Zimbabwe: Mugabe's Tyranny Continues

Fire of Liberty

Austin Bay has a thought provoking column in today's edition of The Washington Times on the rigged elections in Zimbabwe. It's hard for the opposition to win an election when the government does the following:

Mr. Mugabe and his thugs tried to steal the last one quietly. As elections neared, Mr. Mugabe began denying foreign reporters entry visas. He imposed a law that made "unauthorized demonstrations" a felony punishable by up to 20 years in jail -- a law aimed at his democratic opponents in the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). And then there's the food weapon. Mr. Mugabe's government controls Zimbabwe's food supplies. Cooperate, and you get your loaf of bread. Oppose Mr. Mugabe, and you are denied food.

Ah, but those pesky priests who won't shut up. Mr. Mugabe has had to threaten church leaders he deems responsible for "encouraging" street protests. Catholic Bishop Pius Ncube -- a major domestic critic of Mr. Mugabe and his dictatorship -- has been a special target.

With such slanted results and a further cementing of his powers through a 2/3 majority of Zanu-PF (can change constitution), Mugabe has ensured that he will continue his tyranny for many years to come thus increasing the misery of the Zimbabwean people. To make matters worse, the bad behavior of Mugabe will continue as long as the various leaders in South Africa and the region welcome Mugabe with open arms and call for him to be recognized as the legitimate leader of Zimbabwe. When you give a tyrant like "Uncle Bob" any form of legitimacy you basically condone his acts and encourage the continuation of his bad behavior.

While the President of South Africa might not step on Mugabe's toes, I think that Bay has a better solution which is the nomination of an African pope. In the same manner that JPII confronted Soviet communism, the new pope could do the same in Africa without the worry of being dubbed a "racist" or "colonial stooge." I'm game for the solution but is there someone in Africa willing to stand up to the tugs in Africa?