Mbeki: warning to critics

South African president Thabo Mbeki has warned against scapegoating Robert Mugabe for the ills of Zimbabwe.

Following growing criticism of Mugabe's leadership, the president warns that a lasting solution to the problems must come from the "people of Zimbabwe themselves".

"In the heated atmosphere that surrounds the issue of Zimbabwe, the tendency to pose as high priests at the inquisition, hungry for the blood of the accused, has taken root - as though to demonise and punish is the way to solve the most difficult problems," he wrote in the Guardian.

"In this situation, as in war, the truth soon becomes a casualty."

Mbeki challenged claims that the Zanu-PF led government is solely to blame for the economic chaos now crippling Zimbabwe.

"The economic crisis did not originate from the desperate actions of a reckless political leadership," he wrote.

"It arose from a genuine concern to meet the needs of the black poor, without taking into account the harsh economic reality that we must pay for what we consume."

And in a warning to Mugabe's international critics, Mbeki said that "righteous and self-serving indignation" will not alleviate poverty or end the suffering of his people.

"The longer the problems of Zimbabwe remain unresolved, the more entrenched poverty will become," he stated.

"The longer this persists, the greater will be the degree of social instability, as the poor respond to the pains of hunger.

"The more protracted this instability, the greater will be the degree of polarisation and social and political conflict."

South Africa is willing to work with Mugabe and his regime to bring about change, Mbeki made clear.

"As patriots who occupied the same trench of struggle with Zimbabwe when we, together, battled to end white minority rule in our region, we will do what we can to enable Zimbabweans to enjoy the fruits of their hard-won liberation," he added.