Conditions in Zimbabwe, now in the 28th year of Robert Mugabe’s presidency, are continuing their downward spiral, despite the March 29 defeat of Mugabe by presidential candidate Morgan Tsvangirai in a national election. Because Tsvangirai failed to achieve the required majority (51 percent of the vote), a runoff election is scheduled for June 27.
Since March 29, when Mugabe’s ruling ZANU-PF party lost its majority in parliament, violence and threats against supporters of Tsvangirai’s opposition party have been widespread. (See “Zimbabwe Government’s Theft of Children’s Aid Is ‘Unconscionable.’“)
America.gov received the following e-mail last week:
“I THINK THAT AMERICA AND SOME OTHER WESTERN COUNTRIES SHOULD HELP ZIMBABWEANS OBTAIN THEIR FREEDOM EITHER BY ASKING THE FBI TO MONITOR ON THE RUN-OFF OR SEND TIGHT UN SECURITY TO STRONGLY MONITOR ON THE ELECTIONS BECAUSE WHAT WE KNOW IS THAT MUGABE IS GOING TO RIG AGAIN!THE UN SHOULD EVEN SEND SECURITY CAMERAS TO BE USED DURING ELECTIONS.
ZIMBABWE IS LIKE HELL THESE DAYS BECAUSE OF MUGABE WHO DOESN’T WANT TO RESIGN,ITS BETTER THE COUNTRY BE LED BY THE ARMY THAN MUGABE WHO HAS NO CONSIENCE!I THINK THE UN SHOULD ALSO SEND SOME SOLDIERS TO PROTECT PEOPLE IN THE RURAL AREAS BECAUSE THERE IS A LOT OF BLOOD SHEDDING BECAUSE OF MUGABE’S PEOPLE.
WESTERN COUNTRIES PLEASE HELP ZIMBABWEANS OBTAIN THEIR FREEDOM!!!!!!!!!!!”
What can or should the international community be doing for Zimbabwe? Is shining a light on the elections enough or are other efforts needed?
Comments (24)
Mike
22 June 2008 at 14:54 EDT
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Yes!!!!
UKPAI EZERA
24 June 2008 at 11:59 EDT
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THE POITICAL SITUATION IN ZIMBZBWE IS REGRETABLE AND SHOWS A TRUE REFLECTION OF THE SIT-TIGHT SYNDROME OF POWER MONGERS LIKE ROBERT MUGABE IN AFRICA AND OTHER SO CALLED THIRD WORLD NATIONS. IT IS SUCH PENCHANT TO REMAIN IN POWER AT ALL COST BY POLITICIANS IN AFRICA THAT HAS MADE IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR THE CONTINENT, WITH ITS VAST HUMAN AND MATERIAL RESOURCES TO COMPETE FAVOURABLY WITH THE REST OF THE WORLD.
THE TERROR UNLEASHED ON MEMBERS OF THE OPPOSITION MDC AND ITS LEADER, MORGAN TSVANGIRAI IN THE BUILD UP TO THE RUN-OFF PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION ON FRIDAY, 27TH JUNE IS UNNECESARY AND A GROSS ABUSE OF POWER BY THE ROBERT MUGABE LED GOVERNMENT AND HIS ZANU-PF POLITICAL MACHINE. THAT AN INTERNATIONAL ACTION AGAINST THE MUGABE GOVERNMENT AND HIS HENCHMEN IS ESSENTIAL AT THIS POINT AMOUNTS TO OVERSTATING THE OBVIOUS.
IT IS HOWEVER SAD THAT NOT MANY AFRICAN GOVERNMENTS HAVE FOUND THE COURAGE TO SQUARELY CHALLENGE THE EXCESSES OF THE REGIME IN ZIMBABWE BY MARCHING WORDS WITH ACTIONS. THIS GOES TO SHOW THAT THEY ARE ALL ONE AND THE SAME; SIT-TIGHT LEADERS. BUT THE ORDINARY PEOPLE OF THAT COUNTRY ARE SUFFERING THE INADEQUACIES AND EXCESSES OF A HANDFULL OF POLITICAL MISS-FITS.
