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NEWS & LETTERS, April 2002
Zimbabwe's dictator Mugabe plays upon western hypocrisy
by Ba Karang U.S. President George W. Bush, who came to power not
through the ballot box but through a Supreme Court decision, was among the first
Western leaders to condemn the recent Zimbabwean elections. The reaction of the
British Prime Minister was not unexpected either. One wonders why the people of Madagascar are taking to
the streets to regain their stolen election victory while the West stands by and
looks on. The people of the Ivory Coast fought and won back their stolen
election, resulting in property destruction and loss of life, without the West
reacting-other than to claim that the political victory of the Ivorians was
undemocratic. And even after the U.S. State Department criticized the recent
parliamentary elections in Gambia, it failed to react to the situation. Within a
short period it announced a normalization of relations between the two
countries. Many elections on the African continent are criticized
for not being free and fair-like Kenya's-without these countries suffering from
talk of western-imposed sanctions. Western leaders are practicing a double
standard. Mugabe himself will not suffer from any sanctions imposed on the
country, and he cares little about the suffering of the Zimbabwean people. Mugabe often says that the British Prime Minister
suffers from a "colonial hangover." One could say that he made the
best use of this colonial hangover, not only by bringing up the land issue so
late in his rule but by making use of anti-colonialist rhetoric. REACTIONS OF AFRICAN RULERS The Zimbabwean elections pose a problem for the South
African government. This is not only because South Africa is striving to become
a superpower in African political and economic life. South Africa has not solved
its own land problem, which was the backbone of the struggle against the
apartheid regime. There is no doubt that the Zimbabwean land crisis is being
followed by Black South Africans. Sooner or later the South African government will have
to react to the pressures building up on this issue. Daniel Arap Moi, Kenya's president, has always insisted
that Western imperialism manipulates the opposition against his corrupt and
brutal government. He was one of the first to congratulate Mugabe for his
election victory. Whether Nigeria's half-hearted support for Mugabe is part of
manipulating its relationship with both the West and Zimbabwe, or a line of
confrontation with South Africa in its drive to assume the leading position in
African political and economic affairs, will become clear sooner rather than
later. One thing is certain-South Africa and Nigeria have the
economic potential to stand up to Western pressure. Nigeria is a significant
trade partner of the U.S., mainly in oil. Nigeria and South Africa provide the
West with a huge market. At the same time, they are growing industrial nations
that look to the African continent as a potential market. Hence the importance,
in their eyes, of having political influence in it. If Nigeria or South Africa try to stand up to Western
pressure in favor of Zimbabwe, they will do so for domestic consumption and
their continental interests. The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) failed to pose
a tangible opposition to Mugabe's ZANU party. It seems to have shied away from
the land issue and never took it as a serious problem for ordinary Zimbabweans,
who mostly live in rural areas. Solving the land issue is seen by many of them
as a way forward in dealing with the country's crushing poverty. They have a right to believe this, since the white
minority who took the land from them remain the most prosperous people in the
country. Ordinary Zimbabweans are the laborers on these farms, the nannies and
housekeepers for their owners, who though a minority remain the dominant
economic force. MUGABE'S COMPROMISED OPPOSITION The MDC seems to have been more interested in addressing
issues of concern to the white minority. These are without doubt serious
concerns. But the MDC has not linked the land issue to poverty and political
oppression. Mugabe's use of the masses' anger with the colonial/white minority
rule of the past should not have prevented the MDC from defending the interests
of the most deprived. The white minority support for the MDC and the
involvement of past colonial masters in the elections was a heaven-sent blessing
for the dictator Mugabe. He made a calculated move by having MDC members
arrested, detained, and charged on the eve of the elections, on the grounds that
they were collaborating with the former colonial rulers. The failure of the MDC
to provide a historical perspective to explain the suffering of the Zimbabwean
people may be the reason we did not experience another Ivory Coast or Madagascar
after the election results were announced. Things are not going to get better for ordinary
Zimbabweans, who have suffered a great deal even without sanctions. Sanctions
would do no more than force Mugabe to use his powers to solve the land issue in
a way that might not be in the interests of the legal owners of the land. Redistributing the land to its rightful owners and
turning them into private farms might be a shortcut to solving the economic
problems facing Zimbabweans. Zimbabwe still would need new capital, which Mugabe
does not have. The appetite of the corrupt bureaucracy might not survive
sanctions, especially if Mugabe decides to interfere with its criminal
activities. Even if he decides to do so, he will act with the full knowledge
that his power will be undermined. The elections and its results present a new objective
situation to Zimbabweans. It only confirms a suspicion long held by many
Africans, that Western imperialism is still alive. |
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