| How Do You Solve a Problem Like Mugabe? |
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| October 2005 | |
| Written by Kerri Price | |
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Answer: Assassination? On Saturday, September 24, ten individuals with the Zimbabwean soccer team magically vanished from the rest of their team before their flight from London to return to Zimbabwe. Ten is nothing compared to the more than three million other Zimbabweans who have “disappeared” in similar fashion or had more brazenly declared their exodus. Most of them are probably illegal immigrants in England, Zimbabwe’s former colonial ruler as they have been forced out of their country by long-standing economic crises. More importantly 81 year old President Robert Mugabe’s summer “slum clearance” program (called “Operation Murambatsvina,” which translates to “drive out rubbish”) is responsible for the demolition of over 700,000 urban homes. The capital city, Harare, has been the hardest hit, but rural land has been subjected to Mugabe’s wrath before, as over 5,000 white farmers who have been stripped of their land can attest to. The United Nations General Assembly heard comments from Mugabe on the subject of the demolitions earlier this month, and the oft-criticized (but rarely reprimanded) tyrant dismissed all complaints and concerns, repeatedly assuring the body and AP reporters that Zimbabwe and its people are the happiest and most prosperous, “on top of the African ladder.” It is clear to any observer that this is not the case. 
More upsetting are the recent changes to the constitution by the
Zimbabwean government. Concerning the evictions, seizures, and
demolitions, the courts have overruled all 4,000 appeals by whites with
the passing of the Constitutional Amendment Act. This act states that
landowners are prohibited from appealing any government intervention
with their land, and that it is no longer their land—rather, all real
estate is considered on lease from the government for 99 years.
The United States’, and most other Western countries’, solution has
been to place travel sanctions on Zimbabweans, deny or obstruct
procurement of work and study visas, and prevent its own citizens from
entering the country by similar means. This means that American
students and researchers, even those working on important projects
unrelated to the political drama, are being thwarted from conducting
important research in scientific and anthropological fields. Tara
McKenney, Morse ’05, had planned primate research in Zimbabwe but it
was delayed by the political upheaval. Mugabe has taken such sanctions
as complete reprehension by Western nations, and with constant media
attention and the success of the film The Interpreter, he has blamed
the socio-economic problems of Zimbabwe on a “western plot.”With most Western nations turning their backs on Zimbabwe’s call for aid (despite Mugabe’s proud assurances that all is fine), Mugabe has been wooing the Chinese government. Jintao’s recent diplomatic gift of four Siberian tigers from Chinese President Hu Jintao (as well as $6 million and an undisclosed amount from a top-secret trade agreement) proves Mugabe has friends in high places. Hu Jintao’s inconspicuous week-long meeting with Mugabe was under the radar of the press, and his political and financial support of Mugabe’s regime has been as similarly detached (and possibly corrupt) as South African President Mbeki’s, as there is great political danger to any outright support of Mugabe’s tyrannical government. Luckily, Mugabe does not hold much power on the international scene, but he is a threat to the greater good of all countries in Africa. Lately he seems to have embraced his tyrannical image and has become a caricature of the African tyrant. He even wears brightly colored shirts with his face on them and has abused his power as a leader to become a “spokesman” for the Catholic Church. Mugabe has been overstepping his religious boundaries for over 20 years now without censure from the Vatican either. The question as to how much tighter he can grip his power is without an obvious answer,that is to say so long as his unconscionable actions remain unpunished. His many bodyguards and secret police forces easily put down uprisings in Zimbabwe, and his political opposition claims Operation Murambatsvina was actually targeted at preventing a powerful urban insurrection. Mugabe’s age may be the only indicator on how much longer Zimbabweans will have to suffer—and we can only hope that time passes quickly. In the meantime, waiting out Mugabe’s natural death is far from the optimal action, but neither is placing travel and other sanctions upon the entire nation. These sanctions are meant to punish Mugabe and his government, and possibly spur enough civil insurrection for Mugabe to change his ways or have someone else change them for him, but Mugabe’s formidable secret police tacitly render such action impossible. Perhaps if travel sanctions were lifted, some group of international mercenaries (or outright assassins) might spur along some change. Kerri Price is a Junior in Ezra Stiles College. |
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