RISE UP WORLD LEADERS! RISE UP, WHILE IT IS STILL EARLY TO SALVAGE THE HUMAN CATASTOPHE THAT THE POLITICAL SITUATION IN ZIMBABWE COULD DEGENERATE INTO. THIS IS THE TIME TO AVERT THE HUGE COST AND INTRICATE TECHNICALITIES USUALLY INVOLED IN THE DEPLOYMENT OF PEACE KEEPERS TO TROUBLE SPOTS.
ROBERT MUGABE MAY HAVE A GRIP OF THE STATE MACHINARY OF TERROR, BUT THERE IS A LIMIT WHERE THE HUMAN PATIENCE AND TOLERANCE WOULD BECOME OVER-STRECHED. THEN IT WOULD BE TO LATE TO REMEDY THE SITUATION IN THAT COUNTRY. THE TIME FOR THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY TO MAKE A BOLD INTERVENTION IS NOW.
ZIMBABWE WITH ITS PEOPLE IS BIGGER THAN MUGABE AND HIS ZANU-PF BULLDOGS. A STICH IN TIME SAVES NINE.
Clement A.
1 July 2008 at 07:54 EDT
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The behaviour of Africa leaders is so worrisome, coupled with the greedy nature of our people. How should a man who has ruled for good 28 years will not vacate the seat for a fresh person to rule.
I will not lay blame on Mugabe, but the supporters has to blame, killing innocent souls and destroying properties is not encourging, I feel ashame for Africa. I will like to ask some vital questions.
Is the leadership a family affair?
Are there no knowledgable people with ideas for a presidential position?
If the above questions can be answered sincerely, Africa will move forward.
My humble respect to Mandela, may the almighty continue to uphold him.
Debashis Sen
2 July 2008 at 01:10 EDT
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One of the ways in which the elections in Zimbabwe was subverted was by stealing voting cards when citizens applied for food rations. ( See article at ttp://www.america.gov/st/democracy-english/2008/June/20080623144051esnamfuak0.3195459.html?CP.rss=true ).
This, of course, needs to be condemned in no uncertain terms. However, it is also necessary to re-engineer the electoral processes so that such possibilities do not recur in the future.
A very effective way to ensure this would be to use photo-electoral rolls where photographs of voters would be printed alongside their names. The dependence on voting cards for identification would then be reduced considerably. Photo-electoral rolls are being done very effectively in India.
-Debashis Sen
Chief Electoral Officer (WB)
India
Abel
4 July 2008 at 06:41 EDT
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Zim never signed the so called declaration of independence so why do we have this creature called democracy stuffed down our throats? I think its just a way of re-colonising our country. Most people who want to influence events in our country dont even know which part of the world Zimbabwe is in.
Bridget Hunter
America.gov Staff
5 July 2008 at 07:30 EDT
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Clearly Abel is correct about Zimbabwe not signing the Declaration of Independence, an American document by which a group of colonies took its first step toward establishing an independent nation based on self-governance and respect for personal liberties.
The key document for Zimbabwe is Zimbabwe’s constitution
(http://www.chr.up.ac.za/hr_docs/constitutions/docs/ZimbabweC(rev).doc) — a document that states “persons in Zimbabwe are entitled, subject to the provisions of this Constitution, to the fundamental rights and freedoms of the individual specified in this Chapter, and whereas it is the duty of every person to respect and abide by the Constitution and the laws of Zimbabwe.”
The listed rights include personal liberty, protection from slavery and force labor, protection from inhumane treatment, protection from deprivation of property, protection from arbitrary search or entry, equal protection under the law, freedom of conscience, freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, freedom of movement, and protection of discrimination based on race.
Spencer Chiimbwe
6 July 2008 at 14:29 EDT
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There is a greater need to have a well coordinated international intervention on Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwe constitution is engraved in the country’s national archives and it speaks against abuse of human rights. There should be an intervention within the context of putting an end to the rapid loss of human life in Zimbabwe.
