Filed under: Politics | Tags: Diplomacy, Elections, Human Rights, Humanitarian Crisis, Inflation, MDC, Morgan Tsvagirai, Politics, President, Robert Mugabe, Sanctions, Torture, Vote rigging, War, Zanu-PF, Zimbabwe
Death of a nation
Zimbabwe’s political crisis continues to become ever more dire, with heinous political violence, skyrocketing inflation and a seemingly impotent international community. Having South African friends and having known people who had fled Zimbabwe, I have followed the situation closely. When Morgan Tsvangirai clearly beat Robert Mugabe in the Presidential election on March 29, and with MDC (Movement for Democratic Change) faring well in the parliamentary vote, I optimistically, and naively, felt the country may turn for the better, as did many others. Now over 3 months on, that hope is almost entirely extinguished as Mugabe has claimed a landslide victory in an uncontested presidential run off vote and diplomacy is making little headway. Farcical as the charade was, Mugabe appears to feel he has been legitimised and continues to slate the world that conspires against him. Continue reading
Filed under: Politics | Tags: African Union, Botswana, Britain, China, Commonwealth, Diplomacy, Kenya, Morgan Tsvangirai, Power sharing, Robert Mugabe, Russia, United Nations, United States, Unity Government, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Death of a nation – Part Three: Diplomacy: Can’t we just talk about it?
Behind the scenes, whilst condemnations are conveyed, grand speeches made and newspaper columns are scribed, negotiations are taking place to try find a solution to the Zimbabwe problem. The international community, led mainly by Britain and the commonwealth, Europe and the United States, are attempting to pressure Mugabe’s regime into submission, and criticised China and Russia for not supporting moves against Mugabe. Within Africa, Botswana, Kenya and Zambia have been the most vocal against Mugabe, and are eager to get other African countries to oppose the regime more openly. The African Union, and in particular South Africa, are trying to negotiate with Mugabe and mediate between the two parties. These talks have not been without their critics. South Africa has been at the thick of both the diplomacy, and the criticism. Continue reading
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