Madam, - In 2002 leading figures in Robert Mugabe's regime in Zimbabwe were singled out for EU sanctions in protest at human rights abuses. Yet although such abuses have increased dramatically in Zimbabwe over the past five years, the member-states of the Southern African Development Community have continued to support the Mugabe dictatorship, and in the communique following their recent meeting in Dar es Salaam, they called for an end to all economic sanctions against Zimbabwe and expressed their solidarity with the government of Robert Mugabe (The Irish Times, March 30th).
Given the failure of Zimbabwe's neighbours to back sanctions against Zimbabwe (ironic, given that most SADC members supported sanctions against Rhodesia and South Africa in the past), the time has come for the EU and the UN to impose stronger targeted sanctions against the Mugabe regime. These should remain in force until democracy and respect for human rights are restored in Zimbabwe. - Yours, etc,
MAIRTÍN Ó GLÍOSÁIN, Athenry, Co Galway.
Madam, - Now is the time for everyone to encourage Zimbabweans to discuss their future openly. We have been asked to give quiet diplomacy a chance, but as a South African living in Ireland I find it difficult to defend my government's unwillingness to engage with Zimbabwe in a manner that demands progress and results.
The emergency meeting in Dar es Salaam last week was organised by the Southern African Development Community (SADC), which represents Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The combined voices of these countries add significant weight to any decisions taken on issues that affect their common area.
While SADC leaders normally prefer to present a united front to the world, members are known not to pull any punches behind closed doors. I feel, though, that they have missed the perfect opportunity to guide Zimbabwe back to the path of democracy and prosperity.
I also agree with Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu and former US secretary of state Madeleine Albright, who voiced their concerns in last Wednesday's Washington Post, where they called for open dialogue. Maybe it is time for Zimbabwe to consider instruments similar to the Multi-party Negotiating Forum (MPNF) which South Africa used to get all stakeholders around the table back in the early 1990s to discuss the country's future.
With the population of Africa's breadbasket now facing starvation, the world can no longer stand by and look on while power-hungry egos face each other in a stand-off. After all, as the African proverb goes, "when elephants fight it is the grass that suffers". - Yours, etc,
VINCENT HIBBERT, Rivercourt, Dublin 8.