Published by the government of Zimbabwe
4 November 2009
editorial
Harare — THE Western alliance's reaction to the abortive presidential run-off in Afghanistan should show all who were led to believe that Anglo-Saxon opposition to President Mugabe's re-election was about the professed platitudes of electoral democracy, that they were sold a dead donkey.
American and British opposition to President Mugabe's victory was because, in their own words, "he continues to pose a continuous and extraordinary threat to the foreign policy of the United States (and the British governments)".
A foreign policy, that we all know, is about plundering other people and their resources.
A bit of history will suffice here.
Zimbabwe held harmonised presidential, Senate, House of Assembly and local government elections on March 29, 2008 that saw the presidential contest failing to produce an outright winner when none of the four candidates garnered the 50 percent plus 1 votes required for a first round win.
A run-off was, therefore, called for June 27 pitting President Mugabe and MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai. And after gauging the mood of the electorate, and with just days to go before the poll, Tsvangirai announced his "withdrawal" from the run-off, alleging violence against his supporters.
The British and American governments immediately began casting aspersions on the legitimacy of the outcome, saying they would not recognise President Mugabe's legitimacy.
This was despite the fact that legal experts had described Tsvangirai's "withdrawal" as a legal nullity since the run-off had already begun with the deployment of election officers and observers countrywide.
Fast forward to August 20, 2009, the day Afghanistan held its presidential election pitting two US-anointed candidates, incumbent Hamid Karzai and his erstwhile foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah. Though Karzai initially claimed outright victory with over 53 percent of the vote in the first round, a UN probe into electoral irregularities unearthed massive fraud involving over 20 percent of the votes credited to Karzai.
The votes were docked necessitating a run-off that had been slated for Saturday, before Abdullah announced his withdrawal saying the run-off was going to be equally fraudulent.
What shocked many was that even before Abdullah's withdrawal, the Obama administration had enthroned Karzai as Afghan president for another five years, saying "even if he were forced into a second round of voting he would almost certainly win it".
More was to follow after Abdullah's withdrawal as the US was first off the block in congratulating Karzai even before the Afghan electoral authorities had declared him the winner.
This is not to say we expect the legitimacy of our leadership here to accrue from US blessings, no. All we are doing is exposing the hypocrisy of the self-appointed "international democrats" and "moral authorities" who, ironically, only yesterday opposed our own fight for democracy here.
A bit of history again.
When Ian Smith declared his UDI on November 11, 1965, the progressive world was naturally outraged and the UN Security Council responded by slapping the Smith regime with a raft of sanctions beginning that year till the brief restoration of British rule in December 1979.
Though the terms of the sanctions forbade trade or financial dealings with Rhodesia, the US supported the beleaguered settler regime regardless and covertly channelled assistance through apartheid South Africa.
US allies, among them Portugal (then under Marcello Caetano), Israel, and Iran (then under the US proxy Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi), also assisted and traded with Rhodesia. In an attempt to bypass the UN sanctions, the US passed the Byrd Amendment in 1971 and continued to buy chrome from Rhodesia in violation of the UN sanctions.
As if that was not enough, the US also contributed to the establishment of an armaments industry in Rhodesia that enabled the Rhodesian Front to kill over 50 000 innocent Zimbabweans whose only "crime" was daring to demand majority rule.
The US also provided the technical knowledge and support, again through apartheid South Africa, towards establishing the 700-kilometre Border Minefield Obstacle along Zimbabwe's borders with Zambia and Mozambique. Mines aimed at stopping aspiring cadres from crossing to training camps and blowing up trained combatants crossing back into Zimbabwe.
Yet today, the US and its allies are trying to re-invent and pass themselves off as champions of democracy in Zimbabwe.
We urge all those who may have been swayed by the Anglo-Saxon rhetoric to acquaint themselves with our history to tell friend from foe.
Such knowledge is also vital to understanding the political dynamics at play in our country today lest we are led down the garden path.
The US can't teach us anything.
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The headline, at least, is correct. It is, after all, impossible to teach any person who refuses to learn.
Ragtimer, The USA has already taught us how public relations management can help explain "flawed" election results in the USA. The USA under George Bush had flawed elections and very primitive methods of counting ballots. For a first world country and a boastful nation like the USA counting votes in Florida was like observing fools arguing with each other. NOT EVERYTHING FROM THE FIRST WORLD IS GOLD!
Ah....how about elections in Iraq and Afghanistan organised by the USA...a total mess!!!! The USA is not even in the top 15 countries that are considered to be the most democratic nations in the world. Ohhhh...by the way, how about the financial vadoo economics practised by US banks and businesses. It Makes Gono, look better!!
Africa needs to be more critical of the so-called first world countries. We need to evaluate who is really good before we adopt their criminal behaviours!!!
Typical rubbish from the Herald and their ZANU-Poof puppeteers....... but ironically, I sort of agree with the headline. As a U.S. citizen, I agree, I don't want the U.S. to teach Zimbabwe anything - I want Zimbabweans to discover for themselves that they have only themselves to blame for allowing ZANU-Poof/Mugabe to roll over their dignity these past 30 years. I want Zimbabweans to discover for themselves how ZANU-Poof/Mugabe has failed every measurable metric for improving the lives of the people they bleat they serve.
