'Nuff said.
Posted on 03/29/2002 11:55:55 AM PST by Sir Gawain
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Zimbabwe held sham elections so blatantly fraudulent and corrupt that all but the ideologically blind noticed. Marxist President Robert Mugabe, who according to rumors is suffering the advanced stages of syphilitic madness, was a desperate man. Having plundered his people for two decades it now appeared that he would suffer a humiliating defeat at the polls. The road to the 2002 election began two years ago when Mugabe and his ruling ZANU-PF party attempted to change the constitution increasing Mugabe’s power. A coalition of civic groups lined up in opposition. Complacent after two decades of dictatorial rule Mugabe thought the election would be a cake walk. Instead his proposals were soundly defeated and the lunatic that lives just below the surface came out screaming. Instantly Mugabe turned into an open monster. For the first time Mugabe realized that a formidable opposition had grown within his country. Mugabe attempted to divert people’s attention with a phony land redistribution scheme. In reality the scheme was nothing more than a flagrantly open campaign of racism. Mugabe suddenly turned on the tiny minority of a few thousand white farmers and starting blaming all his nation’s woes on them. He hired gangs of fake “war veterans” to pillage the country side, destroy white farms, beat opponents to death, and torture innocent civilians who got in their way.
Get WhiteyThe imminent Parliamentary elections were clearly on Mugabe’s mind. The opposition, under the newly formed Movement for Democratic Change was popular. All polls showed that MDC support easily eclipsed that of the senile dictator. Mugabe was convinced that the white farmers were the back bone of the MDC and that is one reason they were targeted. That in addition to the need to divert attention from his disastrous policies. Of course the land redistribution program was just a plan to steal productive white-owned farms and turn them over to Mugabe’s cronies. In the minority of cases where “peasant farmers” were given land the exercise was useless. These subsistence farmers could not sustain themselves on what had been bountiful farms in the past. Over a quarter of peasant communal farmers required food aid just to stay alive. Ever since this campaign Zimbabwe has stood on the brink of starvation relying on bail outs from South Africa and Western charities. Mugabe’s campaign was universally attacked except by the ruling African National Congress government in South Africa. While the West wasn’t looking the ANC slowly turned back to its Marxist origins. Using the injustices of apartheid as an excuse the ANC, especially under Nelson Mandela’s successor Thabo Mbeki, began the long journey into slavery. All water resources were nationalized and legislation to nationalize all mineral resources has been debated. All that remains is for the ANC to decide the final format for the legislation. South Africa has cuddled up to Libya’s Khaddafi and to Cuba’s Castro — both of whom were awarded South Africa’s highest governmental medal. And South Africa happily hosted the West-bashing UN Conference on Racism. It was becoming clear that South Africa’s new government meant a dramatic shift in policy. While calling itself non-aligned South Africa had joined the coalition of Third World failures — a collection of dismal nations ruled by incompetent, corrupt politicians following outdated Marxist policies.
Mbeki, Mugabe Hand-in-HandSouth Africa’s continued support for the dictatorial Mugabe was just the proof in the pudding that one would expect. In the midst of some of the worst violence in Zimbabwe President Mbeki flew there to meet Mugabe. The two leaders were seen literally strolling down the road hand in hand. Mbeki had not one word of criticism for Mad Bob. And he willingly was photographed with the grinning Mugabe. The ANC, which had demanded sanctions and international intervention against the apartheid regime, suddenly discovered a new form of non-interventionism. It announced that human rights abuses in Zimbabwe were an internal affair and the rest of the world should mind its own business. As journalist Kaizer Nyatsumba noted: “It is incomprehensible that the ANC, which vigorously campaigned for the denunciation of apartheid as a crime against humanity, as well as for the country’s international isolation because of the NP [National Party] government’s blatant disregard for the black majority’s rights, now refrains from condemning human rights abuses in other countries because those are ‘domestic matters’. If this is not hypocrisy, then I don’t know what is.” As matters deteriorated in Zimbabwe South Africa also suffered. The local currency, the rand, saw its decline escalating. And there was no question that Zimbabwe was a major contributor along with Mbeki’s lack of criticism for Mugabe’s antics. The exchange rate has continued to get worse for South Africans as the crisis dragged out. The International Crisis Group’s “Africa Briefing” for January 2002 noted: “The impact of the deteriorating situation in its neighbor to the north has been particularly noticeable in the falling rand. While other factors have contributed, the rand sank 25 percent during 2000, 30 percent since January 2001, and then a further 4.5 percent in the first week of December 2001.” Announcement of Mugabe’s “victory” had an immediate effect on the rand which dropped just under 3 percent immediately. While it made some small gains it ended the day down 44 cents on the dollar to 11.74.
