I sometimes wonder just why every time a 'dictator' decides to treat his own people badly there's always someone who goes and tries to make it someone else's fault.

The fault here is purely Mugabe's.

It's not an external fault that made a country that was once a food exporter into a nation that can't even feed itself any longer.

No, it was Mugabe's policy of confiscating viable farmland; and, instead of placing it into the hands of actual FARMERS (who could probably have at least come *close* to previous bounty; gave it instead into the hands of cronies who didn't know the first thing about farming and agriculture.

Personally, I have no problem in addressing the land issue *fairly*; but the fact of the matter is that giving land to someone who has no idea how to use it is not going to continue to have it produce food.

Also, as far as the current election 'crisis' goes; no external nation is keeping ZEC from releasing the results. Indeed, how can there even BE a call for a runoff; until the actual count is released? Obviously, if the existing government is saying a runoff is needed; then they must know what the results are. And, unless the results directly contradict what they are calling for, why not release them?

As someone in another opinion piece noted; if Mugabe had actually won a clear-cut victory; the results would have been announced weeks ago.

So the problem isn't the "West"; whites; or any external factor; the problem is obviously with the existing government.

Give Me Hope Zimbabwe (sung to the tune of "Gimme Hope Johanna" by Eddie Grant)

Well Mugabe he runs a country, from Beitbrug to Victoria Falls, He makes a few of his cronies happy, But he don't care about the rest at all.

From a city once called Salisbury, Uncle Bob he rules this destruction, He doesn't care that the starving mothers, have no Sadza to feed their sons.

Chorus: Gimme hope, Zimbabwe; Hope Zimbabwe; Gimme Hope Zimbabwe 'fore the morning comes; Gimme Hope Zimbabwe; Hope Zimbabwe; Gimme hope before the morning comes.

Stealing all of the country's riches, to buy the weapons from the China man, Just to keep himself in po-wer, seems to be Mugabe's only plan.

Jailing all of the opposition, killing farmers, rigging elections, Making all of his people wonder, were they better as Rhodesians?

Chorus

I wanna know are you blind Mugabe? Do you need to hear the sound of drums? But I would buy you a sweet banana, if you'd just leave before the morning comes...

Chorus

Hey Orlando, if inflation is 160 000% and unemployment is 85% and there's the so called 'starvation' what are Zimbabwean's eating? With these figures at least 80% of the population would be dead..... dont you think? Life in Zimbabwe has been tough for seven years now and the fact is that Zimbabwean's are feeding themselves. All black Zimbabwean's plant fruit and veg in their backyards and many keep chickens for eggs too. Unlike the western world ALL black Zimbabweans know how to plant so the land you are refering to will become productive by ordinary people. Zimbabwean government NEVER said that there was no room for commercial farming and infact most white farmers were planting cash crops like Tobaco and cotton anyway.

Thats just great isn't it? Zimbabweans are planting food and keeping chickens so they can feed themselves. What a great leap backwards to an agrarian society from a prosperous export driven economy. Cash crops do just that, they make cash, hard currency. When people are employed growing cash crops they earn money which is taxable. They pay into the economy so the economy has real money and not virtual money which is now valueless. Western people do not by nature go out and plant their own crops or keep chickens because they are able to go out and buy food while still working and generating wealth for their own society. Unemployment UP, Life Expectancy DOWN, HIV/AIDS 20%, Inflation figures change by the day and the national currency is a joke, buy hey everyone is a millionaire if they can buy a loaf of bread. If your comment wasnt so sad it would almost be funny.

OrlandoNative,well said.Many have cob webs or Mugabe has spun that wool over their eyes so tight that they cannot see further than their noses.

Any chance of getting His Excellency Robert Mugabe to read the book. He might just see the light.

My goodness! I cannot believe that there are people out there in the world who think that he is the one who is being persecuted.....

Please tell us what you feel about this man terrorising his own (black) people, burning them alive in their own homes, beating them, raping them, all because they did not vote for him.

Or do you think that is a Western Plot also?

Amazing that you can think that because he is black, he can do whatever he likes...

The writer must be living in a world of his own. Any way why should a Nigerian pretend to know the situation in Zimbabwe?. Here from me my dear, Iam a black Zimabwean born and bred in Zimbabwe. The situation in Zimbabwe is of Mugabe's own making brought by gready and corruption. Have you ever asked yourself why an 84 year old would cling to power and not even allow any of his own party to voice any concerns about leadership? Its because he and those close to him have just accumulated wealth for themselves at the expense of the poor and so their fear is anyone coming to power will destroy that for them. The West are not to blame for what is happening.At the moment they are beating up people,so they can swing the vote towards themselves by instilling fear in people. People in the rural areas are being subjected to the same torture that used to happen in in the colonial rule. Now instead of beaing the liberator he is now punishing people for expressing their rights. You know what I think what is left for Zimbabwean now is to rise and fight another war of liberation from Zanu PF,though this will come at a human life cost, I think it is worth it.

