Bad leadership by Brown again, I'd trust Bin Laden before I'd trust any African Country to solve this problem. Look on the bright side, One man Genocide, is another mans Carbon Offsetting.

Martin L, Stockport,

Yet again the poor people of Africa are abandoned by wretched British lefties,how any rational human being can buy into the Mbeki line "there is no crisis in Zimbabwe"beggars belief.
How much longer will it be before South Africa goes the same way,then where will the pathetic starving refugees flee to, Britain I suppose.
Wake up Broon, your cowardice is showing.

John W Meadows, Los Altos Hills, California

Gordon Brown; You are a weak, pathetic man! We were warned that the bodies would pile up if nothing was done. They have started and still the leaders of the world do nothing. I'm ashamed of them all!! You have blood on your hands.
Brown ( who is also leading a country that voted for someone else) is a toothless waste of oxygen.

Tim, London,

Gordon Brown is amking the same mistake as many before him..........having faith in African leaders. We all know where this is going just ask Malcolm Fraser the Australian PM who helped put Mgabe in power

Graham Richards, Brisbane, Australia

African leaders by ay standard are not very different from other leaders, they all love power and hate to give it up. Magaret Thatcher for example loved her power and wanted keep every inch of it-she was nearly dragged out of 10 Downing! Tony Blair on the other hand didnt step down because he wanted to share power or felt that Gordon Brown deserves a chance. He was deposed 'Brown Labour loyalist'. So what can you tell us about African leaders and love for power????

Nick Obita, Chatham, UK

I agree with Chenzira, it`s all about Land ownership nothing else, leave Zimbabweans to sort themselves out otherwise the truth will be out sooner or later.

Rusununguko, London, Uk

I am appalled with the international community, including the leadership of my own country, for not pushing for transparency in Zimbabwe's election results. Mugabe called Gordon Brown an unimportant 'speck' in response to his criticisms. The rest of the world needs to speak out and say,loudly and clearly, that stealing elections (or trying to) is not acceptable in any country. I hope the Zimbabweans may soon be relieved of Mugabe's maniacally destructive government.

Amy Sharman-Phasey, Orillia, Canada

If Zimbabwe doesn't want Mugabe anymore, can he please come and take over as President/Prime Minister/King of the state formerly known as the United Kingdom? This country needs some discipline and order which only the Zanu-PF leader and his secret police can bring.

Geoff, London,

I have the greatest of sympathy for the average Zim citizen,,,,,,,,,however most African nations that came into their own after colonial rule were just not prepared for such a dramatic change.........
Democracy is only a word in many states of Africa as Balek Mbeti has said..........But then where is the wholseslae condemnation of the regime?........If the West does so the Mugabe and his croneys will just get their support from China.........after all he is in his 80's so what does he care?......he can sell off all the country's wealth and still not worry.
The UN should get their act together and put pressure on this beautiful yet ravaged country to put their citizens first and not just the ruling elite.

Peter, Birmingham, UK

As much as we would like to see some heavy handed action from the west, that would only fuel Mugabe's spin that this is all some plot by Britain to take zimbabwe back.
This is precisely what he wants.

If the west stays out of it, his spin going to start getting thin quickly.

Linton , Richmond vancouver , Canada

Mbeki has shown his true colours. He is not fit to rule if he thinks his words hold any modicom of truth

Peter , Singapore, Singapore

Having lived here (In Zimbabwe) all my life and experienced Mugabes rule all my life too I am enclined to say that as much as the West may talk and SADC may talk and talk forever that will never change Zimbabwe's situation, Zimbabwe Is made up of Citizens who have grown very afraid of Mugabe and though they may vote against him the vote will never take Mugabe off that seat. Its either we have wide spread demonstrations or we simply wait for Mugabe to die and I believe the latter is more likely for us. WE ARE DOOMED TO MUGABES RULE... I think the rest of the world should just keep quiet and watch because it only adds pain to the ever increasing problems we have here.

Michael, Harare,

Its all about land . Leave Zimbaweans to sort their own problems. Zimbabweans fought for their right to vote without any assistance from all these do gooders who are now clamouring to help. What hypocrisy!

chenzira, London,

Surely Paul Francis means that nobody can 'ruin' a country like an African can? Sadly it has been demonstrated in just about every country on the continent that African leaders are interested in just one thing - power and its trappings and they'll go to any lengths to keep them. Their 'people' might be starving and or dying from diseases like AIDS and malaria, but that's OK because they know the (despised) West will continue to pour in aid and medicines (most of which they can loot for themselves). They don't give a toss that their countries' infrastructures are crumbling. Why should they worry about the future? They have an unfortunate inability to understand the consequences of their actions (or inactions) so they're not bothered. They've all acquired their mansions in expensive (despised) European cities and their huge fortunes are safely stashed away in (despised) Western and Asian bank accounts. So, even if Mugabe goes, does anyone truly think that the situation will change ?

