ASHINGTON, Aug. 20 — The Bush administration said today that it was working to foster opposition to President Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe, calling his rule illegitimate and irrational.Posted on 08/21/2002 7:02:57 AM PDT by JohnHuang2
ASHINGTON, Aug. 20 — The Bush administration said today that it was working to foster opposition to President Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe, calling his rule illegitimate and irrational.
Using some of the administration's strongest language yet to condemn the government in Zimbabwe, senior state department officials said Mr. Mugabe won re-election in March through fraud and coercion and has since helped spread starvation in southern Africa through misguided policies.
Though they stopped short of calling for a change of government, the officials said the United States was working with human rights activists, labor unions and pro-democracy groups in Zimbabwe, as well as other southern African governments, to isolate the Mugabe government and encourage democratic opposition.
"The political status quo is unacceptable, because the elections were fraudulent," Walter Kansteiner, the assistant secretary of state for African affairs, told reporters at the State Department today.
"So we're working with others, other countries in the region as well as throughout the world, on how we can in fact, together, encourage the body politic of Zimbabwe to in fact go forward and correct that situation."
The administration's strong remarks came as the Mugabe government began evicting hundreds of white farmers from their property as part of a land redistribution plan. Since the government started enforcing the new law last week, about 200 farmers have been arrested for refusing to comply.
Southern Africa is experiencing its worst drought and food shortages in a decade, and a senior state department official said it was irrational for Mr. Mugabe to evict white farmers when Zimbabwe needed their skills more than ever.
"It is madness to arrest commercial farmers in the middle of a drought when they could grow food to save people from starvation," said Andrew S. Natsios, administrator of the United States Agency for International Development.
Mr. Natsios said the Mugabe government was not actually giving the property to landless blacks, but using it to reward loyal military officers and political cronies.
Mr. Natsios also announced today that the United States has pledged an additional 190,000 metric tons of food assistance to southern Africa, where more than 12 million people in six countries are expected to suffer food shortages by the end of the year. The United States has already delivered or pledged to provide 310,000 metric tons of food, mainly corn, to the region.
Zimbabwe is expected to account for half of those hungry people. Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique, Lesotho and Swaziland are also experiencing severe food shortages. The United Nations is trying to collect $611 million in food and other aid to stave off famine in those countries.
Administration officials also said Mr. Mugabe had worsened food shortages in his country by maintaining currency exchange policies that have made it unprofitable to export food to Zimbabwe.
"The problem is, the most severely affected country is the country that is being the least cooperative," Mr. Natsios said.
The administration's criticism of Mr. Mugabe comes as Secretary of State Colin L. Powell is preparing to lead a delegation of senior administration officials to South Africa for an international conference on sustainable development.
Senior administration officials said Secretary Powell was likely to discuss Zimbabwe in talks with European and African leaders during that trip. Mr. Mugabe is also expected to attend the conference, which will be held in Johannesburg starting next week.
Since the March elections, which were marred by violence and allegations of fraud, the Commonwealth has voted to suspend Zimbabwe, and several western nations have imposed travel or financial sanctions on senior officials in the government.
But African nations have been less willing to criticize, much less impose sanctions on, Zimbabwe. Administration officials said today that they were encouraging some of Zimbabwe's neighbors to pressure Mr. Mugabe to avoid an authoritarian crackdown on his people and to speak out publicly against his policies.
"We don't expect these guys to impose travel sanctions or economic sanctions on Mugabe," one senior administration official said. "But most of Mugabe's neighbors are keenly aware of the problem he poses for the region."
The senior official said the United States was also providing advice, training and in some cases financial support to labor unions, human rights groups, election monitors and journalists to encourage them to demand democratic rights and free elections.
"Zimbabwe once was to many people a model of democracy and economic success," the official said. "Mugabe has systematically attacked most democratic institutions. But there's enough of a system still in place for the Zimbabwe people to deal with this."
Some independent analysts say they are not so sure, asserting that opposition groups have been weakened since the elections while Mr. Mugabe remains popular with the military and the landless poor.
"Mugabe runs on an anticolonial platform," said Michael O'Hanlon, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. "So U.S. criticism may actually help him, not hurt him."
"Using some of the administration's strongest language yet to condemn the government in Zimbabwe, senior state department officials said Mr. Mugabe won re-election in March through fraud and coercion and has since helped spread starvation in southern Africa through misguided policies."
Isn't that quaint. We try to "foster opposition" and use strong language to condemn while that scumbag mugabe is arresting innocent farmers, stealing their land, giving it to his pals subsequently starving his own people.
We aren't peeing into the wind, we're turning a wind tunnel on and peeing into that. Stupid.
It is madness to send food aid to a country that is arresting commercial farmers in the middle of a drought when they could grow food to save people from starvation.
Why the hell are we sending a dime to this hell hole? They just had an 'election' cycle there. I saw pictures of the satanic bastard standing on stage in front of crowds of people. Surely one would think that at least one person in the country would have the testicular fortitude it would take to reach out and touch him with a .308 from 200 yards and thus put an end to his (mis)rule.
What is occurring in the coutry is truely evil. There is only one way to deal with evil like that. It is sad that the people there will meekly accept their lot in life rather than do something to effect change.
The fact that GWBush is willing to send aid to the country disgusts be beyond belief.
Actually, he was talking about Daschle.
But African nations have been less willing to criticize, much less impose sanctions on, Zimbabwe. Administration officials said today that they were encouraging some of Zimbabwe's neighbors to pressure Mr. Mugabe to avoid an authoritarian crackdown on his people and to speak out publicly against his policies.
You know what's going to happen. Zimbabwe and all the neighboring countries that have relied on it's agriculture to help feed them are going to have problems, and guess who's going to be expected to give all kinds of free food? The hated European/American whites. Charity is a great and good thing - but to prop up idiot dictators like Mugabe?
Africa is full of nuthouse countries, innocent and decent people are suffering but the Western liberals turn a blind eye to the real problems. Maybe they feel guilty. I can remember all the strong liberal attack against South Africa - no delay - turn it over today - to Mandela back then. How's South Africa doing today? One step behind Zimbabwe.
See the recent British experiments in the lunacy of gun control.
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