Zimbabwe opposition forced to give up

[Bounty]

Zimbabwe's opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai says he is pulling out of Friday's presidential run-off, handing victory to President Robert Mugabe.

Mr Tsvangirai said there was no point running when elections would not be free and fair and "the outcome is determined by... Mugabe himself".

He called on the global community to step in to prevent "genocide".

But the ruling Zanu-PF said Mr Tsvangirai had taken the decision to avoid "humiliation" in the poll.

The opposition decision came after its supporters, heading to a rally in the capital Harare, came under attack.

The opposition Movement for Democratic Change says at least 70 supporters have been killed in recent months.

At a press conference in Harare on Sunday, Mr Tsvangirai said: "We in the MDC have resolved that we will no longer participate in this violent, illegitimate sham of an election process."

"We will not play the game of Mugabe," he added.

He called on the United Nations, African Union and the southern African grouping SADC to intervene to prevent a "genocide" in Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe's Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu told the BBC that Mr Tsvangirai pulled out the vote because he faced "humiliation and defeat" at the hands of President Mugabe, who he said would win "resoundingly".

"Unfortunately," he said, the opposition leader's decision was "depriving the people of Zimbabwe of a vote".

Rally blocked

BBC Africa analyst Martin Plaut says the key question now is what Thabo Mbeki, president of Zimbabwe's powerful neighbour South Africa, will do.

He is in the best position to step up the pressure on Mr Mugabe, since Zimbabwe is so economically dependent on South Africa, our analyst says.

South Africa immediately responded to the news by calling on the MDC to continue talks to try to find a political solution.

"We are very encouraged that Mr Tsvangirai, himself, says he is not closing the door completely on negotiations," said a spokesman for Mr Mbeki.

On Sunday, the MDC was due to stage a rally in Harare - the highlight of the campaign.

But supporters of Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF occupied the stadium venue and roads leading up to it.

Witnesses reported seeing hundreds of youths around the venue wielding sticks, some chanting slogans, and others circling the stadium crammed onto the backs of trucks.

Some set upon opposition activists, leaving a number badly injured, the MDC said.

It said African election monitors were also chased away from the rally site.

Beatings and arrests

The MDC says Morgan Tsvangirai won the presidential election outright during the first round in March.

The government admits he won more votes than President Mugabe, but says he did not take enough to win outright.

But in recent weeks, as the run-off approached, the MDC said it had found campaigning near impossible.

Its members have been beaten, and its supporters evicted from their homes, forcing it to campaign in near secrecy.

Mr Tsvangirai was arrested several times, and the party's secretary general, Tendai Biti, has been held and charged with treason.

The BBC's Peter Biles, in Johannesburg, says Mr Mugabe has made clear he will never relinquish power, saying only God could remove him.

While Mr Tsvangirai's move will hand victory to Mr Mugabe, it is unclear whether the international community or election observers will confer any legitimacy on the process, our correspondent says.

And with that, the last semblance of democracy dies in Zimbabwe.

[Kanastrous]

Does the opposition have the wherewithal to launch an armed fight?

[DaveJB]

Does the opposition have the wherewithal to launch an armed fight?

Quite the opposite actually - the Zimbabwean military is run by Mugabe's lackeys, and if Tsvangirai had won this election, odds are within a few weeks he and his allies would have been strung up in the streets with a bullet in their forehead, and Mugabe reinstalled as an official dictator for life (instead of an effective dictator for life, as he is now).

In truth, however much of a gigantic waste of life Mugabe himself is, the problem in Zimbabwe has grown way beyond one man by now. The power structure that he's set up for his loyalists in the government and military means that short of invasion by another, more heavily armed country, Mugabe's awful legacy will be around for a long time to come.