South African Taxpayers Support Zimbabwe DictatorOne reason for the declining rand is that investors are now bypassing South Africa. The American Chamber of Commerce estimated that the Zimbabwe crisis has cost South Africa $3 billion in investment. At the same time the ANC government was propping up Mugabe with various forms of aid. ICG reported: “Zimbabwe has defaulted on debt payments to both Eskom [state-owned electricity company] and Sasol [state-owned fuel company], and both companies have had to absorb the losses as they have been instructed by the South African government to continue exports.” One South African academic noted: “South African taxpayers have been subsidizing Mugabe’s government for the last year.” Mugabe meanwhile used Mbeki’s support to his advantage. As the South African Sunday Independent noted: “Every time Mbeki made a statement in support of Mugabe, the Zimbabwean government and its media exploited it to boost their potential support in the elections . . .” Mbeki response to such criticisms was that of an arrogant and stubborn child. The more he was chided the more stubborn he became — a trait he shares with the infantile dictator in Zimbabwe. The African National Congress — which rules in a coalition government with the Communist Party, a party of which Mbeki was once proudly a member — took Mugabe’s rhetoric and regurgitated it with amazing consistency. While the world was worried about the state of democracy in Zimbabwe the ANC announced: “the problem in Zimbabwe is not the lack of democracy but the need to speed up land reform.” South Africa’s Opposition Leader Tony Leon, of the Democratic Party, responded: “This is surely the worst mistake the ANC has made in international affairs. It has undermined our credibility utterly, and imperiled our position as an honest broker in the affairs of the region. “As Zimbabwe’s economy collapses, so will the rand go into free fall because of the company we choose. This will have economic consequences for both South Africa and Zimbabwe.”
The Foreign Exchange Racist ConspiracyTony Leon was right. The rand went into free fall. Where it was trading at 6 to the US dollar it went into 2002 at 13 to one. Mbeki and his minions announced the drop in the rand was the result of a racist conspiracy. The President ordered a special investigation into how racist financiers and bankers had manipulated the currency. The only evidence that has emerged to date is that the rand fell because investors, both foreign and South African, had lost confidence in Mbeki and his government. As Zimbabwe approached its 2000 parliamentary elections Mugabe’s thugs stepped up their campaign of murder and torture. Hundreds of thousands of people were displaced in the campaign to terrorize the electorate. Reeducation camps were established and tens of thousands were forced to endure them. ZANU-PF leaders with self-chosen names like Stalin Mau-Mau, Comrade Jesus and Hitler Hunzvi lead the Mugabe’s Brown Shirts. After months of ANC sanctioned violence Mugabe was prepared for the election. Of the 120 seats up for grabs Mugabe only held on to 62 of them. In spite of major intimidation, the novices in the MDC took half the seats. But Mugabe had a constitution on his side that was set up to promote a one party state. He, as president, was allowed to personally appoint an additional 30 members to parliament.