Ronni Curtis, Johannesburg,

Britain imposed Mugabe to the people of Zimbabwe in 1980 and now they want Thabo Mbeki to remove him. They are very good at at choosing who should rule, especially where they used to have their former colonial powers. Why were they not putting pressure to release Thabo Mbeki when he was rotting in Mugabe's prison during the struggle for South Africa? People like Mugabe were imposed to rule Zimbabwe when they had no structural experience of governance, which is why they resort to violence and intimidation.
We know that deep down Gordon's Heart is not with Zimbabweans. He just wants to deport them. If he is really concerned with the appalling situation in Zimbabwe, he should help Zimbabweans currently living in UK who he has denied quality life and subjected them to poverty, rape and torture in UK's detention centres. Instead of making life difficult for them why not provide these people with training, education, work so that they could participate fully in Zim politics.

Mariaitashoma Mzukuru, London,

A word of advice for Thabo Mbeki.While it is true that it is not your responsibility to put out the fire when your neighbour's house is ablaze, it is in your interest to see the fire contained.

Robert, Luton, UK

I have reason to believe that during a presidential election(in zimbabwe or elsewhere),the country is at that time without a president, therefore if the results are not out yet then Mr Mugabe is not president, so i wonder why he is making all the decisions..his 11th hour pull out of the sadc meeting maybe due to that he had realised that..the zimbabwean presidency is vacant until the results are out, so no recounts, no orders until we see the results 1st..

Christpher, Francistown, Botswana

Can someone have the guts to just go in there and root out Mugabe.

bart, harare , zimbabwe

Mugabe knows his days are numbered, wherever he will go someone is going to be after him. So he will hide behind his presidential guard as long as possible. However the real truth about Mugabe and the west is still to come out when Mugabes killing fields are discovered, plus the abuses he has perpetrated over the years while shaking hands with royalty and western prime ministers. He was and always has been a mass murder and a thug and if the west had any decency would have arrested him for genocide.

Geoff williams, johannesburg, South africa

May I suggest Mr. Brown goes to live on a farm in Zimbabwe ? This would solve two problems:
a) we would finally get rid of this Little Hitler with all his totalitarian instincts
b) he would perhaps understand the folly of his words and actions (although I doubt he has the intellectual capacity for it)

Chris, London,

Of course it must be left to others. There is no oil in Zimbabwe, nor any mythical wepaons of mass destruction that Western politicians wish to acknowledge.

Neil, Gloucestershire, England

Brown and his government are just so weak!

Pete, Bath, Somerset

McBrown is a fool, they will not do anything. Mbeki is taking advice from Mugabe on how to deal with the "white problem".
Where is the UN?

roy race, bratislava,

Just like to say having a zim born wife and lots of friends from Zimbabwe, who tell me they all want to go home. It is time for the world and for sure Africa itself to move this crazy man out of Zimbabwe and make way for its people to bring back the country to some of its former glory.

It was a wonderful country and still has wonderful people, but they need with the help of the rest of Africa and the world to remove this greed. Soliders and policemen of Zimbabwe remove your leaders they are rich while your familes are straving. They and thier crazy leader are the problem. They all moan about whites taking all they own well ok maybe it was true in some cases but not all.

All Zimbabwe people black and white love thier country, look at your leaders now are they just not a replacement for the so called white suppressors? I and many Zims who were forced to leave want to go home so i beg you for the sake of your country and your people removed the crazy man and his bullyboys.

Doc, Derby, UK/Singapore

In politics, timing can mean everything. Two days after the Zim elections, Mugabe was defeated, demoralised and ready to throw in the towel. At the time, Mbeki or SADC could have stated the obvious and given him an exit in no uncertain terms. They baulked at the idea, playing wait and see. The canny Mugabe and his (very small circle) of hawks in the military saw the opportunity and opted for a constitutional coup d'etat, gambling but probably already knowing that they had the dithering inaction, if not tacit support, of Mbeki. So if Mbeki was down to 20% in the popularity stakes, he's headed for 5% now. How far a cry is this from the statesmanlike Mandela. History will not be kind to Mbeki.

Philip, Johannesburg, South Africa

My I remind Bob Neilans in Lincoln that Mad Bob Mugabe IS a weapon of mass destruction! Do you need an excuse?

