Colin Powell: Freeing a Nation From a Tyrant's Grip (Zimbabwe)

The New York Times ^ | 06/24/03 | COLIN L. POWELL

[Pokey78]

A brave man recently met with me and described how life in his country has become unbearable. "There is too much fear in the country, fear of the unknown and fear of the known consequences if we act or speak out," explained Pius Ncube, the Roman Catholic archbishop of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Yet Archbishop Ncube speaks out fearlessly about the terrible human rights conditions in Zimbabwe, and is threatened almost every day with detention or worse.

For hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans, the worst has already come. Millions of people are desperately hungry because the country's once-thriving agricultural sector collapsed last year after President Robert Mugabe confiscated commercial farms, supposedly for the benefit of poor blacks. But his cynical "land reform" program has chiefly benefited idle party hacks and stalwarts, not landless peasants. As a result, much of Zimbabwe's most productive land is now occupied by loyalists of the ruling ZANU-PF party, military officers, or their wives and friends.

Worse still, the entire Zimbabwean economy is near collapse. Reckless governmental mismanagement and unchecked corruption have produced annual inflation rates near 300 percent, unemployment of more than 70 percent and widespread shortages of food, fuel and other basic necessities. Is it any wonder that Zimbabweans are demanding political change, or that President Mugabe must rely on stepped-up violence and vote-rigging to remain in office?

On June 6, the police again arrested Mr. Mugabe's most prominent opponent, Morgan Tsvangirai. They paraded him in a courtroom in shackles and leg irons before releasing him on bail on June 20. His offense? Calling for work stoppages and demonstrations to protest economic hardship and political repression.

Like Myanmar's courageous opposition leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Mr. Tsvangirai wages a nonviolent struggle against a ruthless regime. Like the Burmese junta, President Mugabe and his Politburo colleagues have an absolute monopoly of coercive power, but no legitimacy or moral authority. In the long run, President Mugabe and his minions will lose, dragging their soiled record behind them into obscurity. But how long will it take? How many good Zimbabweans will have to lose their jobs, their homes, or even their lives before President Mugabe's violent misrule runs its course?

The United States — and the European Union — has imposed a visa ban on Zimbabwe's leaders and frozen their overseas assets. We have ended all official assistance to the government of Zimbabwe. We have urged other governments to do the same. We will persist in speaking out strongly in defense of human rights and the rule of law. And we will continue to assist directly, in many different ways, the brave men and women of Zimbabwe who are resisting tyranny.

But our efforts are unlikely to succeed quickly enough without greater engagement by Zimbabwe's neighbors. South Africa and other African countries are increasingly concerned and active on Zimbabwe, but they can and should play a stronger and more sustained role that fully reflects the urgency of Zimbabwe's crisis. If leaders on the continent do not do more to convince President Mugabe to respect the rule of law and enter into a dialogue with the political opposition, he and his cronies will drag Zimbabwe down until there is nothing left to ruin — and Zimbabwe's implosion will continue to threaten the stability and prosperity of the region.

There is a way out of the crisis. ZANU-PF and the opposition party can together legislate the constitutional changes to allow for a transition. With the president gone, with a transitional government in place and with a date fixed for new elections, Zimbabweans of all descriptions would, I believe, come together to begin the process of rebuilding their country. If this happened, the United States would be quick to pledge generous assistance to the restoration of Zimbabwe's political and economic institutions even before the election. Other donors, I am sure, would be close behind.

Reading this, Robert Mugabe and his cohorts may cry, "Blackmail." We should ignore them. Their time has come and gone. As Archbishop Ncube has said, "Things in our country can hardly get worse." With the perseverance of brave Zimbabweans, strengthened commitment from their neighbors, and the strong support of the international community, we can rescue the people of Zimbabwe. This is a worthy and urgent goal for us all.

Colin L. Powell is secretary of state.

[Pan_Yans Wife]

Ping

[Billthedrill]

I've long held that Powell is Bush's "good cop" and that Rumsfeld, or Bush himself, is the "bad cop." Well, the good cop has now spoken. Powell is in a very interesting position as Secretary of State - he has the luxury of being able to speak softly and in an accommodating tone, which is, after all, what diplomacy is all about, knowing that the intelligent listener has to be aware that dismissing him is not necessarily an altogether safe thing to do. I think that this arrangement is one of the cleverest achievements of the Bush administration. There's no "gravitas" quite like that that follows a peacemaking retired general with a very active and successful army backing him and a boss who's willing to let him be the good guy.