[Mayabird]

‘Only God will remove me!’
Rowan Philp and Dominic Mahlangu Published:Jun 22, 2008

Divine Right: President Robert Mugabe addresses a rally in Bulawayo, where he warned that voting for the opposition would return the country to the white minority. Picture: Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi/Ap

‘The MDC will never be allowed to rule this country — never ever’
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Mugabe spits out his defiance as African nations break ranks with him

Pressure from Africa and abroad is piling up on Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe ahead of Friday’s presidential run-off.

But, ever-immune to criticism, the ageing dictator continued with his hardline rhetoric this week.

Addressing local business people in Zimbabwe’s second city, Bulawayo, on Friday, Mugabe insisted he would not step aside for the Movement for Democratic Change, which beat his Zanu-PF party in the parliamentary and first-round presidential poll on March 29.

“The MDC will never be allowed to rule this country — never ever,” he declared.

“Only God, who appointed me, will remove me — not the MDC, not the British. Only God will remove me!”

Mugabe’s violent campaign to maintain his grip on power has led to the opposition MDC edging towards pulling out of the election.

His belligerence has also led to:

# Several African countries, including some of Zimbabwe’s neighbours, finally breaking ranks to slam him;

# A United Nations appeal to South Africa to act;

# Election observers indicating it was unlikely the run-off would be declared free and fair; and

# Western countries declaring that they were seriously considering charging Mugabe with war crimes.

Pressure was also being brought to bear on South Africa, with President Thabo Mbeki isolated in his unwavering support for Mugabe — even in his own cabinet.

Angola — a key ally of Zimbabwe — joined Tanzania, Kenya, Swaziland and Rwanda in slamming Mugabe’s violent crackdown this week. Botswana lodged a protest last week.

In a rare rebuke , Angola’s President Jose Eduardo dos Santos urged Mugabe in a letter “to stop the violence and intimidation”.

A senior Angolan official said Dos Santos had also appealed to his Zimbabwean counterpart to “observe the spirit of tolerance and respect for difference and cease all forms of intimidation and political violence”.

In turn, Rwandan President Paul Kagame accused Mugabe of turning the election into a farce. He blamed the Southern African Development Community and, by implication, its mediator, Mbeki, for failing to “step in and do something”.

“The fact that the problems keep going on and even getting worse means that other people should step in. Starting with neighbours to Zimbabwe and the organisation in the Southern African subcontinent — in this case SADC — should primarily step in following the failures internally and do something,” he said in a statement.

Percy Simelane, spokesman for the Swazi government, said it did not foresee “free and fair elections if even the president himself is inciting violence”.

Thomas Amolo, Kenya’s High Commissioner in South Africa, also called on Mugabe to “respect the wishes of the people of Zimbabwe”.

“Having accepted a rerun, President Mugabe should ensure it is within ... acceptable standards of elections and democratic practice. Anything less is an affront to the evolving democratic culture in Africa and unacceptable to all people living in Africa, ” he said.

Earlier in the week, the foreign minister of Tanzania, Bernard Membe — representing the SADC executive troika — said: “There is every sign that these elections will never be free nor fair ... There is a derailment of (MDC leader) Mr (Morgan) Tsvangirai. Wherever he goes to campaign, he’s detained at police stations.”

Mbeki — who was mandated by SADC to resolve the crisis — faces unprecedented pressure to act.

Concerned about the violence rending Zimbabwe, United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon sent a “strongly worded” message to Mbeki on Friday via his envoy Haile Menkerios.

Yves Sorokobi, a spokesman for Ban, said: “I can’t divulge the specifics, but certainly the message conveys the very serious concerns from the whole UN family. It’s not just a political crisis, it’s a humanitarian crisis.”

Ban’s action followed Mbeki’s reported failure to convince Mugabe to call off the elections — out of concern for post-election violence and the certainty of disputed results — or meet Tsvangirai to negotiate a settlement.

Mbeki is proposing that a government of national unity be put in place until credible elections can be held.

The US also ratcheted up the pressure on Mbeki. Declaring that the “eyes of the world” were on South Africa, Washington said it had noted “a change in tone” in Mbeki’s position.

