Posted on 06/22/2008 6:41:07 AM PDT by Nextrush
Zimbabwe's opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai says he is pulling out of Friday's presidential run-off, handing victory to President Robert Mugabe.
Mr. Tsvangrai said there was no point running when elections would not be free and fair and and "the outcome is determined by... Mugabe himself."
He called on the global community to step in to protect Zimbabweans.
The decision came after opposition supporters heading to a rally in the capital Harare came under attack.
The MDC says at least 70 supporters have been killed in recent months.
At a press conference Sunday, mr Tsvangirai said: "It is for the world to see there is no need to proceed with this so-called election if the outcome is determined by President Mugabe himself,"
"We will not play the game of Mugabe."
On Sunday, the opposition was due to stage a rally in the capital-the highlight of the campaign.
But supporters of Mr. Mugabe's Zanu-PF occupied the stadium venue and roads leading up to it.
Witnesses reported seeing hundreds of youths around the venue wielding sticks, some chanting slogans, and others circling the stadium crammed onto the backs of trucks.
They reportedly set upon opposition activists, leaving a number badly injured.
The MDC said African election monitors were also chased from the rally site.....
(Excerpt) Read more at news.bbc.co.uk ...
Zimbabwe is “Atlas Shrugged” on a country wide scale.
Mugabe's General will take firm control when he dies. There is likely no hope. I say that as someone who has long hoped for improvement in Burma after 80% of the people voted those thugs out - when was that, 1990?
Except nobody is hanging out in the wings waiting to restore anything.
They’re on their own and the only cheering section is calling for failure.
De-colonization in Africa was such a good idea, ay. Ending the evils of Rhodesia and apartheid South Africa worked a real treat. We sure showed ‘em how it’s done. And all that famine relief in Ethiopia and Somalia: we Live Aided ‘em good...
I think we in the West ought to leave Africa alone for a while: post-WW-II our judgment in what is best for that continent seems questionable at best: dodgy at least.
One thing that doesn’t help is their strong voice in the UN: that should cease immediately.
That won’t work. If Mugabe is removed there will simply be a power struggle between the various factions, maybe even as far as civil war, before someone else equally as corrupt and vicious emerges as the new leader.
I would like nothing better than to sort Mugabe and his clique out, but that won’t work either. How on earth can there be military intervention in Zimbabwe? There are no bases within thousands of miles. How would we get an army there? It’s a land-locked country - we couldn’t do a d-day type landing on the beaches. We’d need permission from one or more of the neighboring countries to move troops through them. That would take weeks to do, even if we could get them to agree to it. Mugabe would have all the time in the world to prepare, both his army and to yell “neo-colonialism” at the top of his voice, and there’s plenty of fools who would believe him. If we couldnt get permission to move through Botswana or Mozambique or wherever, it would have to be done by paratroops - the initial attacks would have to be anyway. But that would mean having to move all the troops, all their reinforcements, arms, ammunition, fuel, supplies by air, over thousands of miles. And we’d have to get permission to overfly half a dozen countries airspace. Supposing they refused? Supposing they agreed, but then, under pressure from Mugabe or the OAC, withdrew their permission half way through the operation? We could end up with a battlegroup stranded in the middle of Africa. It doesn’t bear thinking of.
The only ending I can see to this is if things continue to deteriorate in Zimbabwe, eventually folk will vote with their feet and leave. Once the problem begins to be exported to the neighboring nations, then they will have to take action.
De-colonialisation was their idea, not ours. It worked ok in Singapore and Hong Kong and Malaysia.
If Africa is screwed up, ok the west has to shoulder some of the blame, but the main problem lies with Africans themselves.
> De-colonialisation was their idea, not ours.
We certainly lent them alot of help in overthrowing the governments in Rhodesia and South Africa, thru trade embargoes and incredible international pressure.
Apartheid was replaced in South Africa at the insistence of the West. And white-only rule in Rhodesia, similarly. What replaced them was much worse, as we have now seen.
> It worked ok in Singapore and Hong Kong and Malaysia.
It did.
