What can the Southern African Development Community do, beyond condemning the Mugabe regime ?

The answer is not much. That some SADC leaders are no longer wary of criticizing Mugabe is a step forward for international diplomacy. But there is not much they can do to force Mugabe’s hand. A military strike is out of the question. Sanctions would only prolong the suffering of Zimbabweans. They could collectively refuse to recognize a Mugabe “victory” on Friday. But today’s raid on the MDC headquarters suggests that Mugabe and the powerful Joint Operations Command – a small clique of hardliners masterminding the campaign of intimidation – are undeterred by regional and international pressure.

There are levers, though, which Western governments have been unwilling to use. One of the UK’s most prominent banks, Barclays, operates in Zimbabwe. It has lent money to the country’s landowning elite, including officials who were given farms seized from white owners. UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown speaks out against Mugabe at international gatherings. However, taking on Barclays would be politically risky.

Like Brown, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been blunt in her condemnation of Mugabe. But she says Giesecke & Devrient’s involvement in Zimbabwe is a private matter. The Munich-based company is the world's second-largest printer of bank notes. It is providing trillions of Zimbabwe dollars from its factories near Harare – notes which are being used to pay off Mugabe’s supporters. G & D is an important contractor for the US government, and American officials say they won’t take action against it.

Pressuring Barclays and G & D is easier said than done. But wouldn’t limiting the regime’s access to foreign currency and ending support for its inflation run be more effective than threats of tighter sanctions?