“I think the South African government has an increasing awareness that the eyes of the world are not only on Zimbabwe, but also on them, because they understand that ... they’re uniquely positioned vis-a-vis President Mugabe to try to bring about some positive outcome from a very dire situation,” US government spokesman Sean McCormack said. “And we’ll see how they react to that, how they react to that attention. ”

Mbeki is also at odds with his own cabinet. Government insiders say cabinet ministers are frustrated that he is not speaking out against Mugabe and want him to stop “appeasing and be more forthright with the Harare dictator”.

Meanwhile, the MDC will meet today to decide whether to contest the run-off. A key official confirmed yesterday that there was “now a greater chance than ever that we will be forced to pull out of this farcical election because the level of brutality and blatant disregard for electoral norms; that these elections are dead.

“However, if it were decided that there was any realistic chance remaining that the will of the Zimbabwean people could be recorded, we will choose to participate.”

Bracing itself for a flood of Zimbabweans fleeing the country after the election, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) told The Times of London that it had put contingency plans in place in Mozambique, Botswana, Zambia and South Africa.

“UNHCR has pre-positioned food and tents in all these places in the expectation of a flight of more refugees,” a senior official said.

Meanwhile, several election observers say that they are unlikely to endorse the election.

One South African election observer in the SADC delegation — who asked not to be named for fear of arrest or assault — said: “Slowly but surely, this conspiracy of support around Mugabe is crumbling.

“I cannot for the life of me see how they could ever suggest this election is anything but a farce, and neither can the African leaders who once stood with Mugabe. There are massacres going on here — absolute massacres; there are torture camps; there are hundreds of people beaten in hospitals because their areas voted for the MDC last time.”

The observer added: “The African Union is really coming out very strongly — AU observers have already been here for a while. They’re saying these houses were burnt down, these people were burnt to death; it was all Zanu; it was all Zanu. I’ve been to observe previous elections and I wasn’t hearing that kind of open talk before.”

Meanwhile, The Times of London reported that Western powers were considering having Mugabe hauled before the International Criminal Court in The Hague over the atrocities inflicted on his opponents.

“He needs to know he is moments away from an indictment,” a diplomat told the newspaper on Thursday.

Mbeki’s spokesman Mukoni Ratshitanga said although the president respected the right of others to comment on day-to-day events, as SADC mediator he could not comment publicly on any developments.

# MDC secretary-general Tendai Biti was remanded in custody until July 7 when he appeared in court on Friday. Biti, who was arrested last Wednesday, has been charged with treason.

http://www.thetimes.co.za/SpecialReport ... ?id=788598

[Setzer]

He's claiming God appointed him? What kind of democratic leader claims divine right?

FYI, Mugabe, lots of men who claimed to be God's regent on Earth were deposed. The fact that this happened at all clearly meant God wanted them gone. Consider that carefully.

[Chris OFarrell]

Why couldn't the CIA use its weather control machine to hit him with a bolt of lighting the SECOND he screamed 'only God will remove me!'

[Rye]

I doubt Mugabe can go around citing divine right without his own Cromwell situation cropping up in response. I think the British should remove him, though. Send a few SAS in, grab him, hold him in a hole till the anti-Zanu PF forces take hold and the elections pass, then release him back to Zimbabwe's system once it's all over. That'd be cool.

[LMSx]

How much power does South Africa have in this process? Everyone seems pretty determined that Mbeki is in the driver's seat as far as corralling Mugabe.

[LMSx]

Maybe to clarify a bit:

“I think the South African government has an increasing awareness that the eyes of the world are not only on Zimbabwe, but also on them, because they understand that ... they’re uniquely positioned vis-a-vis President Mugabe to try to bring about some positive outcome from a very dire situation,” US government spokesman Sean McCormack said. “And we’ll see how they react to that, how they react to that attention. ”

it sounds like South Africa has the same sort of power that China has over North Korea- like Mbeki could drop the hammer and change the Zimbabwe situation. Is SA supporting the country with food or finances?[/i]

[Guardsman Bass]

Why the fuck is Mbeki still supporting Mugabe? The shit that is going down there, including the devastation that Mugabe's land seizures has done over the past 8 years, has been nothing but trouble for South Africa; they get the brunt of Zimbabwean refugees and the like.

