A former British minister for Africa said today that South Africa should cut power supplies to Zimbabwe, and African peacekeepers backed by the EU and United Nations should be ready to go in and restore order.
Peter Hain, a noted anti-apartheid campaigner who served as Africa minister under former prime minister Tony Blair, said it would also be essential to give Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe immunity from prosecution.
Mr Hain told
Sky Newsthat Mr Mugabe would never respond to "diplomatic niceties", so firm action was needed, starting with sanctions against the whole of his elite.
"Electricity supplies from South Africa, which have been going in for many years now, should be cut off. And that would hit the regime more than anything else because the people can hardly suffer any more than they have been already," he said.
Peter Hain said South Africa should cut power supplies to Zimbabwe
"And then we can see the beginnings of a strategy with, if necessary, African peacekeepers supported by the United Nations and the European Union going in to restore order and to make sure that there is not genocide," Hain said.
He said a government of national unity should then be formed under opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, which could include members of Mugabe's ZANU-PF party.
Meanwhile, South Africa's powerful COSATU trade union federation said it would mobilise the world's workers to isolate President Mugabe, accusing him of ruling illegally.
"The federation is appalled at the levels of violence and intimidation being inflicted on the people of Zimbabwe by the illegitimate Mugabe regime...," COSATU said in a statement.
The two-million strong labour grouping said it fully sympathised with the decision of opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai to pull out of Friday's presidential run-of
The trade union federation said it called on workers across the world to isolate Mr Mugabe.
Reuters