A curious title for an AP wire story today, "Africa Laughs at Mugabe's Coup Fears", as posted on ZWNEWS.com today. It is curious because while leaders may not be taking seriously Mugabe's formal complaint to SADC that Botswana is training a rebel force, it is no laughing matter that Mugabe's police have continued to abduct human rights and MDC activists. Jestina Mukoko, who was abducted on December 10th, is perhaps the best known for her work recording the human rights abuses of Mugabe's regime. Also today, ZWNEWS.com carried the story of the abduction of a well-known Zimbabwe photo-journalists, Shadrack Manyere , all told, there have been 23 abductions reported in the past few weeks. For a more detailed and serious analysis of Mugabe's "cooked up" attempt to make ZANU(PF) appear the victims, see Clapperton Mavhunga's "Mugabe Going for Broke" at the Association of Concerned Africa Scholars (ACAS) blog.

While the leaders of South Africa and Tanzania claim they have already achieved a lot by arranging the power-sharing talks (which the South Africans say will be resolved by the end of the week...), they have no reason to laugh when the police are abducting people and there is no recourse to justice. How can SADC and the AU turn a blind eye to these clear abuses of human rights and expect the MDC to enter a government with the very same people who are arresting and abducting their party members?

In a positive move, South African president, Kgalema Motlanthe, announced that SA will give more humanitarian assistance to Zimbabwe, but not directly to Mugabe's people:

"Motlanthe said a SADC plan to send Zimbabwe humanitarian aid hinged on the
creation of a new, nonpartisan agency being established to distribute food and
medicine. Motlanthe said Zimbabwe had a history of allegations of aid being
hijacked by politicians and not being distributed fairly. "It is important for
the relief to reach all people of Zimbabwe without being influenced by partisan
interests, political interests," Motlanthe said. SADC has proposed an umbrella
aid agency that would include all political parties, international aid agencies,
Zimbabwean farmers and others..."

If they can't trust ZANU(PF) with humanitarian aid, why do they trust them with power-sharing in good faith?