I cannot believe this article, are you kidding me. Mugabe has had since the 1980s to fix up the country and with an inflation rate in excess of 100 000% do you honestly write to describe this useless tyrant as hero. I suppose next you'll write in that it was the WHITEs who are responsible for killing and beat up opposition figures? (democratic minded individuals, your own kinsmen, who are only standing up for what they believe in) - (BEAT the modern westernized thinking outta them!!) Mugabe is INSANE and pathetic. D'you honestly think white people born into your country in the modern area had anything to do with what happened in the past? You can't stop yourself from being born. What happened; happened! The only way to punish those responsible for harshities committed in the past is to GO BACK into the past and right it then! In the same breath two wrongs don't make a right...Get over it...Build the best Zimbabwe with what you have!..which is a community of whites and blacks combined!! Foreign countries do it, and so can Zim. Current Policy: Kick the few capable whites off the farm land and give it to un-educated savage hostiles...beat up the democtratically minded (free thinking) opposition...good policy...worked wonders...Bob Mugabe, what a hero.

it's true that zim is a community of black and white people. both parties are citizens to the country. but let us also talk about equality. the zim govt made the land reform program open to anyone who held zim citizenship. if it wasn't for the western powers who don't like equality but superiority in other peoples countries the zim situation would have been calm and non-valatile at the moment. western tricks are clear but it seems african leaders believe association with bigger powers is better that protecting an isolated brother. sorry that south africans who are being pressured by the Browns and Bushes to act againist Mugabe will only have their eyes open after the 2010 soccer world cup has been stolen away from them.

Im sure that a sizeable amount of white skinned people wish there ancestors had never gone and meddled in africa,seems like the blame will never end.

Hey South African, your time is comming. There has got to be a level playing field for everyone - Your time is comming!

before writing articles its important to have an understanding of a country and its problems than making shallow and irritating comments.unfortunately we still have African leaders who think like you.eg those who say "what crisis".this is not like the Id Amin scenario.put it simple for your sake,,black people voted for a change and are now being killed.maybe to you its about race but for us its our freedom which we all fought for.Mugabe did not fight alone and was in jail for long time.before commenting about problems that you not familiar with try make an informed research as you add insult to injury by glorifying black apartheid.WE BRING SHAME TO OUR CONTINENT AND LEAVE A LEGACY OF RULE BY THE SWORD AND BLOOD FO OUR CHILDREN!!!SHAME

Unfortinately there are many of us don't realize they are victims of the western tricks we are talking about. Sanctions are part of a strategy to put Zimbabweans into desperation so that when they are desperate they will vote for the western lead regimes. Yes it's true Zimbabweans voted for the Brown but it was out of desperation. You can never claim free and fair elections in a sanctionary environment. Those sanctions were used to make people vote againist their own sovereighnity. Open your eyes and realize

What a load of bollocks. You're as blind as the person who wrote the article. And by the grammer of your comment, as uneducated also.

Sanctions from the west targeting travel of Mugabe politicians hardly leads the whole country to desperation. The state of the economy, due to the Mugabe government policies is the cause of this.

As for the free and fair elections, after the goverment rigged the last elections to claim victory, they went to extreme measures to say how free and fair they were. How has that changed? Just because you lose you cant all of a sudden go from saying one thing and then changing your mind.

The truth is the west has nothing to do with the Zimbabwean government losing its control. The people have spoken.

Mugabe is no victim of the West but a victim of the devil within himself.Because of his hunger for power, it now seems he fought the war because he envied the racists for the POWER of suppression they had over the masses and wanted that for himself.It's power,power,power. What joy he gets from inflicting pain and suffering to the people only the devil knows.Even as an old man with one foot already in the grave, he is going to continue doing what he does best - rule by the gun,suppress,demoralize, and cling to power at all costs.To make matters worse for Zimbabweans, the leaders of the neighbouring African countries are all weak men who are not willing to help and simply do not care and are probably laughing their heads off at his incompetence behind his back. It is a good thing that those guns from China do not reach Zimbabwe because the tyrant will only use them on his people.

Kudzaidururu my friend stop buying Zanu-PF's propaganda.The reason why Mugabe has been in power for 28 years is not because he has been a good leader, but it was because he was clever and up to now he still is able to cow people like you to believe that White people are responsible for Zimbabwe's demise.At this very moment the US is proposing UN sanctions on the Zimbabwe regime and it could have very serious consequences, but guess what, Mugabe is not bothered.Before the UK, US and other European countries imposed sanctions on Mugabe, they gave him several warnings that they were going to hit Zimbabwe with sanctions, but because Mugabe has an un-deflatable ego, he thought these Western powers were making a big empty noise.They warned him about abuse of human rights and the violent seizure of white farms.I must repeat that the way how land was taken was the issue here, not why the land was taken.The whites know very well that they stole our land from our forefathers and monopolised it for a very long time for their own benefit.Mugabe decided to politicise this anomaly to very overstretched levels in order to gain political mileage after his party was becoming unpopular.All prudent Zimbos know this fact very well except you, that after loosing the Feb 2000 referendum, Mugabe had to hire another lunatic by the name of Jonathan Moyo to spearhead his propaganda machinery, and the scheme succeeded.Mugabe has been able to last this long because in Zimbabwe he is better than anyone in making shrewed and diabolic political maneouvres.That is why without Mugabe, Zanu is a toothless bulldog.The West may have had a hand in Zimbabwe's predicament, but the bottom line is, they began to impose sanctions because of Mugabe's behaviour after he failed to convince them to pay for land compensation.Even though the Whites were wrong ( in Mugabe's perspective) he should not have resorted into a vengeful exercise, because at the end of the argument, Mugabe had more to loose than the White people.He knew pretty well that they were capable of hitting his country hard with sanctions.This was an error of judgement on the old man's path.Now he is busy trying to galvanise us to take our consciences and fight the Whitemen again, borne from the fact that yesterday they colonised us and they want to do it again.I am not buying this nonsense, only fools and the gullible will believe Mugabe.This is exactly what we call the theory of attribution.He should have put the economical needs of the country first. Repent my friend.

Sydney8, well said.