Comments on: Zimbabwe developments open thread

By: steve at the pub

steve at the pub — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 03:29:39 +0000

At this stage looking a bit like Mugabe will “contest” a run-off election, without foreign observers or foreign journalists, but WITH lots of Zimbabwe Police and Zimbabwe army.

By: Eliot Ramsey

Eliot Ramsey — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 02:02:11 +0000

It's pretty safe to say where Mugabe's went wrong:

DR DAVID DORWARD: Mugabe turned to seizing white land, and sensibly redistributing it to the pheasants...

- ABC 7.30 Report - screen dump

By: Spiros

Spiros — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 01:04:55 +0000

It’s time for the South Africans to seriously tell Mugabe to get out. No ifs or buts.

By: Eliot Ramsey

Eliot Ramsey — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 00:23:29 +0000

Paul Burns says:

Its stating the obvious, but there is every probability that the run-off election, which apparently will not have independent observers, will be a repeat of the massive physical intimidation of the Opposition.

Oh, yes. Mugabe even has a Politburo. He’s a marxist, so he’s not going to go willingly.

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe’s government has raided the offices of the main opposition movement and detained two foreign journalists in an ominous sign he may use intimidation and violence to keep his grip on power.

Police raided a hotel used by the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and ransacked some of the rooms.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/mugabe-crackdown-opposition-raided/2008/04/04/1207249396936.html

There.

By: Andos

Andos — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 00:21:11 +0000

Your comments seem unfortunately accurate, Paul, in light of news that MDC offices in Harare were raided overnight, and Tsvanagari has gone into hiding for his own safety.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/04/04/2207801.htm?section=justin

By: Paul Burns

Paul Burns — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 23:14:27 +0000

Its stating the obvious, but there is every probability that the run-off election, which apparently will not have independent observers, will be a repeat of the massive physical intimidation of the Opposition.

By: Evan

Evan — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 23:06:22 +0000

This has got all the drama of a remake of Guns At Batasi. Where’s Dickie Attenborough?

By: Paul Norton

Paul Norton — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 22:35:51 +0000

Also, those who want to test the accuracy of statements by Piers and his interlocutors about TEH LEFT's attitude to the Mugabe regime can check out the positions of the Australian Greens, the ALP, the ACTU, and the SEARCH Foundation (successor to the former Communist Party of Australia).

By: Paul Norton

Paul Norton — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 22:16:43 +0000

I'm somewhat bemused by those commenters here and elsewhere who think that all of Zimbabwe's problems could have been avoided had it not been for the Lancaster House Agreement, and that they could be solved by reverting to the status quo ante. Since when was the absence of democracy a cure for the absence of democracy? And Piers Akerman is old enough to know that the Lancaster House Agreement was primarily brokered by the British government of his heroine, Margaret Thatcher.

By: GregM

GregM — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 12:26:52 +0000

That he stuffed up the economics of his country is obvious. Who stuffed up Americas? Australias’? etc etc etc?

No-one has stuffed up Australia’s economy. As I last heard inflation in Australia is running at 4%, a bit of a worry but not over 100,000 percent. Unemployment is, officially at a little over 4%, not 80%, as it is in Zimbabwe. And the vast majority of Australians don’t go to bed hungry every night as most Zimbabweans do, In fact obesity, a product of having a surfeit of food, is a major health issue facing Australia, but not Zimbabwe.

You obviously have bizarre standards, completely detached from reality, to make the comparisons you make.

By: Yendis

Yendis — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 11:54:38 +0000

If all the landowners were to go to heaven would the earth disappear? Not really! That he stuffed up the economics of his country is obvious. Who stuffed up Americas? Australias’? etc etc etc?

By: Kim

Kim — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 07:25:14 +0000

Historically it’s true that agriculture was their economic mainstay, steve, but they’ve also got large unexploited coal reserves and gold in the ground – Tzvangerai was once a Miners Union leader, let’s not forget.

They’ve also got a very well educated and literate population.

By: Adrien

Adrien — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 07:24:38 +0000

Mugabe got 42% of the vote. You know what that means. It means the economy’s so far south that the sumbitch’s running out of bullets. It also means he hasn’t quite run out of them yet. I do hope he saves one for himself.

By: steve at the pub

steve at the pub — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 07:19:06 +0000

The land & plentiful labour is all Zimbabwe had.

Now it has nothing. Unless the labour can be coordinated to produce, and the land can again be managed effectively, they are stuck where they are.

Not going to be easy.

By: Kim

Kim — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 07:03:27 +0000

John Tracey is right about two things – it’s probable that there is still support for Mugabe, and the land reform impetus to some degree developed independently of Mugabe. That’s not to say that one should buy into the whole post-colonialist discourse he wrapped it up in – a central factor in the collapse of the economy was the attack on the rule of law. But the new government is still going to have to grapple with tensions over land.

By: Spiros

Spiros — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 05:25:35 +0000

Meh. It could have been worse.

By: GregM

GregM — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 05:21:09 +0000

Mugabe recognised that white farmers were the source of his countries poverty – they had to go.

So he got rid of them and everyone in Zimbabwe got so much richer and every one of them goes to bed each night with a full belly then?

That particular policy of his worked out really well, didn’t it?

By: Yendis

Yendis — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 05:14:05 +0000

If Mugabe was white or yellow there would not be half the noise over his actions. Rigged elections are OK for America but what about Australia? Mugabe is certainly bad but have you remembered Burma, or China, or any other African countries, Asian countries, South American countries, that have dictatorships or other government by force of arms? Mugabe recognised that white farmers were the source of his countries poverty – they had to go. Had they been black farmers we would never have heard of Zimbabwe. Good riddance to Mugabe – but what would you have done should Howard been re-elected last November and put the lives of a million Australians in danger?

By: FDB

FDB — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 05:12:36 +0000

Oh, it was just baiting. Way to use etymology for evil, Spiros.

By: Spiros

Spiros — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 05:12:27 +0000

Yea, yeah, I know, but it was fun teasing SATP.