Like the leopard, Robert Mugabe is unlikely to change his spots, since he had marked his entry into Zimbabwe after the anti-Smith war by the massacres which he ordered in Matabeleland. Thus his recent 'crack-down' on any hint of opposition to his brutal rule has shown that he had neither modified his ruthlessness nor mellowed with age.
His greatest propaganda coup has been to obtain very hostile criticism from other criminal rulers, at whom he can then point to say look at my critics and what they do and have done. This is particularly true of the British government which, as the representative of an aggressive (as in Iraq) former colonial power, has ensured that Mr Mugabe will always have solid backing from so many other rulers of former colonies. The Bush régime, which finds it impossible to leave well alone, has weighed in to criticise a man whose thugs have only murdered in thousands, compared with the said Bush régime's own score of tens or even hundreds of thousands, whether directly as in Iraq or Latin America, or, by providing the finance and the arms, in Palestine and elsewhere.
If he can be sure that the corrupt criminal régimes of Mr Bush and Mr Brown (as the successor to Mr Blair) will keep up their noisy criticisms and empty threats, Mr Mugabe is under absolutely no threat of open attack from his fellow African rulers. Both Mr Brown and Mr Bush and their respective spokespersons should learn the necessity of staying silent, which could allow decent Africans freely to express their disapproval of the Mugabe dictatorship. Until this happens, other Africans, who are well aware of the crimes of the régimes in power in the USA and the United Kingdom, cannot say what they think without giving ammunition to Mr Mugabe, who can truthfully say that he is facing attacks from colonialist imperialists, and call for help to fight against such criticism.
To refer to old sayings, the USA and the United Kingdom should both remember that "people in glass houses should not throw stones", and "the pot calling the kettle black". If only they could restrain themselves, they could most probably allow other Africans to show just how decent they can be. In the present circumstances, they can only be embarrassed if they find themselves being pressured into aligning themselves with such unwelcome 'western' régimes.
Please Mr Brown, please Mr Bush, leave the Africans the freedom of manoeuvre which they need to be able to ensure the fastest possible removal of this evil tyrant.
© Copyright 2008 by AxisofLogic.com
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