Julian Begg, Lenham, Kent

Mr Brown leads the British nation in joining the " conditional champions of human rights " turning their backs on the poor
people of Zimbabwe in their time of such desperate need.!!

Peter van Lennep, Drumshanbo, Ireland

So called leaders like Brown and Bush fail to realize that people everywhere want action now on tragedies like Zimbabwe and Darfur. Not ridiculous posturing over Iran and iraq.

To make matters worse, the African leaders who met in Zambia have set back the African cause internationally by decades. Their failure to act is cowardly and brutally indifferent to the horrific hardships among virtually all Zim people.

If Brown truly wants to get his head round the Zim dilemma let him imagine it is happening in Northern England. In which case would he confine himself to pointless platitudes?

My advice to the MDC leaders? Contrive a press leak that Zim has just discovered vast reserves of oil.
Then, stand back for the greedy grab stampede.

Leigh Vernier, Riyadh, KSA

The big difference between Zimbabwe and Iraq and Afghanistan is that Zimbabwe has not been linked to terrorists and we don't have a history of rule in Iraq and Afghanistan. This means that we cannot do anything in Zimbabwe, even though we would love to, we can't because they don't want us to. As long as Mugabe keeps telling people that it's the west's fault, we are impotent.

Making a hash of things once in Zimbabwe was, perhaps, an accident, I don't know, I wasn't alive. But doing it twice, which considering our current record is a distinct possibility, wuld be unforgiveable.

The best possibility at the moment seems to be fr someone in Zimbabwe to shoot him. Then, presumably, the ony possible candidate would be Tzvangirai, his main rival. Then he can deconstruct the regime from the inside, exactly what they're trying to stop him doing by keeping Mugabe in power.

Rachel Titley, Halfiax, West Yorkshire

One can only suppose that Mugabe knows where Mbeki buried the body.
I can think of no other reason this man stands and watches the suffering in Zimbabwe.
Any other guesses ?

robert everitt, wolverhampton,

Nobody can run a country quite like an African can.

Paul Francis, Brisbane, Australia

Well, what a surprise! Gordon Brown is going to wait for somebody else to do something. I can't remember when we last had a Prime Minister that dithered about everything to such an extent.

Brown may have been a good Chancellor, but he is just not up to the task of being Prime Minister.

Carl, London,

Ditherer puts his faith in a club of ditherers.

Chris Gillibrand, Brussels , Belgium

Its time the international community put pressure on South Africa as well. It has let down Zimbabwe so much and their quiet diplomacy is understandable, they are gaining a lot from the situation in Zimbabwe. I wonder why the media doesnt consider that. Most of the constraction that is being done in preparation for the world cup is being done by Zimbabweans and they fear they may start going back home. Further more Zimbabweans are more educated than the South Africans and they make close to a 3rd of the proffesionals working in SA.

Never, Mutare, Zimbabwe

Nice... He's joined Mbeki in betraying the people of Zimbabwe.

Rod Baker, Cape Town, South Africa

If Brown is waiting for Zimbabwe's neighbours to come to the rescue his optimism is miss-placed. He will still be waiting on his return to the back benches.

Simon Marshland, Bath, Somerset

As a South African living in England, the Zimbabwe situation is appaling, my family in South Africa are affected, as are thousands of other families. With the illegal immigrants pouring over the border crime is increasing.

Why can't Mbeki realise that to combat crime, or atleast to start combating it, he needs to stop the immigrants. How do you do that, by setting up a non-corrupt government in Zim.

Come on Mbeki open your eyes, the ANC fought for freedom during apartheid, now you sit back and watch those freedoms being taking away in Zimbabwe, catch a wake up.

Donovan Robinson, Reading, UK

Notwithstanding the tyranny of Robert Mugabe, Britain will always find itself sucked in the politics of Zimbabwe. And as long as Zimbabwe continues to drown in the current vortex of economic malaise, the blame will always be heaped on the door steps of Britain. It is the only way Mugabe can justify his stay, but to pass the buck!

Davies Chisenga, Townsville, Australia

What if Mugabe had hidden weapons of mass destruction in the country? Alright, so its not true but when did that stop us!

Bob Neilans, Lincoln,

The problems in Zimbabwe to be left to the neighbours? No chance for Zimbabweans then. Eventually this awful tyrant will be overthrown or he will die. There will then be a terrible price to pay by those who supported him. In the meantime I would suggest that Western governments had as little as possible to do with Mugabe's government. Support should be given to those who are asylum seekers from Zimbabwe. The problems in Zim are not the responsibility of either the UK or the USA - they lie outside the door of Mugabe, his Zanu-PF party and people like Mbeki who obviously supports him.