Vote Correctly or DieBut the indications were strong that Mugabe stole the election. South Africa’s Helen Suzman Foundation contracted Probe Market Research, a subsidiary of Gallup International. to poll the voters. The results were shocking and left no doubt that the election had been rigged. Twelve percent of voters nationwide admitted that they had not voted for the party they actually supported because they were afraid of retribution. Since the only people handing out beatings were ZANU-PF thugs it was obvious that the MDC would have won a free and fair election. The numbers of voters intimidated into voting for Mugabe was even higher in those areas of the country where the “war veterans” were in control. In Chegutu 61 percent of the voters said they were frightened. In other rural areas the percentages were equally high: 62 percent in Mazowe East, 69 percent in Mhondoro, 70 percent in Goromonzi, and 72 percent in Murewa South and in Highfield. In Mabvuku 28 percent of voters said they were intimidated into voting for a party they did not support. In Murewa South it was 23 percent, in Chegutu it was 20 percent, and Mazowe East and Mhondo it was 19 percent; 18 percent in Goromonzi and 16 percent in Mazowe. The Suzman Foundation said the fear “factor was large enough to influence the outcome of the results in many cases and is proof that the election was not free or fair.” Areas, which only a few months earlier had soundly defeated Mugabe suddenly and unexplainably shifted into his camp — unexplainable until you look at Mugabe’s systematic intimidation of voters. Based on exit polls the Suzman Foundation estimates that in a free and fair election Mugabe would have been soundly defeated. They project that the Opposition would have received 87 seats while Mugabe’s ZANU-PF would have received only 29 seats. Even with Mugabe’s appointment of 30 seats he would have lost control of Parliament Out of 150 seats ZANU-PF would have been reduced to a paltry 59 seats. The March 2002 Presidential elections obviously couldn’t be left to chance. Mugabe was intent on staying in power. Of course a good deal of his intent was driven by fear. His genocidal campaign in Matabeleland has left him vulnerable. He could easily be tried and convicted for crimes against humanity so it was critical that he hold on to power to his dying day — for Zimbabwe’s sake once can only pray that will be soon.
Ban the OppositionA campaign to disenfranchise voters in MDC areas was necessary. This was easy to do. Taking a ploy out of the ANC election book Mugabe banned citizens living outside Zimbabwe from voting. He knew that the bulk of Zimbabweans outside the country opposed his regime. And since it worked for Mbeki to disenfranchise overseas South Africans it would work for Mugabe as well. In addition new electoral laws were passed. One law stated that a person could only vote in the district where they lived and that they must prove they have residence there. Government thugs then drove tens of thousands of MDC supporters out of their homes. Add to this the hundreds of thousands of farm workers who were displaced by the previous wave of attacks and a huge percentage of Opposition voters were effectively disenfranchised. Next Mugabe refused to publish the voter’s roll. This meant the Opposition couldn’t check to see how many voters had disappeared from the rolls or see how many bogus voters had been added. During the second “democratic” South African election the ANC government stripped permanent residents, who had voted in the previous election, of the franchise. Mugabe followed suit. Except he changed the law so that it stripped any citizen who had been born outside Zimbabwe of the right to vote. This was especially geared to disenfranchise white voters, many of whom were born in Britain or in South Africa. Next Mugabe challenged the voting status of other white voters. This was done only days before the election and effectively meant the disenfranchised did not have the opportunity to appeal the challenge. This maneuver stripped them of the right to vote It was also widely known that the MDC was strongest in the urban areas, where the bulk of Zimbabwean voters lived. Mugabe’s strong holds were with the uneducated rural population. At first it was announced that most voters lived in urban areas. But the government suddenly switched the numbers announcing that most voters were suddenly, and unexplainably, now living in rural areas. This set off concerns that the results were going to be massaged for Mugabe’s benefit since it was now claimed that most voters lived in areas supportive of ZANU-PF.
