The march to democracy may stumble in Zimbabwe

BBC NEWS | World | Africa | SA court bans Zimbabwe blockade:
"Cosatu is an ally of South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC), but unlike the government, has been a vocal critic of human rights abuses in Zimbabwe."

The Congress of South African Trade Unions has been ordered by a judge to keep its pro-democracy demonstrations aimed at the March 31 elections in Zimbabwe at least 200 miles from the border, but relaxed the police rule on numbers of pickets. Two delegations of COSATU election monitors have been deported from Zimbabwe by the enlightened regime of Robert Mugabe.

It is refreshing to see trade unionists bucking their own government to support democratic reform in a neighboring country. Unfortunately, without some serious pressure from SA president Thabo Mbeki on his counterpart in Zimbabwe, it is unlikely that Mugabe's grip on his long-suffering country will be relaxed.