Instead, Zimbabwe is forced to abandon the sovereign currency due to economic chaos. Instead, Zimbabwe is forced to mourn the loss of over 4,000 Zimbabweans because ZANU-Poof/Mugabe could not provide clean and pure water to drink for their people. Instead, Zimbabwe is forced to contend with understaffed and underequipped hospitals and schools because their "Leaders" have siphoned off too much Kapital in order for them to do their shopping in Malaysia and Hong Kong. Instead, Zimbabwe is forced to deal with criminal life-expectency rates.
The common thread in ALL that is wrong in Zimbabwe today? ZANU-Poof/Mugabe as evidenced by this "opinion" in the Herald! "Don't look at OUR failures........" "Look at the failures of others"....... who happen to be outside of Zimbabwe and have no bearing on how things are done (or not done) in Zimbabwe........
Sadly, Zimbabwe is for Zimbabweans, but the Herald and their ZANU-Poof puppeteers continue to ask people not to observe their own failures in providing for the people of Zimbabwe, but to look outside Zimbabwe at other's people's failures that have NOTHING to do with Zimbabwe and are ill-equipped to do anything to improve the situation in Zimbabwe.
Keep your eye on the ball - Zimbabwe (and those who allegedly serve the people of Zimbabwe) should be focused on what needs to be done to improve the condition of the people of Zimbabwe - NOT to point fingers at others who have nothing to do with how Zimbabwe suffers.
If the "Imperialist West" won't end their sanctions, then ask yourself why. If the Chinese won't invest the $8 Billion needed in Zimbabwe, ask yourself why (they've obviously got the money). If no one wants to invest in Zimbabwe, ask yourself why. Point is, no one wants to do business with Mugabe and suffer the same "taint" Nestle suffered recently by their dealings with the First Shopper. No one is coming to the rescue of Zimbabwe so long as Bloodstained Bob and his henchmen are still feeding at the public trough!
It doesn't really mattter what happens in Afganistan because those people are in no position to help the people of Zimbabwe! It really doesn't matter if MDC-T screams to all the western nations to end their sanctions either to satisfy ZANU-Poof's illogical demands, because not even MDC-T can end the so-called "sanctions". When the rule of law is observed, when the police and military are de-politicized and subservient to civilian control, when there is a free press and right of free association, THEN the "sanctions" will end - but NOT until then. The "Imperial West" is looking to the "facts on the ground" in Zimbabwe and those "facts" tell the rest of us in the real world that ZANU-Poof/Mugabe have not changed and they have used the excuse of a GNU as breathing room to prepare themselves for the next wave of terror they plan on unleashing onto the peole of Zimbabwe.
It's ironic, there is NEVER anything that ZANU-Poof/Mugabe has done wrong according to the Herald, EVER! ZANU-Poof/Mugabe have NEVER failed at anything according to them. But ask yourself why the Herald continues to point to external events to draw attention away from the obvious failures of ZANU-Poof/Mugabe ad nauseum, yet never seem to change themselves?
ZANU-Poof/Mugabe need to look inward for the causes of the economic devastation that is present-day Zimbabwe, NOT outward. Or have they forgotten that they are "Totally Empowered!"?
The West is indeed very hypocritical. But of course it is a well known fact from Opinion polls that Mugabe's 44% in March 2008 was in fact a 20% or even a 10%.
The only solution to bring power to the people is to implement fraud-proof voting systems globally. That will also eliminate intimidation and torture of the electorate.
Fraud-proof voting systems mean that pro-western stooges are eliminated, as are unpopular dictator presidents who have date-expired.
Power to the People!
Mr Alex Weir, Harare and Baghdad
Hey alex, your fraud-proof voting systems would never work in Zimbabwe because those "unpopular dictator presidents with date expired," would see to it that the people are told at gun point well in advance whom to shove into those systems - the very date- expired unpopular dictators. Your "power," was it to the people or the Herald?
Krjs12o, Perfect ballot boxes detering fraud would not work in America either. I lived in the USA and I saw the corruption that parrals most of Africa. In the USA votes are also thrown away!
Also, the voting population in any given elections in the USA is only 45 - 56% and yet there is so much boastfulness!!
That level of participation in Africa is viewed as a "flop" There is much higher participation in elections in Africa than in the western world.
Please, do not brings us your stupid voting participation. You may live in the so-called first world, but there is a lot of rubbish that goes on! With over 2 million people in Prison in the USA, how can you call that a civilized country!! You are free to critize African madness!!! Oh boy....Please do not forget some of your own lunatics!!!!
Phiri America is "civilized" because criminals are imprisoned and are where they are supposed to go if they commit a crime. How many of your Zanu-Pf criminals are there for a small country such as yours that are free to roam lawlessly murdering and doing whatever they please on innocent people? I can guarantee you that that element of lawlessness that exists in Zimbabwe would not be tolerated in America and the whole lot would be behind bars including your leader murderous Mugabe.
Only the Herald is ridiculous enough to use the term Anglo-Saxon. The Angles and Saxon tribes existed 1000 years ago, what relevance is that to the UK or US today?
Visit the UK or US and you'll see that they are among the most ethnically diverse countries in the world.
TYPICAL RUBBISH HERALD PROPAGANDA