Ian Burgess, Bristol,

Concerning any support to try and influence Mugabe from South Africa, let us remember that Mbeke is the genius who states with insistence that HIV does not lead to AIDS. No wonder the man believes there is no crisis in Zimbabwe. When the balloon goes up, Mbeke will shriek that the USA and the West are to blame.

Anne Wotana Kaye, London, England

This Zimbabwe situation remind many of what was going on in Germany prior to and during the war, the murder of millions yet few said anything and certainly not the media. If the West cannot bring a country like Zimbabwe to book then what on earth are we doing in Iraq or is this the real problem we are over governed and over regulated. Our armies are hamstrung by rules of engagement designed to make them as effective as a feather. Lets us compare history. We sent a gun boat and the leaders and the country concerned gave in. Today we can send our most sophisticated weapons and the next thing I see is they out there shaking their fists at us. They don’t take us seriously. The pride in our power has gone and we are an apologetic mess.

Jas, Alders, UK

I fear it'll soon be time for a review committee...

Mike L, Chippenham, Wilts

Brown.

What an idiot.

Jez W, Leeds,

And I believe in the tooth fairy, gimme me a break Gordo. Mbeki has been pontificating for many years over Mugabe and has done nothing and the other African leaders are only concerned with themselves. Bottler Brown won't help, Zimbabwe has no oil and any rate Bush doesn't even know where this African country is. Only a forced kicking out of this despot will work and unfortunately its going to be the Zimbabweans on their own that will have to suffer to achieve this.

Mike, Alicante, Spain

"Gordon Brown will continue to put his faith in Zimbabwe’s neighbours to help to resolve the crisis there"...while Britain, and the World...rapidly loses faith in Gordon Brown!

Garth Strong, San Diego, USA

Now it is proven that the West, especially the Labour government of Harold Wilson, backed the wrong horse in Mugabe instead of Ian Smith, and the seemingly weak Mbeki of South Africa who really just wants all the white Africans out of Africa as Mugabe and many other black African leaders do, even if it causes great hardships to the masses, the current governments of the West have to sort out the major problems in that part of the world with the next crisis being large shortages of food due to the biofuel revolution. Will the West force sub-Saharan Africa to produce the food they can by employing those Africans who are being kicked out but who have the right farming skills (and will) by refusing food aid?

B J Deller, Marbella, Spain

Well we can't do anything anyway, as our troops are all somewhere else. In any case, an intervention by the UK would mean staying there for years while the parties sorted out their rather large differences. Hopefully we have learned that intervention is a long term game and that troops from another country can never make large cultural changes.

Colin, shrewsbury,

Glad we (U.S.) are staying out of it. All we would do is go in, make conditions fertile for a democracy (or constitutional republic), allow Zimbabwe to become an economic dynamo (rather like Japan after WWII) ... bad news all around.

L.T., Columbus, OH

Whilst there are indeed a lot of historically colonial factors and current economic factors that are beyond Africa's control that contribute to suffering of the people. The current situation in Zimbabwe and the response of its neighbours just goes to show how much they are the architects of their won misery. SADC has proved totally inept, how are people to have confidence in democracy in the region and how are other leaders expected to take responsibility for their actions, when the leaders can't be removed democratically. In Zimbabwe I feel that it is a case of "Till Death Us Depart!"

Martyn A, Bangkok ,

Not only did the UK, UN and US (Pres. Carter) kick Ian Smith out, but they actually forced them to install (guess who) Bob Mugabe!

Now everyone seems surprised that the country is starving.

Jim, Memhpis, US / TN

Please don't interfere in Zimbabwe.

Let's see how much more damage Mugabe can do. maybe we could have competitions to see who the very worst leader is.

Obviously the worst would have to be Ian Smith or any other white leader that dragged Africa into the 20th Century.

Graham Richards, Brisbane, Australia

What an appalling leader. And that Mugabe doesn't sound much good either.

st John Delwes-Cholmondely (Lord), Hingebottom Bay, UK

Funny how things work out. The UK, UN, US were all quick to kick Ian Smith out of Rhodesia. Back then it seemed to be a breadbasket of the area, with employment for people. Now it is a mess, and no one wants to know.

Ed, St.James, Florida US

Oh Dear. What a case of double standards. Right. Troops out of Afghanistan and Iraq. Let's leave it to their respective neighbours.

Nick, Sunny Sale, Cheshire