If you read Article 4(h) and (o) of the constitutive act of the African Union, you will see that even the African Union has failed Zimbabwe by not intervening. I therefore think the starting point of international intervention is to point Mugabe to the founding documents of the country he is failing to let go of and to hold the African Union leadership for not fulfilling the contents of the Constitutive Act.
Finally, some of the Southern Africa Development Community leadership is directly guilty of killing the innocent souls in Zimbabwe deeming his stand as patriotic. Should we search for intervention within the context of the double checking the dictates of the Zimbabwean Constitution, the Constitutive Act of the African Union and reminding the Southern African Development leadership that we are in 2008 and not 1988, the international community will assume a different angle to interventio
Spencer Chiimbwe
New York Centre For Conflict Dialog.
Mzondi
7 July 2008 at 06:07 EDT
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Those who took Colonies never allowed the Colonised to have the same freedom to Vote, Hence 27 years for Mandela and rest of African Countries. What Surprises me is, much as most of those who Colonised on behalf European Nations including American, are never taken to task (The Hague Courts For Africans), when are we going to have corrective measures these crimes agaist the Colonisers Children ie Guantanamo Bay. One thing is clear AFRICAN HEROS are not COLONISERS (EUROPEAN)Heros! No wonder African History is Never taught in BRITAIN and AMERICA. LEAVE African Problems to Africans!No DIVIDE and Rule! Do not create another Mandela Situation! Look at Iraque, Darfue, Zimbabwe Zambia (under Kaunda then Chiluwa). Is Mugabe the Longest seving Leader ? How about Eurpean Monarchs?
Charles Uka Foundation (CUF) Nigeria
9 July 2008 at 06:24 EDT
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All hands should be on deck to flush out Mugabe from Zimbabwe.
The era of tyranny in the globe is gone. Mugabe should get ready for Hague.
Noel Ntambi
9 July 2008 at 12:18 EDT
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Noel Ntambi
No doubt Comrade Mugabe is a sacred son of the continent. The struggle of the Mandelas for independence, and that of the Martin Luthers for equality , and those before him for ending slavery, was a fight against the most visible simptoms of how we interacted with others withinthe dynamics of international political economy.
The struggle of our times, is to place ourselves strategically with in the international economy and comrade Bob has lent us a hand by taking on a struggle beyond his times.
As a member of the Pan African movt’s undercurrent for this cause, I know first hand the level of western subbotage on Zimbabwe’s economy. They have imposed sanctions on the masses to attempt to create hatred against him by his own people. My dear, a hungry child knows no politics. How can they cause people to go hungry, produce and access no markets, pay fuel tankers double what Zimbabwe has paid not to deliver, and the go back to their TV’s and radios and say mugabe has destroyed the economy. How can they pretend to care about ordinary Zimbabweans, when they are responsible for their suffering!!!!
They know that what he stands for will have a domino effect in most of Africa if left to implement successfully, because in South Africa Africans are even more landless, Angola, Namibia, The Kenya Highlands and much more in terms of resources that we intend to control.
They understand that Africa is the continent of the future and are desperately trying to use the media to potray him as a beast in the hope that we (Africans) dont know what is at stake.
It defeats the test of common sense for anyone to debate the politics of Zimbabwe without concurrently debating the material interest of the west in Zimbabwe. And they are lucky most independence activists( Nkrumah, Lumumba,Kenyatta, Maondlane are long gone. You may wonder what threat did Nkrumah pose for them to fight him out, for Lumumba to be killed. Calling for African unity was not what they opposed but what its economic implications would be.- “he who kills mother rat is always there to make sure its young ones never grow up”-Chinua Achebe
Muntu
9 July 2008 at 21:42 EDT
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I am sorry that brother Mzondi does not see the difference between Mandela and Mugabe. It is an insult to Mandela to mention him in the same breath as Mugabe.
Yes, African problems do belong to Africans. But, what of it when Africans will not act to treat those problems?
Perhaps the one positive thing to say about Mzondi’s post is that is is a grand thing that America will tolerate defense of Mugabe. Can anyone imagine a Government of Zimbabwe site tolerating defense of Bush? Not likely.
