Now, however, the threat to SA interests has become immediate and tangible. Hence last week's decision by SA to summon Zimbabwe's High Commissioner to protest against attacks on SA businesses. The intervention has resulted in a reprieve for SA firms, following exhortations by Zimbabwe Labour Minister Nkosana Moyo to Zimbabweans not to take the law into their own hands but to resolve labour disputes through the Labour Relations Act. There is an implicit lesson for President Thabo Mbeki.
Quiet diplomacy is seen as weakness.
He needs to be more forthright in holding Mugabe to his promises to respect the rule of law and rein in his thugs.