sort of internal crisis would justify international action using the standards of South Africa's government. The world was negligent in addressing the apartheid regime in South Africa, and it was only through activism that nations finally began to address a deep wrong. The world is being provided another opportunity to stand up and confront an evil regime. We cannot afford to be negligent once again.