Tony Blair asked me to 'help invade Zimbabwe', says Thabo Mbeki
South Africa's former president claims that his country was asked to help Britain topple Robert Mugabe
Prime minister Tony Blair with South African deputy President Thabo Mbeki in 1999 Photo: AFP
Tony Blair’s
Government asked South
Africa to help Britain invade Zimbabwe
and topple Robert Mugabe by force, Thabo Mbeki, the former president, has
disclosed.
When Zimbabwe began sinking into economic collapse and political repression in
2000, South Africa and Britain held starkly differing views over how to
respond to the crisis. Mr Mbeki favoured a negotiated settlement; Mr Blair
wanted Mr Mugabe to go, by force if necessary.
“The problem was, we were speaking from different positions,” said Mr Mbeki,
who served as South Africa’s president from 1999 until 2008. “There were
other people saying ‘no, yes indeed there are political problems, economic
problems, the best way to solve them is regime change. So Mugabe must go’.
This was the difference. So they said ‘Mugabe must go’. But we said ‘Mugabe
is part of the solution to this problem’.”
Mr Mbeki recalled an interview given by Lord Guthrie, who served as Chief of
the Defence Staff and Britain’s most senior soldier throughout Mr Blair’s
first government. In 2007, Lord Guthrie disclosed that “people were always
trying to get me to look at” toppling Mr Mugabe by force.
He did not say whether these requests had come from Mr Blair himself. In any
event, Lord Guthrie said that his advice was: “Hold hard, you'll make it
worse”, suggesting that the idea was never a serious proposition.
But Mr Mbeki noted: “There is a retired chief of the British armed forces and
(he) said that he had to withstand pressure from the then prime minister of
the United Kingdom, Tony Blair, who was saying to the chief of the British
armed forces, ‘you must work out a military plan so we that can physically
remove Robert Mugabe’.”
Mr Mbeki disclosed that South Africa, a neighbour of Zimbabwe, had been asked to help. “We had come under the same pressure and that we need to cooperate in some scheme - it was a regime change scheme - even to the point of using military force, and we said ‘no’,” said Mr Mbeki in the interview with al-Jazeera.
He explained that the idea was rejected on principle because Britain should not be in tbe business of deciding who leads African countries. “You are coming from London, you don’t like Robert Mugabe for whatever reason - people in London don’t like him - and we are going to remove him and we are going to put someone else in his place? Why does it become British responsibility to decide who leads the people of Zimbabwe?” aske Mr Mbeki. “So we said ‘no, let Zimbabweans sit down, let them talk’.”
In 2000 and 2001, Mr Mugabe repeatedly accused Britain of plotting not only to overthrow his regime, but also re-colonise Zimbabwe. At various points, he said that Britain had sent “hit squads” to assassinate his cabinet and warships to intercept Zimbabwe’s fuel supplies on the high seas.
This became a central pillar of his rhetoric as he tried to rally support against a new opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change.
State television reported in 2000 that a British invasion force had been deployed in neighbouring Botswana. In 2007, George Charamba, then Mr Mugabe’s spokesman, said: “The government was aware of the plans and the president made reference to the sinister [British] motives on several occasions.”
Mr Blair’s memoirs have no mention of Mr Mbeki – and only fleeting references to Mr Mugabe. Given the opposition of Lord Guthrie – and the absence of any military preparations during that period – it seems unlikely that any operation reached the planning stage, or was ever a real possibility.
Mr Mugabe won a massive victory at elections in July which the opposition Movement for Democratic Change says was rigged.
Mr Mbeki disclosed that South Africa, a neighbour of Zimbabwe, had been asked to help. “We had come under the same pressure and that we need to cooperate in some scheme - it was a regime change scheme - even to the point of using military force, and we said ‘no’,” said Mr Mbeki in the interview with al-Jazeera.
He explained that the idea was rejected on principle because Britain should not be in tbe business of deciding who leads African countries. “You are coming from London, you don’t like Robert Mugabe for whatever reason - people in London don’t like him - and we are going to remove him and we are going to put someone else in his place? Why does it become British responsibility to decide who leads the people of Zimbabwe?” aske Mr Mbeki. “So we said ‘no, let Zimbabweans sit down, let them talk’.”
In 2000 and 2001, Mr Mugabe repeatedly accused Britain of plotting not only to overthrow his regime, but also re-colonise Zimbabwe. At various points, he said that Britain had sent “hit squads” to assassinate his cabinet and warships to intercept Zimbabwe’s fuel supplies on the high seas.
This became a central pillar of his rhetoric as he tried to rally support against a new opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change.
State television reported in 2000 that a British invasion force had been deployed in neighbouring Botswana. In 2007, George Charamba, then Mr Mugabe’s spokesman, said: “The government was aware of the plans and the president made reference to the sinister [British] motives on several occasions.”
Mr Blair’s memoirs have no mention of Mr Mbeki – and only fleeting references to Mr Mugabe. Given the opposition of Lord Guthrie – and the absence of any military preparations during that period – it seems unlikely that any operation reached the planning stage, or was ever a real possibility.
Mr Mugabe won a massive victory at elections in July which the opposition Movement for Democratic Change says was rigged.
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