Obama/Zimbabwe: Best of Times/Worst

Here in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, I'm seeing first hand that all those reports about how excited Africans are about Obama have not been exaggerated. The customs agent in the airport, upon seeing my U.S. passport said, "Obama! Do you really think he can win?" I told him that I thought he had an excellent chance. "That's good," he continued, "But I really thought it was going to be Hillary."

After Florida, Ohio, Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo, America, once the world's beacon of democracy, had dimmed to a faint flicker. Obama's winning the nomination has already done so very much to restore our nation's historic luster. An Armenian Ethiopian and a consultant to emerging democracies I had dinner with tonight said he was so excited about the prospect of Obama's becoming president that he had already started fermenting gesho hops for the barrels of tej (honey wine) he was planning to serve at his huge celebration in November.

He then said he had been getting ready to go to Zimbabwe but of course now that's off.

For years the world has known that President Mugabe of Zimbabwe had turned into a tyrant, a thug and a criminal. America has almost no power in that area and Zimbabwe's former colonial power Britain has tried for years to push him out.

The UN resolutions condemning Mugabe are a great start and the African Union, based here in Addis, should weigh in immediately as well.

But words and resolutions won't solve this tragedy. What or who can?

Thabo Mbeki. The South African president has been Mugabe's enabler. Although South Africans themselves want Mugabe gone and are pressuring their president to act, he has refused. He feels he owes Mugabe a huge debt for sheltering the ANC during apartheid and somehow he thinks that debt is greater than the destruction of Zimbabwe and the deaths of thousands. The world community needs to put pressure on Mbeki to cut Mugabe loose now. He can offer him asylum if he'd like, put him and his goons up in villas in Cape Town for the rest of their lives, but Mbeki needs to tell Mugabe that he must step down immediately.

And why should Mbeki listen to the world now when he hasn't in all these years of terror?

The World Cup in 2010. It will be held in South Africa and it is as important to them as the upcoming Olympics are to China. If global sponsors threatened to pull back from the World Cup Mbeki might finally be forced to throw his old friend Mugabe out with the trash where he belongs.

Comments

[natturnerx]

2.5 million dead in congo civil war...white media ignores it. hundreds killed in kenya post-election violence...no calls for intervention. ethiopia invades somalia, kills thousands...ok with west. anti-immigrant pogroms in south africa...yawn. mugabe expropiates white settlers, few dozen killed...oh the heinous atrocity! west is outraged! one issue unites white liberals & white conservatives: white supremacy.

[cheforacle]

Mbeki has been a major disappointment as President of South Africa. First his denial of the extent of the AIDS problem in his country and now his lack of meaningful pressure on Mugabe. He is the big enabler. I don't see a good outcome here at all. Strong action is overdue. Its gotten to the point that the Southern African group of nations should amass troops around Zimbabwe and demand a postponement of the election. Anything short of that is practically futile.

[kkuchenb]

Seems to me this is the same kind of thing that made ex-civil rights leaders gone bad immune from criticism by their peers in this country. Criminals Sharpe James and Marion Barry coasted for years on their civil rights cred while doing little for their constituencies and lining their own pockets and getting up to all sorts of illicit behavior. Is anyone really surprised at Mbeki's reluctance to take down his fellow freedom fighter? And things aren't likely to get better, as Jacob Zuma is cut from the same cloth. Unfortunately, this is an African problem. There is little Britain, the ex-colonial power, can do about this and it only inflames the situation more when foreign media take an anti Mugabe/ZANU-PF position, although it's long past time for foreign banks to freeze these thugs' assets. I certainly hope the African Union will step up. I would hate to see the World Cup wrecked and politicized. The South Africans are going to have a hard enough time making sure visitors to the country aren't assaulted and robbed blind during that event without having to deal with protests. Let us hope it doesn't come to that.

[oldpotsmuggler]

Bill Clinton is traveling to London for the 90th birthday of Nelson Mandela. If Bill is going to be with Mandela anyway, Obama should seize the opportunity by publicly stating that Clinton is going to take a message for the next President. With that much focus and the backing of Obama, Bill should be able to put together a joint declaration calling for Mugabe to step down, and for South Africa to publicly throw in its support. You get Mandela (and how about Desmond Tutu), Clinton and Obama all putting Mbeki on the spot and we"d see if the guy could stand that much heat.

[openhand]

Mbekis major mistake was closed door meetings with Mugabe over the last 4+years. He created a situation where no one knew what was decided or how much support he gave to Mugabe. This ensured Mugabes control over his own cabinet and army and his ability to dismiss the MDC.

No one can invade and economic sanctions wont work. If Mbeki had made a clear statement that S.A would support a democratically elected government, sanction the ruling party members for not carrying out free and fair elections, restrict army supply etc... then I am sure that forces in the army, Zanu Pf and MDC would have split from Mbeki and backed a progressive leader.

The veil of secrecy has created a high stakes poker game with devastating consequences.

Unfortunately, Mbeki is fighting is a lame duck president after being effectively disowned by his own party. His term will end before the world cup 2010 as so it has no influence. He was supposed to be the spiritual successor to Mandela, but his leadership was alienating. Africa and the world are now looking to Obama.

[roshni]

Kudos to Sen. Obama for addressing the plight of the people of Zimbabwe. They have a ruthless dictator that has destroyed the country and now succeeded in rigging the elections. The opposition has pulled out of the run-off because of intimidation and violence perpetrated on its supporters. Mbeke has been reluctant to force his ally Mugabe to respect the elections. Something needs to be done in Zimbabwe.