Zimbabwe: The Death of Democracy

April 25th, 2008

Zimbabwe’s post-election goonery by hero turned thug-tyrant Robert Mugabe is playing out much like the Star Wars film Revenge of the Sith. Mugabe has manipulated an election, cast the people who really want democracy as the villains, declared martial rule, and raided his political rivals headquarters; though at least he hasn’t killed them yet (like the Sith Lord) he’s just had them beaten and arrested.

Now all we need is a “This is how democracy dies, to thunderous applause” moment, and the Revenge of Robert Mugabe will be complete.

    Zimbabwe police raid opposition HQ, detain scores
    By MacDonald Dzirutwe

    HARARE (Reuters) - Armed riot police raided the headquarters of Zimbabwe’s main opposition party on Friday and detained scores of people in the biggest crackdown on the MDC since elections last month, officials said.

    The Movement for Democratic Change says it defeated President Robert Mugabe in the March 29 elections as well as ending his party’s 28-year hold on parliament.

    A delay to the presidential result and a recount of some parliamentary votes has brought growing international pressure on Mugabe, 84, and stoked fears of bloodshed in a country already suffering an economic collapse.

    Dozens of riot police detained around 100 MDC supporters who were bundled into a crowded police bus before being taken away, a Reuters witness said.

    MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa said among those detained were supporters who had come to the party headquarters after being hurt in what the opposition calls a post-election campaign of violence by Mugabe’s followers.

    “They took everyone in the building, including those who had come just to seek medical care. They are trying to destroy evidence of their brutality,” Chamisa told Reuters.

    He said police also took some computers.

For some time now Mugabe has been working to complete his tyranical take over. He’s manipulated elections before; but now he takes his final dictatoral steps to make sure he doesn’t loose his grasp on power. Like Palpatine in Star Wars, Mugabe has been aided by others in his federation of states.

    Zimbabwe’s Enabler
    South Africa Falls Short As Monitor of Democracy
    By Sebastian Mallaby
    Monday, April 4, 2005; Page A21

    Thursday’s election in Zimbabwe was not merely stolen. It was stolen with the complicity — no, practically the encouragement –of Africa’s most influential democrat. If you think too long about this democrat, moreover, you reach a bleak conclusion. For all the recent democratic strides in Africa, the continental leadership that was supposed to reinforce this progress is not up to the challenge.

    The bankrupt democrat in question is Thabo Mbeki, South Africa’s president. For the past few years, he’s been promising a pan-African Renaissance, a new era in which Africans would take charge of their own problems. Mbeki led the creation of the grandly titled New Partnership for Africa’s Development, which commits members to the rule of law and other principles of good government; he’s the driving force behind the peer-review mechanism that’s supposed to police compliance with those pledges. The New Partnership’s principles are quoted frequently by Africa sympathizers who advocate more foreign assistance, and they’ve boosted Mbeki’s profile marvelously. Mbeki has become a fixture at the rich countries’ annual Group of Eight summits. He has been treated by George Bush and Tony Blair as a player. He has felt emboldened to advance South Africa as a candidate for a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council.

    rest of the article

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2 Responses to “Zimbabwe: The Death of Democracy”

  1. cooper on April 26th, 2008 1:52 am | link

    Oh but hey they finally got China to consider not selling arms to these guys anymore…

    sarcastic of course

  2. D. Yobachi Boswell on April 26th, 2008 2:42 am | link

    I’m glad those Chinese weapons got turned away, that was weaponry for Mugabe to oppress and kill his citizens with.

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  • Yobachi Boswell is creator and publisher of BlackPerspecitve.net. I’m a writer, activist and political watcher based in Nashville, Tennessee. I’ve also been know to do some spoken word and MCing in my day.

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