Why doesn't the west get rid of Robert Mugabe?

[Nagel]

very good answer. but you do have the duty to help (don't ask me how, i don't know. and am not sure that with the way things are going here you can) those in the countries you had a hand in messing up in the first place.

 

It depends how far back you want to go. It's so long since Britain ruled Rhodesia that I would say it's not our problem any more. The Rhodesians have done a very good job of screwing up a country that was once considered prosperous.

 

The last time we were the colonial power there was in 1965, which is 45 years ago. That's the same length of time from the end of the First World War till Beatlemania, or the end of the Second World War till the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.

[diggory comp]

if things are so bad in zimbabwe are we ever likely to see the people rally together and topple mr mugabe and his government?. the troubles in egypt paid dividends eventually and people power was victorious. surely zimbabwe will go the same way?. or if not can anyone explain why?.

[Kaimani]

It depends how far back you want to go. It's so long since Britain ruled Rhodesia that I would say it's not our problem any more. The Rhodesians have done a very good job of screwing up a country that was once considered prosperous.

 

The last time we were the colonial power there was in 1965, which is 45 years ago. That's the same length of time from the end of the First World War till Beatlemania, or the end of the Second World War till the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.

 

we became independent in 1980. interestingly, from Britain, coz you got the country back form Smith in 1979. if you want to we could say 1965 after UDI. still, there a millions still alive that live through the curfews, the arrests, the war etc. many with the missing limbs etc to show for it.

i'm not saying you're responsible for us and our affairs, just saying it's a little too early in some cases to start saying 'ah come on, we did all that to you but it was so so so long ago...'

[Kaimani]

if things are so bad in zimbabwe are we ever likely to see the people rally together and topple mr mugabe and his government?. the troubles in egypt paid dividends eventually and people power was victorious. surely zimbabwe will go the same way?. or if not can anyone explain why?.

 

it will come. but they've already locked up at least 100 people since the Egypt revolution, and 'no less than ten' already 'disappeared'.

the problem is that, taking Mugabe out of the equation besides the tribal friction there are clear, and opposing allegiances to the army, the air force and the police. all of which want power. people on the ground would rather have him stay than civil war or worse. that's one. the other is the problem of half the population being the 'freedom fighters' and the other half 'the born frees'. we might as well be Chinese and Navajo.

the sad thing is that a significant proportion of the country simply have too much to loose-materially- to back any 'popular uprising'.

we will miss this wave of revolutions i think. and if the recovery carries on at the rate it's going he'll be there till he's 100, like banda in Malawi.

[diggory comp]

mr mugabe must have a decent side to him because it is the people of zimbabwe who have elected him in the past. he can't be all bad if they keep re-electing him into power.

[Kaimani]

mr mugabe must have a decent side to him because it is the people of zimbabwe who have elected him in the past. he can't be all bad if they keep re-electing him into power.

 

you have a point. the thing is, though, that the majority of voting age people at the first to, maybe, third, elections were people who'd gone through the war of independence and so had loyalty to him because 'of the blood we shed'. that's why when the younger people came up things started to go wrong for him and also it's now hard to keep saying 'we fought together' thirty years later.

 

we'll see how the next elections play out. but the sad thing is there's no real opposition to stand against him. never has been really. so he stays.

less a matter of the lesser of two evils, more 'the only devil we know'.

but, yeah, it's naive and wrong to think he's universally hated by his own people, and abroad. he's a hero to a lot of people.

[mike-s]

i don't know very much about robert mugabe but he doesn't sound like the nasty man that he is sometimes described as. he has tried to help his people especially the black farmers who he has helped to sustain their businesses.if robert was so bad how come the people still want him in power?.

 

Have you never heard of intimidation and brutality?

[upinwath]

Mad Mugabe needs Paul the 'psychic' octopus.

Pity he's cannelloni now.

[Mecky]

If the west is intent of ridding the world of dictators and tyrants how come Robert Mugarbe is still in power.He's done untold damage to his own people murdering millions and plundering all the money for his own use,but the west seems to turn a blind eye to it all.

 

Bit of a strange question, mot get rid of Omar al-Bashir, Than Shwe, Teodoro Obiang Nguema, Seyed Ali Khamane'i, Saparmurat Niyazov and the rest?