[Mayabird]

Because Mbeki is an idiot. This IS the guy who doesn't believe in HIV, after all, and installed a health minister that tells people that garlic and lemon juice can cure AIDS. In the country with one of the world's highest infection rates.

[Gerald Tarrant]

Part of the problem is that Mbeki has tried to set up a situation in which Only Africa solves Africa's problems. What this means is that in order to preserve the vision of Africa's importance he has to "stand up to colonialism" by ignoring Western pressure. This situation is worse for him in that Mugabe is actually an old anti-colonialist revolutionary. If I recall correctly Mbeki's facing a revolt in his own party from people that think he's being too "soft" with "The West".

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

Part of the problem is that Mbeki has tried to set up a situation in which Only Africa solves Africa's problems. What this means is that in order to preserve the vision of Africa's importance he has to "stand up to colonialism" by ignoring Western pressure. This situation is worse for him in that Mugabe is actually an old anti-colonialist revolutionary. If I recall correctly Mbeki's facing a revolt in his own party from people that think he's being too "soft" with "The West".

The fool should know that Africa is largely responsible for its own problems and not the West. Alas, rhetoric and substance do not mix.

[RedImperator]

Part of the problem is that Mbeki has tried to set up a situation in which Only Africa solves Africa's problems. What this means is that in order to preserve the vision of Africa's importance he has to "stand up to colonialism" by ignoring Western pressure. This situation is worse for him in that Mugabe is actually an old anti-colonialist revolutionary. If I recall correctly Mbeki's facing a revolt in his own party from people that think he's being too "soft" with "The West".

The fool should know that Africa is largely responsible for its own problems and not the West. Alas, rhetoric and substance do not mix.

What? No. The West stomped into Africa, completely disrupted the old social order, randomly divided up the continent, created colonies whose economies were designed to do nothing except export raw materials and import finished goods, then left the entire mess behind for Africans to fix. You can't leave a country with no industry, infrastructure, civil society, democratic norms, schools, national identity or civil service and then blame that country for being a hopeless fuckup.

Even in Zimbabwe, where the blame for the present humanitarian disaster can be laid entirely at the feet of Mugabe and his cronies, you wouldn't have Mugabe to begin with if it hadn't been for white intransigence in the 60s and 70s.

[Axis Kast]

Gerald Tarrant correctly identified some of the motivations behind African leaders' hesitance to present criticisms that they have not engineered themselves.

Another problem arises in the desire to foster a set of principles whereby each nation is sovereign within its own borders, to the exclusion of external meddling. African governments are understandably jealous of their legitimacy.

A third and final point that must be recognized is Mugabe's near-legendary status as a historical figure par excellence. This is the man who defeated a white settler regime. Many of the elder statesmen on the continent still owe the Zimbabwe liberation movements a huge debt of gratitude, and believe that it would be near-sacrilege to do force him out in a "shameful" manner.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

What? No. The West stomped into Africa, completely disrupted the old social order, randomly divided up the continent, created colonies whose economies were designed to do nothing except export raw materials and import finished goods, then left the entire mess behind for Africans to fix. You can't leave a country with no industry, infrastructure, civil society, democratic norms, schools, national identity or civil service and then blame that country for being a hopeless fuckup.

Even in Zimbabwe, where the blame for the present humanitarian disaster can be laid entirely at the feet of Mugabe and his cronies, you wouldn't have Mugabe to begin with if it hadn't been for white intransigence in the 60s and 70s.

True. But a lot of the governments were given a fair amount of aid decades ago after the British left, but all that was squandered by corruption and coup after coup. The CommonWealth meetings used to be a sobbing session about how bad things are, only to have the leaders in question secretly laundering money and next the country is in ruins because of it.

