Tyrant of Harare

Fire of Liberty

In the October 23, 2005 issue of the SundayTimes, Christina Lamb has a very good piece demonstrating why the US government has continued to condemn Robert Mugabe and place sanctions on various individuals and entities that support his horrific regime in Zimbabwe. After reading a portion of what she wrote, you'll understand why Mugabe has become persona non grata amongst a large section of the world. Here's a sample:

These are the victims of Operation Murambatsvina (drive out the filth), Mugabe'’s so-called urban beautification campaign which, according to a damning report by the United Nations, left more than 700,000 homeless or without an income.

Yet last week the United Nations flew Zimbabwe's president on an all-expenses-paid trip to Rome to celebrate World Food Day in defiance of European Union travel sanctions. Flanked by bodyguards, he proclaimed that there was no hunger in his country and blamed its problems on George W Bush and Tony Blair, branding them international terrorists and likening them to Hitler and Mussolini.

Such hypocrisy comes as no surprise to the people squatting amid piles of debris in southern Harare, who feel abandoned by the outside world.

There have been similar images of devastation from this year'’s hurricanes and earthquakes. But this is man-made destruction — — the revenge of a president against the inhabitants of areas that dared to vote against him in one election after another.

"This is the most depressing thing I have ever seen in years of working in trouble spots,"” a UN official said. "“It'’s just all so unnecessary."

The bulldozers and axes that destroyed thousands of homes and market stalls in June and July, supposedly to clean up the cities, have left a nation teeming with homeless people.

The International Crisis Group estimates Zimbabwe has between 4m and 5m internal refugees — more than a third of the population. They are the victims of Operation Murambatsvina, and workers kicked off commercial farms seized in five years of violent land grabs.

Yet Mugabe refuses to allow a $30m humanitarian appeal by the UN for blankets and food. He objects to the use of the word "“humanitarian".

A consignment of 6,000 blankets and 37 tons of food raised by the South African Council of Churches for the new homeless was blocked at the border by customs authorities. First they demanded duties, then they refused entry, claiming they needed proof the food was not genetically modified.

If the people of Zimbabwe are ever going to be free from Mugabe and his thugs, then they'll need more actions like the imposition of sanctions against the regime's supporters, public condemnation and the support of pro-democracy groups within Zimbabwe and the region, hopefully President Bush has set a precedent. The people of Zimbabwe are beginning to grow tired of the of Mugabe and his likes taking away their farms, homes, jobs and food from their bellies and maybe a little help from the free world can help the finally push out their octeganarian tyrant.