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CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) - South Africa will continue to rely on quiet diplomacy toward Zimbabwe, President Thabo Mbeki said Saturday, downplaying criticism that the approach has failed to halt repression and economic mismanagement.
Pressure has grown on Mbeki to change tactics following Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's clampdown earlier this year on urban slum dwellers and street traders, which left an estimated 700,000 people without homes or livelihoods.
The South African government — Mugabe's most important ally — has used gentle persuasion to try to bring about policy change without visible results.
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