[Guardsman Bass]

So, should there be an armed intervention to bring Mugabe and his fellow top thugs in the Zanu (PF) to trial for crimes against humanity, and to allow for elections in Zimbabwe?

Personally, I think the idea that he's going to somehow bow down and be more tolerant to mere international condemnation and even condemnation from South Africa is probably hopelessly optimistic. He's an 84-year-old dictator who has more or less defended his regime in recent years on the idea that the UK is out to get him. I've even heard that he doesn't honor any agreements with Mbeki made in the past, breaking them pretty much as soon as Mbeki leaves Zimbabwe.

[Adrian Laguna]

Why don't we just ignore Mugabe and let him die of old age? The country is fucking fucked even if the bastard is deposed tomorrow, so what the hell does it matter if he's still around for another decade or two?

[quote="RedImperator"What? No. The West stomped into Africa, completely disrupted the old social order, randomly divided up the continent, created colonies whose economies were designed to do nothing except export raw materials and import finished goods, then left the entire mess behind for Africans to fix.[/quote]
They didn't leave, they got kicked out, and in at least a few cases, unjustly so. I think the former French colonies in North Africa would be doing better today if they had remained French, especially the areas considered part of Metropolitan France.

[Guardsman Bass]

Why don't we just ignore Mugabe and let him die of old age? The country is fucking fucked even if the bastard is deposed tomorrow, so what the hell does it matter if he's still around for another decade or two?

We could, but then it gets chalked up as another massive example of UN impotence and a failure of so-called "Responsibility to Protect". You are right, though, in many ways. Even if Mugabe dies of a heart attack six weeks after he fraudulently wins the run-off on friday, you'll still have to deal with the entire corrupt military and political edifice that is the Zanu (PF) and Mugabe's supporters.

[Chardok]

Reposted with apologies to Mr. Bean.


In case you can't tell, I'm pissed. Have been for some time, that we, as the world's only superpower, the most powerful nation to have ever existed, can get up in arms over BROWN PEOPLE INVADING and ZOMG WE GOTTA KEEP TEH HOMOZ FROM TEH MARRIAGE and ZOMG DUMB


PEOPLE WHO GOT DUMB MORTGAGES NEED TO BE HELPZED and ZOMG WE ARE HAVE TO SAVE TEH IRAK. We can MOBILIZE THE POPULACE for those idiotic, purile bullshit reasons....

But we do nothing. NOTHING but wag a collective finger at a nation that allows this (See picture and caption) sort of travesty to persist. We are a shameful disgrace.

We focus our national attention to dumshit crap like gay marriage, or faith-based initiatives, or stopping teh ev0l muslim empire from taking over the world, or Who Barack Obama's Neighbor's cousin's babysitter ate lunch with or what Angelina Jolie is wearing today, and allow that to continue with naught but a wagging finger and a "Gee, that's a shame."

I'm going to go cry now, for all the good it will do.

[Lord Pounder]

I was lucky enough quite recently to hear Morgan speak at a recent Liberal International conference held in Belfast just a few months ago, his last engagement before he returned to Zimbabwe. I never felt true pity for a human the way I felt for him. Against every prediction, against massive electoral corruption and personal intimidation he won and still it wasn't good enough, what more does a man need to do to win an election?

The man has nearly been beaten to death more than once and from what I hear from Zimbabweans in exile here in Belfast nor only has Tsvangirai been threatened with death, but Zanu PF activists have said they will kill every member of Tsvangirai's family and anyone that even breathes a word of support for Tsvangirai. I'm sure you all saw news reports of Zanu PF supporers literally beating MDC supporters off the streets when they held a lawful protest.

But I guess Bush and Brown don't care about that, after all Zimbabwe has no oil or any other resources worth invading for.

[Adrian Laguna]

Why don't we just ignore Mugabe and let him die of old age? The country is fucking fucked even if the bastard is deposed tomorrow, so what the hell does it matter if he's still around for another decade or two?