Dissuasion by Long LinesPolling stations inside urban areas were dramatically reduced in number. Meanwhile in the sparsely populated rural areas they were increased in number. When it came time to vote urban voters were shocked to find queues thousand of people long. It was estimated that 80% of registered voters had turned out for the election but only 50% were able to cast votes. But most urban voters couldn’t even get near a polling booth since there were so few available. The International Crisis Groups sent observers into Zimbabwe and the reports they received was that voter turnout in rural areas was minimal. Yet according to official returns it was a massive turnout in precisely those areas which put Mugabe back into office. Yet it was the rural areas that went unmonitored. MDC observers in those areas were routinely beaten or arrested. Foreign observers concentrated their efforts on the urban areas. With a low rural turnout and no monitors the one explanation for massive voting for Mugabe from those regions is ballot stuffing. ICG officials reported: “Vote-rigging strategies are also being deployed vigorously. For example, ZANU-PF officials have resettled people and are distorting voter rolls by allowing double registration. Chinhoyi officials were seen registering people on occupied farms far outside the jurisdiction.” The ICG noted that any monitors who arrived to watch the vote — itself an unlikely occurrence — “will have no way of checking or even learning of such abuses.” In Bulawayo, another MDC center, tens of thousands turned out to cast their vote against Mugabe. But in some areas over 90 percent of registered voters were simply told they could not vote. To make sure the results were favourable to Mugabe election workers in urban areas did their work as slowly as possible. Rural polling stations were processing one voter per minute but urban polling stations were seemingly only able to process 10 voters per hour. At this point it was obvious that hundreds of thousands of voters would still be in line when the polling stations closed. And just to be safe the military, which had announced it would not follow an MDC government, was put in charge of security of ballot boxes. On Sunday, March 10th the MDC went to court arguing for an additional day of voting. The court granted their petition. But on a whole Mugabe and his crew simply ignored the courts — in a dictatorship that is not uncommon. And Mugabe has ignored court rulings repeatedly in the past. For most of the country polling stations never opened as ordered. In Harare some stations reopened but only five hours late and again since urban government employees refused to process voters at a reasonable speed most of those in line never got close to a voting box. Some estimates place the number of voters left standing in line well over one million. Meanwhile across the country MDC officials and supporters were being rounded up by the Mugabe regime charged with treason and sundry other crimes against the state.
Mugabe Welcomes CNNMugabe had banned most outside observers to make sure his election wasn’t viewed by skeptical eyes. Reporters were also strictly limited to those thought to be more favorably inclined toward the regime. The BBC was banned but CNN was welcomed and if the reports that did air are any indication it was obvious why. The BBC reported on the intimidation and manipulation of the results. But CNN’s Charlayne Hunter-Gault did reports on Zimbabwe’s main problem: the distribution of land. But polls of Zimbabweans showed that virtually no one there felt that there was a land problem. The land issue was a bogus issue drummed up by Mugabe to justify his thuggery. Only Mugabe, the ANC and CNN actually pretended that land was an issue. When the counting was done Mugabe, as was predestined by manipulation, was announced the winner. Various European observers said the election was a sham, so did the Britain, the Australia and the United States. Independent coalitions of NGO’s within Zimbabwe said the election was fraught with violence by the ruling party that manipulated the results. There was a virtual chorus of denunciation. But once again South Africa, in its new role as leader of the anti-democratic forces of the Third World, announced the election was legitimate. The logic used was typically African — it made no sense whatsoever. The South African delegation said that since the MDC had run in the election that meant the election had to be legitimate. Of course had the MDC not run candidates the ANC would proclaim Mugabe’s election legitimate since he won unopposed. In ANC logic it was impossible for Zimbabwe to have an election that wasn’t legitimate. The Johannesburg Star (March 14, 2002) said that the head of South Africa’s Observer Mission (SAOM), Sam Motsuenyane was “stunned and flustered as journalists jeered and diplomats walked out after his endorsement of Zimbabwe’s poll . . .” Motsuenyane was surprised when journalists