In Zimbabwe, the cruel and farcical second round of a presidential election was held. This is a situation that demands the intervention of the world, to forestall a humanitarian disaster that has tarnished the whole region.
Last week there have been a few positive developments – with Madiba, the US, France and other nations condemning the violence against supporters of the Movement of Democratic Change (MDC) – though doubtful they’ll make much difference.
To be sure, Zimbabwe’s elections have long included an unhealthy dose of intimidation, harassment and beatings, but last week’s runoff is different in both degree and kind.
Mugabe already lost the initial round of voting to his long-time rival, the MDC’s Morgan Tsvangirai, on March 29.
But since neither presidential candidate received more than 50 per cent of the vote – according to the government’s tally - a runoff was scheduled for last week Friday. That meant Mugabe’s henchmen had a lot of work to do.
And they’ve certainly been doing their jobs, as many Tsvangirai and MDC supporters have been arrested or beaten savagely.
International rejection of the situation is mounting, with many nations saying they will not recognise the result.
“Nearer to home we have seen the outbreak of violence against fellow Africans in our own country and the tragic failure of leadership in our neighbouring Zimbabwe,” said Mandela at his fundraising birthday dinner party last week according to the BBC.
“We appreciate the solidarity from Nelson Mandela,” Tsvangirai said, adding “it is something we cherish”.
Tsvangirai was speaking by phone to Britain’s Sky News last week from the Dutch Embassy in Zimbabwe’s capital, where he has sought shelter as political violence, blamed primarily on Mugabe’s government.
According to The Guardian, George Bush called the run-off a “sham”.
His assistant secretary of state for Africa, Jendayi Frazer, said Washington will not recognise the outcome of the ballot.
“People were being beaten and losing their lives just to exercise their right to vote for their leadership, so we cannot, under these conditions, recognise the outcome.”
Moreover France took a similar position, while Gordon Brown told the Commons that Britain would stand alongside African leaders who do not accept the legitimacy of the regime and the “criminal cabal” surrounding Mugabe.
“We want to see a peaceful transition as soon as possible. If we look back at the elections that did take place, it was clear Mugabe had lost those elections,” the prime minister said.
Taking a different tack, Queen Elizabeth II stripped Mugabe of his honorary knighthood as a “mark of revulsion” at the human rights abuses and “abject disregard” for democracy over which he is presiding, the British Foreign Office said last week Wednesday.
Even the ANC accused the Mugabe government of “riding roughshod over the hard-won democratic rights” of the Zimbabwean people. Strong words, but words are not enough.
Zimbabwe has been on a slow burn for years, and the violence surrounding the runoff should spur to action countries inside and outside Africa.
“Zimbabwe will break if the world does not come to our aid,” Tsvangirai said in an op-ed article published in The Guardian last week while Mugabe commented that only God could remove him from power.
Send your views to editor@southafrican.co.uk |