Themba
11 July 2008 at 05:07 EDT
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Sunctions to Mugabe and his Friends will never be enough to send him out or make him change his behaviour to the innocent zimbabweans.Mugabe has a world known record of going against anybody who has a different view with him.
Sunctions will make Mugabe even more happy because he will be less affected than the zim people who had voted him out on 29 march elections.
I doubt very much if Mugabe is at the moment representing either Zanu Pf or Zimbabwe.Surely Mugabe is now only interested in his own safety,he knows very well that people of Zim do no longer like him…. and to him he is aware the axe will be laid on him.
Tougher actions are needed against Mugabe.People are tired,everybody is complaining about him.
The same people whom the OAU,EU or sadc is trying to protect will suffer more with these suctions.Mugabe should be removed as early as yesterday.He had shed enough blood.
Please who ever is out there to help…please do so,taneta na Baba Chatungwa.
Spencer Chiimbwe
11 July 2008 at 10:32 EDT
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The comment from Noel Nthambi is quite reflective but leaves some questions unanswered. For example, what does Mugabe stand for? Does he stand for the same cause that Mandela stood for… more years in prison and few years in power.
The international community is caught up in a humanitarian calculus on how to impose sunctions on Mugabe without risking the welfare of the people. Mugabe is taking advantage of this position to bring more harm than good to his own people.
This is where the African Union, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development and the Southern African Development Community should come up with a position of not recognizing Mugabe as president.
Susan, U.S. Department of State
11 July 2008 at 13:18 EDT
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Some clarifications in response to Ntambi’s posting:
First, food: Zimbabwe used to be able to feed itself and to export food to other countries. Now, thanks to Mugabe’s chaotic land reform program, Zimbabwe cannot feed itself, and millions of Zimbabweans face hunger. The collapse of the economy and agriculture in Zimbabwe cannot be blamed on the West. Over the years, the U.S. has provided massive amounts of food aid to Zimbabwe — nearly $170 million last year alone — but now the Zimbabwe government is preventing the delivery of food aid.
Second, elections: The people of Zimbabwe deserved to have a free and fair election, but they were deprived of that opportunity. Mugabe’s repressive and violent campaign tactics are well known, well documented, and impossible to dismiss. As a result of political violence, huge flows of Zimbabwean refugees have fled to neighboring countries; many of them have serious injuries from the violence. African leaders – including Mandela, Mwanawasa, Tutu, and others – have condemned Mugabe’s brutal campaign tactics. The Washington Post and other serious media organizations have reported that Mugabe initially wanted to recognize the voters’ wishes and step down after the March 29 election, but that his senior military advisors dissuaded him, essentially taking over, and leaving him in place as the visible figurehead. The African Union last week firmly established that there was no legitimacy to the government resulting from the June 27 run-off election in Zimbabwe.
Tswangirayi Morgan
14 July 2008 at 09:56 EDT
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Comparing Mandela and Mugabe is just but an insult to Mugabe. Mugabe stands for the black man and woman of Africa. The reason why Mandela is being celebrated is because he never bothered bring the white people who committed crimes to humany to book. Mandela is every whiteman’s friend because he doesn’t care about a black man or woman, he cares about his pocket only. What did Mandela do with the land? He left the white man on the land which is our ancestral land. People in South Africa need land and land is in the hands of only a few White boys. 20 years down the lane people in South Africa will start to fight for their land.
Mugabe is a hero, he made sure that Blacks get their land. Zimbabwe in terms of literacy rate in Africa its second with a literacy rate of above 80% which other African leader including the much celebrated Mandela afforded to do that NONE. Mandela is just BUT a failure BUT because whites like him he is a Hero BUT in the actual fact he has done nothing for us South Africans.
Mugabe is being demonised by the West just because he got our land back from a few White boys.
The British are trying to portray the Zanu PF government in bad light yet started this whole ‘game’ out of their selfish means. Why did Zimbabwe not suffer as much in the period prior to 1997?
