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Freeing a
Nation From a Tyrant's Grip
By Colin L. Powell
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 U. S. secretary of state
Source: NYTimes Op-ED Page -- June 24, 2003
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update 27 June 2008
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