http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28206760/
This is absurd. However, it is a shame that "Their stranglehold on most sources of news to which ordinary Zimbabweans have access makes such rhetoric an important tool for a regime struggling to hold onto power." meaning that he is manipulating all of these poor defenseless people. Furthermore, "Zimbabwe once had among the best health care systems in sub-Saharan Africa. Now most hospitals have been forced to close their doors as they can no longer afford drugs, equipment or wages for their staff. Officials are also unable to afford spare parts and chemicals for water systems." So that's even sadder given its incredible decline.
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4 comments:
Sadly, it's not that surprising. Who else is going to take the blame? Not Mugabe...or the rest of his corrupt government. But, I think that he's blaming the West because of the hate he has for white men. He can't forget the things that were done to his fellow Africans. The discrimination and the racism are not forgotten in many parts of Africa. It's easy for him to blame it on the west because some people might buy into that. They might be miserable enough to believe that this is an attempt to weaken the country before invading it. Mugabe's government even went as far as saying that this was attempted genocide.
Anyways, this is just another reason why Mugabe should step down. He is lying to the people, and instead of taking responsibility for the crisis, he is blaming it on the British. Seriously, we all know that the Cholera outbreak is due to the poor economy, not a "chemical war".
As horrible of a president that Mugabe is, he is very smart at the same time. By accusing the British, Americans, and French of plotting his overthrow, if anything were to happen to him to try and remove him from power (as it should), he would have credence for his accusations. That is why I think he should be taken from power, but leading the charge against him should be African leaders, not western ones. Kenyan PM Raila Odinga has already stepped up, as have the leaders of Botswana and some South Africans. I would hope that the newly elected president of Ghana and Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Surleaf (a democratically elected woman who is very well-respected), as democratic leaders of Africa, would use their moral credibility to go against Mugabe as well.
I completely agree with Scott that Mugabe should be overthrown, but that it should not be western countries leading the charge. That does not always work very well (as we can see with the Iraq War) and it should be the African leaders that are now leading newly developing countries that step in and take on this corrupt leader that is hurting his country more than he is helping it. If western countries come in, the charge to overthrow Mugabe would be seen as less of a revolution, but more as another time that westerners thought that they could come save the world, thus giving him and leaders like him another way to scapegoat the west.
I agree as well that Mugabe should be taken down by African leaders, although some interference on our part is almost inevitable on at least some small level, but it should at least look like it was the actions of the African leaders. There is a large difference in the people's perception of how their president was removed. It is easier to avoid the problem by blaming someone else, especially a source like the civilized west who despite our deep roots in slavery has yet to help those in Africa bound in poverty so deeply as to be slaves, especially when we have such bountiful resources and waste it so readily. However, if the source of the removal comes from the inside all must be laid bare, denial can no longer truly be an option, and change can take place more readily.
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