laughed at his excuses for the massive voting queues in MDC areas. According to Motsuenyane such problems were merely “administrative oversights”. SAOM argued that a high voter turnout, witnessed in urban areas, was further proof that the election was legitimate. Whether or not those votes were accredited to the intended candidate was never something considered by the South Africans. On the streets of Harare the consensus among disappointed voters was that the African National Congress pulled the strings and that the SAOM reported ANC ideology and not reality. The Commonwealth nations had wanted to drum Zimbabwe out of membership. But once again President Mbeki lead a campaign in defense of Mugabe. And when the Commonwealth meeting was over he denounced the West as racist. As far as Mbeki was concerned anyone who talks about honest elections, the rule of law, etc. is, by definition, a racist. Yet South Africa’s support is crucial for “smart sanction” to have an effect on the ZANU-PF elite. It is widely known that top Zimbabwean officials have huge amounts of wealth stored in South Africa. Jonathan Moyo, a spokesman for Mugabe, in fact used funds stolen from a Western aid project to purchase an expensive house in one of Johannesburg’s more fashionable suburbs. Mbeki’s own brother has urged him to crack down on Zimbabwe but the advice, like all advice given to the president, was ignored. President Mbeki admitted that “We can stop the Zimbabwean economy tomorrow if we wanted to. We have the muscle.” But that is muscle it will not use. In spite of the fact that the crisis in Zimbabwe has hurt South Africa most, except for the pain inflicted directly in Zimbabwe itself, South Africa is continuing to stand side by side with Mugabe. Mbeki now seemingly argues that African culture is not the same as Western culture and calls for democratic rule are inherently racist since that is a Western concept. He may shun from from putting it so bluntly but this is clearly his position. And there are few world leaders so open in their hatred of Western values. Mbeki glorifies dictatorial regimes provided they are African.
Meanwhile, the Begging Goes OnMeanwhile Mbeki leads other African leaders in a persistent begging campaign for more and more Western funds. Corrupt socialist regimes are failures the world over and Africa is no exception. To stay in power these dictators need Western aid. Mbeki’s plan is called the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). A reading of the founding document will show that Mbeki is convinced that all Africa’s problems are the fault of Western racists. Colonialism, not corruption, is mentioned several times. Originally Mbeki sold the plan as “trade not aid” but in very short term it became a plan for massively increasing the amount of Western aid poured down another African rat hole. There is some mention in NEPAD that Africa will promote “good governance” on the continent. But Mbeki’s support for Mugabe has already proven that clause is meaningless. South Africa, once seen as Africa’s last hope for good government has now proven itself an enemy of Western values. The West should respond accordingly. Not only should NEPAD be laughed at but all Western aid should be withdrawn from the continent immediately. This is not collective punishment since the Sub-Saharan African nations have united behind Mbeki and Mugabe. And as long as they are committed to these values Africa will be a disaster and no amount of Western aid will turn it around. Jim Peron is the author of Die, the Beloved Country?, a book exposing the misrule by mismanagement of the African National Congress during its first term of office in South Africa. He recently finished an expose of the Mugabe regime: Zimbabwe: the Death of a Dream. He can be contacted at peron@gonet.co.za. |
That says it all.
There will be no redress, so long as so many Conservatives accept some of the Socialist premises which underlie the outrage that has been perpetrated. (For the role of Leftwing Americans in this disaster, see An American Foreign Policy.) Mugabe is the product of the Dean Rusk/Robert Strange McNamara foreign policy.
William Flax Return Of The Gods Web Site
Yep, nobody said much when Mugabe axed Joshua Nkomo.
“It is incomprehensible that the ANC, which vigorously campaigned for the denunciation of apartheid as a crime against humanity, as well as for the country’s international isolation because of the NP [National Party] government’s blatant disregard for the black majority’s rights, now refrains from condemning human rights abuses in other countries because those are ‘domestic matters’. If this is not hypocrisy, then I don’t know what is.”
Bump.
WOW and there are people in this country that laud Africa and want reparations because they were forced to live in the greatest land of all, in freedom and with unlimited oportunity. They get to vote also.
Bumped and Rebumped.
'Nuff said.
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