| ||||||||||||||
NEWS BACKGROUND:Don’t Forget Zimbabwe’s Tragedy“You hold between your hands the jewel of Africa,” said president of Mozambique Samora Machel to the new leader of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, on April 18, 1980, the day this former British colony gained independence; “and now, take great care... ”
Zimbabwe--formerly South Rhodesia--was once a thriving British colony, with good transportation, modern and secure cities, a thriving agriculture that included tropical fruits and corn, and increasing exports. Precious minerals, including gold and chrome, were dynamic industries. All was not paradise, however. Though considered a paradise for white people, South Rhodesia suppressed black people politically and economically. When the nation eventually won its war for independence in 1980, the people eagerly hoped for a better future, regarded as possible thanks to Zimbabwe's significant human and material resources. It didn’t happen this way, and the primarily responsibility for this failure lies with Robert Mugabe, abetted by the astonishing silence of left-wing intellectuals and the failure of the international community. At first, President Mugabe enacted laws to eradicate corruption, but he was never able to enforce them. Instead, he has himself been progressively involved in corruption. In 1990, while a terrible famine was occurring in the country, the government exported food and he personally benefited from the proceeds. Further, in the absence of political will, all reforms for free public education have failed.
The country's economy, too, has been a disaster. In 2000, for example, the price of a woman's purse was equal to the average citizen’s monthly income. Agriculture has suffered as well. Until 2000, Mugabe continued to refuse all agrarian reforms, even though they were backed by the country's rich white farmers. Then he decided to play a new role and started reform, but this has been done harshly, with all white owners divested of their plantations. The country is so poor, however, that the plantations' new owners have nothing to work the land with. Seventy percent of Zimbabwe's working-age population is unemployed. The country is experiencing the exodus of skilled physicians and nurses who are escaping from extremely poor working conditions. In the face of all these setbacks, Zimbabwe is undergoing increasingly severe political repression, even though it still calls itself “a democracy.” The CIO--the Central Intelligence Organisation, similar to Saddam Hussein’s “Republican Guard”--is a political police totally dedicated to Mugabe and in charge of silencing and suppressing the opposition. Response to Zimbabwe's problems from the developed world has been inadequate. The US and the European Union, for example, have been feeding Zimbabwe's population for years, but have not dealt with the roots of the nation's problems. The coming election can be expected to serve as evidence of this oversight: they are unlikely to be free, fair and democratic. Members of Mugabe’s party are already pressuring citizens to vote for the dictator’s party. Last week, Zimbabwean Cathy Buckle reported that the dictator’s militia is already stopping by each inhabitant’s residence, obliging everyone to register to vote. The population is paralyzed, and fears repression if they do not back the man on power. Observers of the deteriorating situation in Zimbabwe believe it is essential that the international community become involved in framing and monitoring the country's election process (as is done in many other countries). Failure to do so in this case would legitimize--through a pretended democratic process--Mugabe’s power and his policies of state violence. Morgan Tsvangirai, president of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change party, said in his Feb. 9 column on Zim Online, "I wish to record...that today, millions are denied [the right to vote in Zimbabwe] simply because of their ancestry, bureaucratic inefficiency or place of residence. Those driven out of the country by the regime's policies, by economic insecurity or by any other reasons have a right to determine Zimbabwe's future and must be allowed to vote." The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, headed by pro-Mugabe High Court Judge George Chiweshe, was appointed last month to oversee the election process. Critics have charged that there is not enough time for the commission to prepare for the March 31 parliamentary election. Sources:
THE TRUTH ABOUT ZIMBABWE Pleure, ô Zimbabwe bien-aimé Zimbabwe: the terror and abuse goes on Date set for Zimbabwe elections Zimbabwe: In Search of a New Strategy Zim Online MDC attacks Mugabe over election date Mathilde Soyer, a political science student at the Institut d'Etudes Politiques in Rennes, France, is an intern with this newspaper. Copyright © 2005 The Baltimore Chronicle.
All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Baltimore Chronicle content is expressly prohibited without their prior written consent. This story was published on February 9, 2005. |
Local News & Opinion
Ref. : Local Newsbriefs Travel
Letters
Ref. : Letters to the editor Open Letters:
03.05 Open Letter to Congressman Bart Stupak Health & Environment
Video National Health Care Systems In Other Countries 03.09 Kill Bill: Death to Obamacare! 03.09 Obama’s Rhetoric May Be “Fiery,” But His Health Care Reform Is Still Lukewarm 02.24 Obama’s New Plan 02.21 Time to Pass the Health Insurance Industry Antitrust Enforcement Act of 2009 Media Watching
03.05 Sorry, Rove, Bush Did Lie About Iraq 03.03 It's Snow News 03.03 The Woeful Washington Post 02.28 The NYT Veers Neocon 02.18 US Media Replays Iraq Fiasco on Iran Ref. : The Daily Howler Legal Matters
02.26 America's Supremes: Court Over Constitution US Politics, Policy & Culture
03.09 Thinking About Countings 03.07 Unnatural Acts: Breaking the Fever of Militarism 02.25 Future Shock: A Better World Beyond the Imperium 02.24 The Last Flight of Joe Stack 02.22 Thinking About Sadie 02.18 All Systems Go: No Dysfunction in Profitable Afghan Enterprise High Crimes?
03.08 The Russell Tribunal on Palestine: Barcelona Session 03.01 America's Permanent War Agenda 02.25 Global Sweatshop Wage Slavery 02.23 Israeli Unaccountability and Denial: Suppressing the Practice of Torture 02.22 American Genocides: is Haiti Next? 02.16 MK-ULTRA: The CIA's Mind Control Program Economics & Business Non/Mis/Malfeasance
03.09 The Business of Water: Privatizing An Essential Resource 03.05 Is the Recovery Real? 03.04 IMF-Style Austerity Measures come to America: What “Fiscal Responsibility” Means To You 03.04 Barry C. Lynn's "Cornered: The New Monopoly Capitalism and Economics of Destruction" 03.01 Thinking About Fees 02.22 Campaigning for State-Owned Banks 02.22 Social Security Will Fall To Obama Before The Taliban Do 02.19 Obama’s Stealth Entitlement Commission 02.19 Selling Out America to Wall Street International
03.05 Targeting Israeli Apartheid 03.03 Muslim Disunity 03.02 Funding Israeli Militarism, Belligerence and Occupation 02.26 Iran Captures a 'Good' Terrorist 02.24 The Dubai Hit 02.22 Holland Has Had Enough: Killing of Innocent Civilians Goes On Apace in Afghanistan 02.19 The Placeman Cometh: New IAEA Chief Stokes Iran War Fever for the Bush-Obama Regime 02.18 Israeli Abusive Administrative Detentions We are a non-profit Internet-only newspaper publication founded in 1973. Your donation is essential to our survival.
|
| ||||||||||||