We could, but then it gets chalked up as another massive example of UN impotence and a failure of so-called "Responsibility to Protect".

I think the only way to undermine the UN more than it already is involves heavy mining equipment and a piece of international territory in Manhattan island. Seriously, I think Bush killed whatever last vestiges they had of relevance back in 2003. Though in the specific case of the "Responsibility to Protect", the UN already shit all over that back in the early 60s when they decided to invade a functional African State because the lines on everyone's maps said it belonged to the neighbouring shit-hole of Congo.

[TheMuffinKing]

Yahoo.

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt - Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe will not step down and Western critics who called the country's recent election a sham can "go hang," the longtime ruler's spokesman said Tuesday.
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Mugabe was attending an African Union summit in this Red Sea resort after claiming victory Sunday in a runoff election that his opponent withdrew from, citing violence against supporters.

Leaders at the AU summit have been unwilling to publicly criticize Mugabe, and instead are gently pushing behind the scenes that he accept some sort of power-sharing agreement with Zimbabwe's opposition.

Presidential spokesman George Charamba sounded resistant to proposals about sharing power. Some African leaders have expressed frustration that more was not being done to pressure Mugabe.

Charamba told reporters that Mugabe would not step down.

"Isn't that an odd question. He's a few days into office and you expect him to retire, do you? ... Five days have expired, not even a week after. ... Why is the issue of the retirement of the president of Zimbabwe such an obsession for the West?" he said.

"He has come here as president of Zimbabwe and he will go home as president of Zimbabwe, and when you visit Zimbabwe he will be there as the president of all the people of Zimbabwe," Charamba told reporters.

The United States, Britain and other European countries have widely condemned the runoff. The U.S. is pushing for more financial and travel sanctions against Mugabe supporters and is urging the U.N. Security Council to impose an arms embargo.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has urged the African Union to reject the result of the runoff, and France says it considers Mugabe's government "illegitimate."

Charamba had harsh words for Western pressure: "They can go hang. They can go and hang a thousand times."

He also demanded that Zimbabwe be left to determine its own future.

"The way out is the way defined by the Zimbabwe people free from outside interference, and that is exactly what will resolve the matter," he said.

During public speeches at the summit's opening Monday, most AU leaders spoke of the "challenges" Zimbabwe is facing and none said anything harsh about Mugabe.

But Jendayi Frazer, the assistant U.S. secretary of state for African affairs, said she believed that in private, the leaders were going to "have very, very strong words for him."

Key African leaders have long had close ties to Mugabe, renowned as a campaigner against white rule and colonialism and Zimbabwe's ruler since its independence in 1980. They are also reluctant to be seen as backing the West — former colonial rulers — against a fellow African.

Meanwhile, Egyptian security ramped up restrictions Tuesday on journalists covering the summit after a British TV crew got into a verbal exchange with Mugabe the previous day. Many reporters were not allowed to leave the press area.

The confrontation began when British network ITN approached Mugabe outside the conference hall and asked how he could regard himself as president. The Zimbabwean leader responded that it was on the same basis as Brown's being the British prime minister.

Mugabe then said the reporter asked "stupid questions." TV footage showed Mugabe's guards pushing the reporter away.

[Jade Falcon]

On SB we've got someone posting pro-Mugabe propoganda that would make Joseph Goebbels and Julius Streicher proud, how Mugabe is blameless and that all the problems the country has is the fault of the west.

I quoted that article where it mentions that a large number of the white owned farms were bought under the Mugabe regime, not under either Colonial or the Smith regime Rhodesia but that obviously doesn't matter. :rolleyes:

[Ma Deuce]

On SB we've got someone posting pro-Mugabe propoganda that would make Joseph Goebbels and Julius Streicher proud, how Mugabe is blameless and that all the problems the country has is the fault of the west.

Would that be Sean Mulligan, by any chance?