Make no mistake about it, this was a very, very gentle warning. Teddy Roosevelt would be proud.

[Pan_Yans Wife]

Are you suggesting that Rumsfeld will now issue a veiled threat to Mugabe?

[Travis McGee]

This is very important. Naming the opposition leader will also provide some measure of protection and immunity.

[Pan_Yans Wife]

I find it momentous... the MDC needs outside protection, and chastizing SA seems appropriate, too.

[Billthedrill]

No, I think this was the veiled threat. I'll go even further and speculate that it's the last one Mugabe's going to get. Ms. Rice may have stated that Iraq was the last "military adventure" this administration is likely to embark on, but I think that much of the Zimbabwe horror may be dealt with short of overt military activity if the threat of same is credible.

I am an optimist in such matters, and hence usually wrong.

[Travis McGee]

Yes, it is momentous. CP is telling SA to work for change in Zim, or we will. If we do, you're out.

[Pan_Yans Wife]

I don't wish to be a colonialist, or called one by liberals or Europeans, but Zimbabwe is bleeding to death. I wish, as human beings who care about justice and liberty, that the US would either force Mugabe out, overtly, or that we would help the MDC to push him out of office. SA has acted disgracefully, the EU seems impotent, and the suspension from the Commonwealth hasn't brought enough pressure yet. The time has come, in my opinion. Praying for justice in Zimbabwe.

[Pan_Yans Wife]

Don't most Americans believe that Bush is a man of his word, and that if he threatens to use the stick, he uses it decisively? I find that comforting. I hope Mugabe and his cronies get the hint.

[Rennes Templar]

After the Middle East, its on to Africa...forward, ho!

[Billthedrill]

It's past time Mugabe went. The problem is that the South Africans have been so successful at playing the race card to cover up the Marxist aspects of their own government that they feel a certain obscene solidarity with a fellow who is doing precisely the same thing in a more radical way. I do not look that direction for help. Nor do I look to the Europeans, always so quick to criticize our winking at despotism during the Cold War, who are doing nothing other than that now. Nor do I look to Mugabe's neighbors, who are in varying degrees beginning to starve themselves.

It is simply amazing to me that, given the nearly perfect track record of ruination resulting from the political, economic, and agricultural policies that Mugabe has adopted, that these still carry the banner of "liberation." There is a cynicism here that would almost be amusing were not so many people dying as a result of it.

[Sir Gawain]

It's about time we stopped the suffering. We could take over the country in a week.

[Pan_Yans Wife]

You hit the nail on the head. Zanu PF is the party of liberation, the MDC the party of opposition. I know without a doubt that SA does not want to examine their own brief history since liberation and find that they have enough dissent within their borders that will bring about a strong opposition.

A woman who fled Zimbabwe within about five years of liberation and beginning of Mugabe's rule, told me that she thinks the people are desensitized to the horrors that exist about them. And that the ghost of racial equality is elusive, but more desirable than the harsh glare of reality. People are still living on the dream of land, instead of seeing that land is worthless without the people. She said that race has nothing to do with Mugabe's rule, his only goal is to rule indefinitely, and if that means dragging the country down with him, then so be it.

At the same time, those who stay, have a fortitude which I cannot fathom. Mugabe's rule is so communist in its ideology, that I wonder why people cannot see the truth staring at them. And I wonder if their broken dreams can ever be mended in the future? How many times must the same country be reborn, with a new name, a new government, until it finds the strength to survive?

[Billthedrill]

...those who stay, have a fortitude which I cannot fathom.

You get the last word here. I can't either.

[xm177e2]

Colin Powell just did something very important. The situation in Zim needs more media attention.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

CSM Bush team boosts efforts to resolve Africa conflicts - Plans July trip to continent***

[Tailgunner Joe]

Bravo. If Powell is so concerned with the well-being of black people, maybe he should stop lecturing republicans about being "inclusive" and focus on fighting the ongoing genocide in Zimbabwe.

[Clive]

Significantly, this comes just before a visit by Bush to South Africa.

I consider the stance of Mbeki of South Africa and Obasanjo of Nigeria as being key to Mugabe's ability to withstand European and US sanctions.

[happygrl]

Significantly, this comes just before a visit by Bush to South Africa.

Yes, and not by some Under Secretary of State but by the Big Man himself.

Action certainly got the attention of the rogue countries of the Middle East. A few predators precisely aimed would get the rest of the Zany Party in line pretty quickly, and all of Africa's attention.