Saturday, March 24, 2007

That Was Then

Instead of confronting Mugabe's disastrous rule, the South Africans will continue to quietly work the issue of Zimbabwe:

Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad rejected criticism of regional heavyweight South Africa's so-called "quiet diplomacy" from Australia and other Western countries, which he accused along with the media of sensationalism.

"It is not our intention to make militant statements to make us feel good, or to satisfy governments outside the African continent," Pahad told a regular news briefing in Pretoria amid the growing political crisis in neighboring Zimbabwe.

Funny thing is, the world rejected quiet diplomacy when it came to resisting South Africa's Apartheid government. Who knew that the world was wrong back then?