Many people in the UK House of Lords were absentee landlords and they pushed the EU to boycott business with Zimbabwe until white farmers were guaranteed land in Zimbabwe.
I feel really angry when they try to suggest that Zimbabwe lost it breadbasket status because of Mugabe’s policies. What did Mugabe do? He only responded to Short and Blair’s reneging on their Lancaster House obligations.
People talk about equitable distribution; that land redistribution had to be done rationally. How rational could Mugabe have done it when the white farmers were adamant that they were not going to sell; ‘the willing buyer-willing seller’ idea never meant anything for the white commercial farmers who amassed a lot of wealth.
To me Mugabe is not my enemy BUT the west is. Colonisation era is long gone BUT the west still think they have a roll to play in Africa. They should go hang a thousand times “G Charamba”
The root cause of the crisis — land ownership — is lost in the rarified verbiage about human rights violations, a subject far more easier to sell to ignorant Western audiences. The “bloody idiots” are the foot soldiers carrying the rhetoric in the global war to maintain or extend the West’s hegemonic influence in Africa now under serious threat from the dragon from the East.
Douglas
16 July 2008 at 16:15 EDT
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Of course Mugabe should be overthrown. In general, AFricans have shown that they are unready for self-government, as many of the comments here reveal. But let us give the supposed democrats of Zimbabwe one more chance.
If it turns out that they in their turn become incompetent kleptocrats and oppressors of their own people, as usually happens in Africa, then the civilized countries of the world should consider the re-colonization of this area and its administration by the UN, for the good of its suffering people.
Mathias
22 July 2008 at 05:44 EDT
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Mugabe did nothing wrong and he is not the problem.Do people really understand what independce is?The land which Mugabe has given to rightful owners has caused all these problems because the whites never wanted to share and this is what we as people of Zimbabwe had asked for. We never chased the british people nor anyone but we said lets share the land equal.Because they were used to use us as they cheap labour they time for that was coming to an end.To most Zimbabwe who feel that Mugabe is wrong are people who are lazy are do not what to create furture of they children.Why live to be a begger in you country.
Duke Sithole
1 August 2008 at 07:40 EDT
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I think the best way for Zimbabwe is now through the intervention of the UN.Africa except for Botswana has faled the country.There is no way Mugabe can be trusted with any thing to do with Zimbabwe.He constantly rattles the same old and tired rhetoric that Zimbabwe has been destroyed by Mr Bush and Blair-what hogwash.
May the powers that be please do something about this despot.Zimbabweans are dying daily at the hands of his messengers.we don`t have food for our children.
Mugabe denied the people of Zimbabwe their choice,so if a government cannot be changed through a ballot,what then will do it.Please America,unite with the UN as a whole and save the innocent souls being tortured and maimed by this devil and his desciples
freddy mafa
14 August 2008 at 01:15 EDT
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the situation now obtaining in zimbabwe is dire.we need now rather than later military intervention.I am a zimbabwean and i don’t mind what it will cost me.i’m ready to die for zimbabwe if that is what will bring freedom to my children.i can’t imagine when i last bought a pair of shoes, trousers or shirt.our country is now an open prison for us.please help we are ready to join any army to train and drive the tyrant out.mugabe is too old to fight, his army is serious under-equiped, he just does not have the personnel to withstand a war.he’s just a toothless bulldog-yes it barks but won’t bite.
Shah Sufi Saleh Uddin Ahmed Chisty
17 August 2008 at 01:22 EDT
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International Religious and Spiritual Leader H.E. Shah Sufi Saleh Uddin Ahmed Chisty Gives A Clarion Call to Establish the Religious Brotherhood on the light of Abrahamic Faith.
