Zimbabwe

[hotpepper]

I guess this isn't news, so I'm belatedly posting it here:

http://www.ajc.com/opinion/content/opinion/tucker/2005/071005.html

What do you think? Last week I heard a woman who represented South Africa at G8 speak about this very subject. Even though general opinion is that other African countries aren't helping the people of Zimbabwe, her statement focused on the fact that going into help would put the people of South Africa at risk because of the potential for blood shed and political upheaval. I'm not sure what to think

I was happy to see the author of the opinion piece start off by saying "God Bless Bono".

 

[kobayashi]

as far as i know, her analysis of mugabe's leadership is spot on. i was unaware of the extent to which obasanjo and mbeki continue to vouch support for, or refuse to condone, the presidency of mugabe-but neither of them have a particularly glorious track record on corruption issues either.

only when mugabe's brand of policy and action are silenced will continental aid proposals be relieved of the all too common corruption concerns of the west which are, unfortunately, valid in part.

 

[verte76]

She's absolutely right. The guy is a monster. It really pisses me off that no one will do anything about him.

 

[hotpepper]

I guess my big question is WHY isn't anybody doing anything about Mugabe?

 

[TheQuiet1]

I guess my big question is WHY isn't anybody doing anything about Mugabe?

The British media, in my opinion, have been continually asking this question for years and many people have been asking if we invade Iraq to topple one evil dictator why are we letting Mugabe carry on?

In my (probably incorrect) view the answer is quite simple, if the UK interferes with Zimbabwe then it brings back the idea of the British Empire and if there's one thing the UK politicians want to avoid, it's that. Personally, I don't see it like that. The UK has got a lot of making up to do for some of its past history and I think getting Zimbabwe back on the road to democracy would be the best way to start.

On the other hand, there has been one thing done about Mugabe- Zimbabwe was expelled from the Commonwealth, but that's REALLY stopped him, hasn't it? I remember watching the BBC news report on it with Mugabe saying "It is nothing more than a club, we do not need to be a member of this club" [the BBC then 'subtly' intersped this with shots of the member states drinking a toast from gold cups].