July 30, 2008
Scandal in Africa
Joshua Hammer in the New York Review of Books:
With his ruthless seizure of power in the June 27 runoff election in Zimbabwe, following a well-organized campaign to intimidate and murder members of the opposition, Robert Mugabe joined Myanmar's military junta at the top of the list of the world's most despised dictators. Both the Burmese generals and Mugabe's inner circle have enriched themselves while reducing their people to near starvation. They have jailed, tortured, and killed supporters of democracy, and shrugged off years of international condemnation. Moreover, unlike Myanmar's secretive regime, Mugabe and the cabal that supports him have seemed to enjoy flaunting their contempt for democracy and their easy embrace of violence.
That cabal is led by hard-line members of the Zimbabwean military and a handful of cabinet officials who served alongside Mugabe in the independence war of the 1970s. They include the commander in chief of Zimbabwe's armed forces, General Constantine Chiwenga, and Emerson Mnangagwa, an heir apparent to Mugabe who, as minister of national security in 1983, allegedly oversaw the massacre of thousands of political opponents in Matabeleland. "He is a man with the capacity to be more vicious than Mugabe," I was told by University of Zimbabwe political analyst John Makumbe.
More here.
Posted by Abbas Raza at 10:27 AM | Permalink
Comments
complete with fascist mustache
Posted by: eli | Jul 30, 2008 12:18:43 PM
Another application of hypocritical Western standards. The West just needs to mind its own business - which it can't seem to get under control. Zimbabwe's government is for Zimbabweans - there's nothing we can or should do or say about it. After all, does this government not represent the people of Zimbabwe at the U.N., the world's only truly legitimate center of power (since it is not controlled by the U.S. and its Western lapdogs)? I'm sure all of this is just being conjured up so that George Bush can justify another invasion to control another country and oppress more people of color and grab their resources. China is a fine example of how to manage international relations - respect all sovereign governments and don't question how they deal with their own people, and do lots of advantageous business deals with whoever is in power (and you'll get better terms if the the hypocritical West criticizes or won't do business with the regime). Hopefully China will soon lead the world, and then we will all be free from the meddling of the vicious, imperialist Yankees.
Posted by: George | Jul 30, 2008 6:15:41 PM
Good for you George!: Down with "hypocritical Western standards" like growing more food than anywhere else in Africa. Mugabe has sure put a stop to that. And when those misguided Zimbabweans defy his gunmen and vote for the opposition, he is farsighted enough to burn their ballot papers and tighten his grip on power. For the good of his people, of course, to encourage them to pour out of the country in search of food.
Or maybe George is just satirizing the Left, who so idolized Mugabe in the seventies.
For an account of how South Africa is going the way of Zimbabwe, see Jenny Diski's illuminating account of her trip there:
http://www.lrb.co.uk/v30/n13/disk01_.html
Posted by: aguy109 | Jul 31, 2008 2:29:25 AM
Ho hum. Yet another brutal fascist allowed to prosper indefinitely. When it's all over, we'll put up a museum in memory of the victims and we'll give billions in aid and pat the survivor's children on the head before we adopt them.
If anyone needed proof that humanitarian aid is not a priority, this is it. They don't have any oil. They don't get help. That's reality.
Posted by: raybutler | Jul 31, 2008 12:33:23 PM
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