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Zimbabwe: Robert Mugabe to be Endorsed as ZANU-PF 2008 Presidential Candidate, Despite European Condemnation of Human Rights Abuses

Throughout the past year, Zimbabwe and its president Robert Mugabe have received a great deal of international attention as a result of the country’s drastic economic deterioration and Mugabe’s unrelenting disregard for human rights. Although Mugabe has been lauded by African leaders for his involvement in Zimbabwe’s struggle for independence, he has been castigated by the international community for his economic and humanitarian policies. Mugabe’s Land Reform Program, which stripped white farmers of their land and made a failed attempt to return it to blacks, virtually destroyed Zimbabwe’s agricultural economy and led to substantial food shortages and rapid inflation [1].

In addition to faulty economic policy, there is widespread agreement among opposition parties and foreign observers that the presidential elections of 2002, in which Mugabe was re-elected, were fraudulent. He has also been accused of rampant human rights violations of members of political opposition parties (such as the Movement for Democratic Change, MDC). These abuses were brought to the international stage in March of this year, when MDC opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, was beaten and imprisoned for speaking out against the government’s ban of peaceful protests. With the 2008 elections approaching quickly, many people within Africa and in the international community are raising concerns about Mugabe’s poor governance and human rights abuses, as well as the legitimacy of the upcoming elections [2].

At the EU-Africa Summit, currently being held in Lisbon, Portugal, German Chancellor Angela Merkel publicly condemned Robert Mugabe saying that “the situation of Zimbabwe is damaging the image of the new Africa”. Mugabe responded to Merkel’s comments by dismissing the EU as “arrogant” and stating that “those who talk of equality have sought to impose their own will on Africa and made trumped up charges on Zimbabwe”[3]. The foreign policy chief of the EU, Javier Solana, reaffirmed Merkel’s comments after Mugabe’s speech by saying that “the EU is concerned about the degradation of the economic, humanitarian, and political situation in Zimbabwe” [4]. Britain’s Prime Minister Gordon Brown did not attend the Summit as a protest against Mugabe’s participation.

Despite the European condemnation of Mugabe at the Summit, ZANU-PF, Zimbabwe’s ruling party decided on Wednesday that it will endorse him as the party’s candidate for re-election in the 2008 elections. Many fear that this decision will serve to prolong the economic crisis that is tearing the country apart and has forced the emigration of nearly three million Zimbabweans. Political analysts say that Mugabe is almost certain to stay in office because of the weakness of the opposition party which has been broken down by the government. Although critics and opposition leaders feel that Zimbabwe will be doomed if Mugabe remains in power, ZANU-PF says that the country “needs Mugabe’s strong leadership to assert national sovereignty and drive a black economic empowerment program in the face of fierce Western opposition” [5].

The IIJD believes that the corrupt policies of the Zimbabwean government are hindering the development of Zimbabwe by refusing to bridge national divisions through political, economic, and social initiatives aimed at building regional connections with the central government, while enhancing autonomous and localized decision making and encouraging citizen participation. Robert Mugabe has abused the human rights of his political opposition and plunged the country into an economic black hole with his poor governance and policy making. Mugabe should use his power to ensure that the upcoming 2008 elections are held freely, without incident of fraud or violence. In order to gain international respect and lessen the suffering of his people, Mugabe should cooperate with foreign powers and make policy decisions that will benefit the people of Zimbabwe.

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