“The patriarch of all the believers of Allah (God), i.e. Jews, Christians, and Muslims is Prophet Ibrahim (Peace be upon him, Abraham, PBUH). He built the Kaaba in Makkah with his first-born son Ismael (Peace be upon him, PBUH). This was an order from Allah (SWT) that Ibrahim and Ismael (PBUT) construct this Holy House of Allah (SWT) as a place of worship for all the believers on earth. Ismael (Peace be upon him, PBUH) was 17 at the time he and his father built the Kaaba. Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him, PBUH), a descendent of the Prophet Ismael (Peace be upon him, PBUH), would come nearly 2,500 years after Kaaba was built and reunify it as a holy place of worship, according to the teachings of the Prophet Ibrahim (Peace be upon him, PBUH). As stated in the Torah and in the Holy Quran “all the generations will be blessed through Ibrahim (Peace be upon him, PBUH)” (Genesis 12 and 18 Holy Bible, Chp 2 Verses 123-141 Holy Quran).”
Dear Religious and Spiritual Leaders,
I wish to plead and make a fervent call to all my brothers/sisters across the world through the courtesy of this letter in carrying forward, upholding the message of Allah (God), His love for mankind, and ensuring lasting peace in a troubled world. The purpose of portraying my call upon all revered world leaders, politicians, and heads of states, policy makers, academicians, and civil society, spiritual and religious leaders is aimed at removing mistrust, misunderstandings the world is unnecessarily obsessed with, we have to liberate the world of undue tensions and wrangling.
My dear revered brothers and sisters, I have been working tirelessly for establishing peace for nearly twenty-five years. We are definitely running out of time. Everyday a large number of innocent lives are taking their toll for no fault of their own. This has to be arrested. The burning question is how this can be arrested? We can only achieve this by arriving at a common consensus and share our noble vision, thoughts, pooling our energy, resources, dialogs based on religious and spiritual concepts together on one common platform and thus thrust all our force in that direction without further wastage of time. Our Holy Books and Scriptures are the source of eternal light to erase all such misconceptions and misgivings. These sacred books as ordained by Allah (God) are irrevocable. It is enshrined and has come to us as an eternal source of strength, driving force sent through our Holy prophets at different times for the betterment of mankind. Unfortunately, we have not been able to use and exploit this to our advantage, as was the enlightened desire of Allah, through His Divine prophets. We are potentially still a force to reckon with on the driving seat to harness our good virtues for the peace of the world.
It is therefore imperative, I feel, that concerted effort needed to renew our honest will to establish the doctrines of Allah in this world, in thoughts, words and deeds, if not we are bound to perish and vanish from the good book of Allah. Politicians, policy and lawmakers and religious leaders of all faith, belief has to work in close conjunction in order to materialize our dream for a world of progress and prosperity. My thoughts go out for the oppressed and the depressed. It is true, many thought provoking, peace loving individuals, groups are working in reducing tension and conflicts, but unfortunately not much has been achieved. It is only through the doctrine of preaching love and respect for families under Allah (God) and the teachings of His innumerable prophets that were sent for the welfare of mankind at different times can bring about welfare, happiness of mankind.
Followers of the Abrahamic faith having one common ancestral root in fact preach love and peace, religious harmony, having sprung from one land. This indeed is a big boon and blessing that we can be proud of. It is time for reality and not rhetoric. It is through this vehicle that we can effectively mobilize our engine together by bringing the Abrahamic faith of all religious faiths together for establishing lasting peace. I have been running all over the world relentlessly making sincere effort to preach the ideology of Islamic Sufism as enunciated and preached by our Holy prophet Hazrat Mohammad (Peace be upon him, PBUH) who inherits the fundamentals of Hazrat Abraham (Peace be upon him) as are also firmly rooted in the common ideology of our Jews and Christian brothers.
I am convinced that we can march forward in our common goals and gospel without further delay, in fostering synchronization on the principles of our common glorious heritage. I would like to make a call upon all world leaders to form a consensus to ensure that this can be established. Unfortunately in recent years, Islam has been widely misunderstood and there lies one of the saddest tragedies of our contemporary world. We believe that our prophets who had all been sent and ordained by Allah were His peaceful messengers for the spread of fraternal brotherhood and live in peaceful coexistence.
Sincerely,
Shah Sufi Saleh Uddin Ahmed Chisty
Religious and Spiritual Leader.