> If Africa is screwed up, ok the west has to shoulder some of the blame, but the main problem lies with Africans themselves.
I think the West shoulders most of the blame: we carved up Africa in a manner that made sense to us, ignoring their tribal political realities. And we got out of there without paying alot of attention to how we make sure that we leave behind stable governments with strong ties back to the “mother country”.
Of the lot, France did it best, and Belgium did it the worst, and Britain did a poor job. Nobody did it brilliantly.
Even New Zealand, Australia and Canada went thru a middle phase, when they were no longer “colonies” yet were not fully and functionally “independent” — that seemed to work well. We were “dominions”, and one-by-one our ties to the mother country were removed, when-and-as we became ready. It is a step that Africa, for the most part, missed.
I dunno how (if?) the West can fix what is there in Africa now, but I suspect it would be a thankless, dangerous and difficult task.
Seems to be the Pan-African way... Thugism or Communism. Then when it all goes to sh•t... they blame it on white-colonialism. When a country rich in recources can't feed its people because of a corrupt, jackbooted thug... the first line of business is to eliminate the thug and the swine who back him.
Should the thug have sufficient numbers to set off a civil war... then so be it.
With inflation running at over 1 million percent and the murder of political rivals’ families most would say that it is already a complete failure. However, the “global community” doesn’t want to hear the solution, return to rule by those most capable, i.e. the white settlers.
“I think the West shoulders most of the blame: we carved up Africa in a manner that made sense to us, ignoring their tribal political realities.”
We did, but it was the Africans themselves that made those borders well nigh sacrosanct. They didnt have to keep them.
“And we got out of there without paying alot of attention to how we make sure that we leave behind stable governments with strong ties back to the “mother country”.”
Again, we gave them as much help as we did Singapore, Malaysia et al. We were hustled out, by public opinion at home and virulent anti-colonial campaigns in these African states. The reality is that all of these states should have been kept as colonies for another ten-twenty years, minimum...but that just wasnt going to happen.
Yes, but the problem is that the winner of such a civil war will be either a) Mugabe or b) someone even worse.
“I dunno how (if?) the West can fix what is there in Africa now, but I suspect it would be a thankless, dangerous and difficult task.”
I suspect you are absolutely right.
” I will never understand the logic of thinking the dictator that rules by thugrule is more heralded than a nation that sacrifices to free the people from said thug dictatorship.”
Because the dictators live the life that they wish. The ones supporting the dictators are the ones living vicariously through them.
Hollywood stars love Castro because he makes them feel as if they, not the general population, knows what is needed to be done. If a lot of these stars had their way, they would happily seize thigns they want, rape who they want, and be able to tell the public to like it.
“Too bad we won’t be seeing Hollywood and NYC liberals protesting in the streets to demand that Mugabe step down and respect the vote of the people...”
Since Mugabe ‘suffered’ under apartheid, he’s automatically a symbol of their victory over ‘evil’ conservatives.
“Again, we gave them as much help as we did Singapore, Malaysia et al.”
Not to mention the populations are more inclined to be self diciplined and self reliant.
It’s a crap shoot... but Mugabe and his ilk must be exterminated.
You can never go back.
In the first place, a majority of Zimbabweans probably buy into the 'restoration' of black dominance over white 'outsiders'.
Second, far too few whites would be willing to return, they'd have little to work with, and the word 'carpetbagger' comes to mind.
Third, other African states would go nuts opposing any progress.
And, if by chance they were able to make it work, and as soon as protocol allowed for it; the campaign to end apartheid / white dominance / colonialism would start all over again.
And the wife of Patson Chipiro (head of the opposition party in Mhondoro) had her hands and one of her feet chopped off, then she was locked in her hut and burned to death with a petrol bomb. Her husband returned home to find his three huts on fire and his wife dead. Mugabe and his thugs want to keep their power.
Wonder if it will get this bad in an upcoming US election?
Leave Africa alone. No more western blood should be shed on a continent which has spit constantly in the face of the West. None of our citizens should be sent to a continent that can’t get beyond petty tribalism.
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