what a lazy view expressed by mr ligertwood.south africa remains the main obsticle to removing the thug mugabe.The uk and usa does not have sole responsibility to knock out despots despite its successes in sierra leone (no wmd) kosovo(nowmd) and the rest of the balkans,bosnia in particular;our special forces were the last to fight at sebranica ( no un backup despoite its mandate ,only cowardice).the conflict in afganistan was not based on wmd either. Just because of potential failure in iraq, we must not hide behind the pointless cynicism and tired irony of such a comment.

david gwilliam, bristol, uk

I disagree with Mr Ligertwood, having WMD doesn't automatically get Messrs Bush & Blair to sort you out.

Now if someone in Zimbabwe could discover oil!

Pete , Edinburgh,

Excuse me, Mr Hain, isn't this the same Mugabe you supported so vehemently in the 1970's, 1980's and 1990's ? If I recall your superlatives when Mugabe came to power, he represented the triumph of moderation over the evils of colonial subjugation. You've gone awfully quiet, dear Peter. Is it possible that your own past is catching up? I hope so, you deserve it.

I wonder how many Zimbabweans would rather like to set the clock back? Doesn't Smithy look good from this perspective?

Mike, Salisbury, Wiltshire

It is rumoured that Maugabe has syphilis!

That would explain his mental behaviour!

Stefan Parmenter, london,

Mr Ligertwood - The government can always claim that Mugabe has got WMD. Apparently they don't need to produce any evidence nor find any WMD to justify invasion.
I know they're busy building spurious cases against Iran and North Korea but they might be able to squeeze Zimbabwe in to their schedule.

Giles Faulkner, Battle, UK

Ben, from London, why do 'we in the west, have a duty' to do anything. It was we in the west that went in and took their land and allowed this nutter to come to the fore in the first place. Surely there must be greater responsibility for all ie isn't it time other AFRICAN countries got involved and took responsibility? When 'we in the west' try to help it is usually only regarded as repression of another form and normally backfires horribly. Sure, let's get involved, but only with support of the African nations. And if they can't be bothered/ have the resources, then it is difficult to see what can sustainably be done. The WMD campaign has hardly given us a successful blueprint.

Lisa, Milan,

Morgan Tsvangiri appears to be a really brave man and prepared to stand uo to this deluded meglamaniac Mugabe.

Why can't the international community support people like him more?

david harris, edinburgh, UK

I cannot believe that the UK will not say anything to this outrageous disregard for basic human rights in such a public way. I sincerely hope Mr Blair does say something or Mr Mugabe in some way and that he is made to feel the disgust and wrath of so many nations.

MB, London,

Hey, cormaquinho - why doesn't Spain go and do it...like you did with Montasuma

hero, Preston,

Isn't it about time that South Africa 'raised' it's concerns over the lack of democracy in Zimbabwe?

Surely the UK has a duty of care to the people of Zimbabwe to ensure that democracy is upheld? Maybe we the help of the UN and the African Union, we can ensure that the liberties and freedoms of the citizens of a democracy which the UK help put in place, are safeguarded.

Paul, London,

Isn't it time that President Mbeki showed his qualities as an African leader and finally denounced this despot? More likely I fear that he will continue to turn a blind eye and allow this megalomaniac to continue to ruin his country and impoverish his people.

Scott, London, UK

Cormaquinho, you might like to check your facts re resources in Zimbabwe. The country is very rich in mineral wealth. It has large platinum reserves, is rich in coal and diamond reserves have been discovered within its borders. Not to mention tobacco, beef and agriculture.

Carys Mathews, Chester,

It's worrying because Zimbabwe has now come to a stage where the people have nothing to loose except Mugabe. Their is a level of tension in the reports that suggest breaking point may be about to be passed. That is, if it has not been breached already.

Chris Buter, Oslo, Norway

Do these vicious thugs really refer to themselves as the "Police" in this strangulated country?. Or have they seen news pictures of their ex colonial rulers, the Britons, beating and torturing Arab prisoners in Iraq, and concluded it is quite acceptable to "play the white man".

Piggy Kruger, bridgwater, UK

Hey America , here is another despot that you can route and give the people their 'freedom'...but hey wait, Zimbabwe has little resources, no oil, gas or diamonds.....

cormaquinho, Madrid, Spain

What a shame they don't have weapons of mass destruction......
We would have gone in to sort this mess out a long time ago!

Mr o ligertwood, chichester, u.k

Unbelievable, how this man thinks he is fit to govern this country is beyond me. He should not be allowed to continue as the President of this once peaceful nation.

He is quite obviously against democracy as can be seen by the beating of the opposition leader. We in the west have a duty to ensure that he can no longer govern.

Ben, London, England

Wishful thinking, Howard.

Any country is better off with a bad ruler than with a foreign ruler. (Iraq is a good example)

And by the way, even the Americans and British have their majority elected governments!! What are they doing with you guys? Are you any happier or safer in London or NY?

Ashish Deodhar, Mumbai, India

No, Howard.

Majority rule does not equal Mugabe's latter-day descent into political madness and it ill-behoves commentators to imply that racist regimes, such as those that used to hold power in South Afric and Rhodesia ,are better than any conceivable African alternative. To be sure, Mbeki's silence is deeply condemnatory of his regime but that does not mean Mandela ought to be still locked on Robben Island.

Peter, Geneva, Switzerland

Those same 'educated twentysome-things' who are 'frustrated and angry' have their forefathers to blame. They have their majority elected government - now they have to live with it.

As Ian Smith said:

"Everything we did was criticized. For about thirty years we lived with the world against us, accusing us of things we didn't do!"

Sadly we must watch South Africa slowly slide into the same chaos.

Howard, London, UK