International President,
Publication and Co-ordination Centre of Islamic
Ideology and Sufi-ism (PCCIIS International).
-In consultative status the with ECOSOC and
Associated with DPI of the United Nations.
Website: http:// http://www.chistypcciis.org
Edgar Kabeke
26 August 2008 at 08:42 EDT
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My comment is very clear about Robert Mugabe. The man is selfish, he cannot let go power out of fear of the wrongs he has done to the zimbabweans and Africans at large.
Alot has been done to the middle east messes why cant the same happen to zimbabwe. America must do some thing, people are dying and have died in numbers
Edgar Kabeke
Jabavu Mhlanga
7 October 2008 at 01:23 EDT
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Democratic values cut across all cultures. Mugabe and Zanu-PF are the embodiement of political evil. There is no idealogical difference between the National Party of South Africa and Zanu-PF. Their purpose is to ensure that a selected few live a good life at the expense of others. First it was the people of Mathebelelands and then the poor Shonas. No matter what the issue is, democracy is about allowing the people to be free to pursue their interests politically, socially, spiritually and economically. The reason that is Zimbabwe is hungry, is poor leadership by Zanu-PF. In their years of planning, they could have raised money to buy out the farms. Zimbabwe has minerals, it has good soils, it has educated sons and daughters. In Africa we are able to raise a lot of money to have expensive celebrations, money that could have solved some of this problems. Let’s stop having mickey mouse political parties. Let’s stop embrassing ourselves with pre-school aurgements. Africa grow up. You know I look at countries like Poland, how there a moving forward. Let’s stop playing marbles. Mugabe and his type, their number has come up, they must go.
Jabavu Mhlanga
7 October 2008 at 01:34 EDT
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The comment on Mandela was unfair and showed a lack of understanding of the democratic process. The ANC and all the liberational force did not win the war. The political settlement was negotiated. A common ground was found and Mandela was elected to power based on that settlement and the manifesto the ANC put to the electorate. Mandela as an individual cannot override the policies of the ANC. The ANC is not Zanu-PF where the leader is put in the position of semi-god. The problem with Africa is that the people make the leaders semi-gods. The leaders then believe this. Mandela implemented decision of the ANC and its partners, taken in open meetings. That my friend is a democracy in practice. Please understand that the struggle in Africa is to make our people better off. Mugabe and Mswati must go to the dustbin of history with dignity.
William Tell
2 February 2009 at 15:39 EST
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“Freedom implies responsibility, that’s why most of the people are afraid of it”, said Mahathma Gandhi. “Freedom is the consciousness of the necessity”, according to the definition by Friedrich Engels. Well, the necessity today is the responsability - not only with people suffering right now, although it may sound cruel, but with the politics and economics in the long-term. “Freedom and Democracy” is not “the end of ideologies”, but just another ideology, and more crimes have been commited in the name of it than in the name of any other, including communism. The fanatics of “FREEDOM!!!!” here don’t realize that underdevelopment in general, not just in Zimbabwe or in Africa in particular, is NOT THE FIRST STEP towards development, neither it is A DEFECT, but A PRODUCT of the system ruling for at least 500 years (well, 100-150 for the case of Africa). The history of the world is the history of the West buying local elites out to be traitors to their own peoples and TO SUPRESS DEVELOPMENT. It’s fair to say that success of this enterprise in Africa has been spectacular and it’s simply stupid to pick Mugabe as the scapegoat to blame. But this is the “experience” and “leadership” Western politicians love to talk about brainwashing their own peoples with ignorance. What we need today is to gather the peoples and civilizations together so to save ourselves as a species, we need TO SHARE THE WEALTH AND KNOWLEDGE GLOBALLY AND TO PUT IT ALL AT THE SERVICE OF OUR OWN SURVIVAL. This means putting all the guns down in a conscious political action and to sit down to TALK, to learn the REAL history - the one of violence and plundering in the name of ideology of whatever. Are you ready to cope with such a responsibility, Douglas, or you’d rather push a botton so to blow the whole planet away at once as a “final solution”?