U.S.-British efforts fail to isolate Zimbabwe
By
Abayomi Azikiwe
Editor, Pan-African News Wire
Published Jul 3, 2008 9:25 PM
President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe was inaugurated for a sixth term on June 29
after winning a landslide victory on behalf of the ruling Zimbabwe African
Nation Union-Patriotic Front against the opposition Western-backed Movement for
Democratic Change-Tsvangira.
ZANU-PF, which led the nation to independence along with the now-merged
Zimbabwe African People’s Union, has been the focus of a
well-orchestrated destabilization program carried out by the Britain and the
United States. This Western campaign has included economic sanctions as well as
an intense international media blitz which seeks to create public opinion
against the ruling party in Zimbabwe.
Just six days prior to the June 27 run-off elections, MDC-T leader Morgan
Tsvangirai announced that he was pulling out of the poll. The run-off was
required because no candidate received 51 percent of the popular vote for
president. In the legislative elections, the MDC-T won a slight majority in the
lower house of the parliament, while ZANU-PF won a majority in the Senate.
According to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, a candidate cannot withdraw
from a race if fewer than 21 days remain until the poll. Consequently,
Tsvangirai’s name still appeared on ballots printed and distributed to
polling places throughout the country. The MDC-T leader also told his
supporters not to vote in the elections, guaranteeing ZANU-PF a landslide
victory.
After President Mugabe was inaugurated on June 29, he immediately flew to Sharm
el-Sheik in Egypt to participate in the African Union Summit for 2008.
According to Western press agencies such as the British Broadcasting
Corporation, the political situation in Zimbabwe was going to overshadow all
other issues at the AU Summit. BBC reports were designed to portray Zimbabwe in
a negative light and to prompt African leaders to denounce President
Mugabe.
At the same time, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with Chinese
leaders in an effort to pressure them to support sanctions against the ZANU-PF
and other efforts aimed at regime change in this southern African nation.
Chinese diplomats rejected these efforts and stressed the need for interparty
dialogue in Zimbabwe.
In addition to attempts to influence Chinese foreign policy toward Zimbabwe,
the U.S. also undertook to draft additional resolutions for consideration at
the United Nations Security Council that would further the economic assaults
being carried out by the imperialist states against the country.
African leaders set the agenda
Despite these efforts, Zimbabwe was never placed on the agenda at the AU
Summit. President Mugabe was welcomed warmly by the other heads of state. He
was photographed with all the leaders as a full participant in the
organization, which was formed several years ago after the dissolution of its
predecessor, the Organization of African Unity.
Some of the agenda items discussed at the AU Summit included: Status of
Implementation of the Regional and Continental Agenda for Integration;
Appointment of the Members of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights
and Welfare of the Child; and Appointment of the Judges of the African Court on
Human and Peoples’ Rights.
A series of reports were also delivered on the following projects: Outcome of
the May 2006 Abuja Special Summit on HIV/AIDS, TB and Other Related Infectious
Diseases; Status Report on Malaria in Africa; Promotion of Maternal and Child
Health in Africa; and the Food Crisis in Africa.
On July 1, the Millennium Development Goals Steering Group was launched, which
addressed the fact that: “At the mid-point in the global effort to
achieve the MDGs by 2015, progress in many African countries is not on track.
... The aim of the MDG Africa Steering Group’s recommendations is to
translate existing commitments into tangible progress in every African
country.”
In a press briefing issued by AU Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy Dr.
Elham Mahmoud A. Ibrahim, he stated: “Most sub-Saharan African countries
face a major challenge in trying to realize their development and social
obligations because of inadequate access to electricity with about 30 percent
of the region’s population, and less than 8 percent of rural areas having
access to electricity. This situation needs to change if sub-Saharan Africa is
to be economically competitive with other developing regions of the world and
realize its sustainable development goals.”
The July 1edition of the Zimbabwe Herald reported that the efforts to deflect
attention away from the work of the AU by the Western imperialist nations did
not work. Although Zimbabwe was mentioned in some of the opening statements at
the Summit, it was not from a hostile perspective as anticipated by the
West.
AU Commission Chair Jean Ping said that the continent must assist
Zimbabwe’s political parties to work together to advance the well-being
of their country. “I would like, here, to commend the efforts of the
leaders of the region (Sadc) and their commitment to assist the Zimbabwean
parties in the search for a lasting solution to the problems in that
country,” said Ping.
According to the Zimbabwe Herald: “At his swearing-in ceremony in Harare
on Sunday just before he flew here (Egypt), Cde Mugabe said Government was
prepared for dialogue with the opposition MDC-T, but only if it came into the
talks with its own agenda and not a Western-foisted stance.”
What is important to recognize in the campaign against Zimbabwe by the United
States, Britain and EU countries is that one key component of the efforts aimed
at regime change is the spreading of false information in the press both to
overemphasize the importance and significance of the opposition forces and to
undercut the authority and legitimacy of the ZANU-PF government.
During the lead-up to the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, beginning in 2001
and again from 2002 to 2003, a similar program was instituted which demonized
the Taliban, al-Qaeda and the ruling Arab Baath Socialist Party of Iraq. The
next steps were designed to convince people in the U.S. and around the world
that it was in their best interests to support an invasion and occupation of
these foreign states.
The U.S., Britain and EU are working toward these ends in Zimbabwe, and their
aims have implications for the entire region of southern Africa and throughout
the continent as a whole. In the geopolitical areas where the U.S. and other
imperialist states have intervened, the overall conditions for the masses have
worsened. In Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia, the U.S. military involvement in
these nations has created far more difficulties than what existed before.
Articles copyright 1995-2012 Workers World.
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