Mugabe insists 'Zimbabwe is mine'

[Turborama]

Source: BBC

President Robert Mugabe has said that "Zimbabwe is mine" and rejected calls from some African leaders to step down.

"I will never, never, never surrender," he told delegates of his ruling Zanu-PF party at its annual conference.

Mr Mugabe also said he had sent a letter to the country's main opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, inviting him to be sworn in as prime minister.

Earlier, Mr Tsvangirai said he would pull out of power-sharing talks unless abductions of his supporters stopped.

He said more than 40 members of his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) were missing and accused the Zanu-PF of orchestrating a campaign of terror.

Zimbabwe is currently gripped by economic collapse and a cholera epidemic. The UN on Thursday reported that the death toll from the disease had risen to 1,123 and that 20,896 people had been infected.

UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Friday the antiquated methods being used to treat the epidemic could not bring hope to the suffering of Zimbabweans, and called for more aid to be sent.

"I believe the situation, contrary to what President Mugabe says, from all the evidence we have is deteriorating and deteriorating rapidly," he told a news conference in London.

US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer meanwhile said there was "a complete collapse right now" in Zimbabwe, and said Mr Mugabe needed to step down.

Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7791574.stm

[Maccagirl]

1. Do you really want to claim ownership of the disaster

that is your country, Mugabe?

[KamaAina]

2. Outplacement idea: foreman on Bush**'s ranch in Paraguay

Call it the "Double D Ranch", for Dictator (or Disaster).

[YOY]

3. Have he and Blago been hanging out?

n/t

[Revolution aka Ohio]

4. I have never understood why the west does not simply take care of this man.

One little predator drone....like we are using in Afghanistan and this man is over....and finally some change, hopefully for the better will come to this country.

[anonymous171]

5. Progressive Imperialism FTW!

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

8. because...

when the worst abuses of colonialism are emulated or topped by black marxist "freedom fighters" it is okay because their victims are all agents of the international racist colonial capitalist conspircy and who are we to judge african justice?

[entanglement]

24. Gloating racists like yourself are no friends to the people of Zimbabwe

Stop pretending otherwise.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

28. and the white Robert Mugabe fan club are friends of Zimbabwe?

Mugabe has been out of control since the aftermath of the 1990 election when he tried to create a single party state and install himself as leader for life, the only thing that kept Mugabe in check were the moderate elements of the ZANU-PF while western whites heaped him with praise and cried racism, colonialism and whatever else when anybody dared call their modern day Che on his rampage.

[entanglement]

30. Can you not see a third possibility - that of condemning imperialism as well as Mugabe's thuggery?

The fact that you are entirely oblivious to such a possibility puts you firmly in the corner of the Niall Ferguson school of imperialist apologetics and historical revisionism - which attempts to justify imperialist crimes by deceit, denial, trivialization, inversion of cause and effect and outright lies. Maybe that was not your intention, but your original post strongly smacked of it. If you wish to educate yourself on the magnitude of the crimes committed there, I suggest you read this
article

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2002/apr2002/zimb-a03.shtm...

Regarding Mugabe, he was quite the favorite of the UK early on (for instance, he was knighted). They thought they knew "their" man, Mugabe, which turned out to be a complete mis-calculation. Their attempts to replace him with someone more pliant (Morgan Tsvangirai) has nothing to do with concern for the toilers of Zimbabwe, but the advancement of Western capitalist interests as a counterweight to the rapidly expanding Chinese presence in sub-Saharan Africa. If they did, they would not cripple the already suffering people of Zimbabwe with punitive sanctions!

Those 'whites' who praised Mugabe were politically confused middle-class radicals with little understanding of Marxism. The same kind of people (like David Horowitz) who went from "left" (or what they thought was the 'left') to "right" overnight.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

32. I don't need an education on Africa

The rambling of post-colonial and post-modernist academics is of roughly the same quality one expects from creationists. Africa was not liberated - Africa was abandoned. The bottom line is the British wanted out of Africa so badly that they were ready to turn over the keys to just about any english speaking local who would look respectable in a photo with the queen, every effort was made to make these clowns look legitimate, such as the knighthood for Mugabe.

The west wants Mugabe gone because he destroyed Zimbabwe in decade flat, the paranoid fantasy that the British seek to re-colonize Rhodesia is insanity. Tsvangirai is the legitimate ruler of Zimbabwe and not merely a prefered Western stooge. Did Zimbabwe not threaten to destabilize the entire southern half of Africa the west wouldn't much care what was going on there.

[entanglement]

33. Why do you confound Marxists with the post-modern scam artists who believe in nothing?

In defending the UK, you conveniently ignore the fact that neo-colonialism does not require physical re-colonization at all. The crux of the matter is that Tsvangirai's legitimacy would have been denied by the very same powers who deign to 'recognize' him (the arrogance!) if he had shown the slightest hint of charting an independent course for Zimbabwe! He would then be portrayed as merely another party in an African power-struggle.

Given the long and disreputable history of Western-installed stooges all over the world (who are turned into enemies overnight, when convenient), your assertion is all the more astonishing.

The salvation of Zimbabwe can only be achieved by the working people of Zimbabwe using whatever means they choose to overthrow Mugabe, not Western imperialist intervention under the pretext of 'saving' them. One needs a conscience just as much as an education when it comes to such matters and you seem to lack both.

[JonQ]

34. He didn't say anything racist there

maybe a bit of overreaction on your part?

[cstanleytech]

11. Probably because the west has little interest in the resources his

country has, if they had something of great value like say huge deposits of oil the west might actually do something.

[pink-o]

14. There's no oil in Zimbabwe n/t

[Posteritatis]

16. The power vacuum would be hideous, for one

The guy's consolidated a hell of a lot of power in himself and his immediate family. Taking him down would end the incompetence but would probably spark a hell of a lot of violence.

I am of the Mugabe-delenda-est school of thought, but it needs to be done pretty carefully and legitimately. People in Zimbabwe have enough trouble as it stands.

[Ian David]

6. All Your Base Are Belong to Mugabe! n/t

[Number23]

7. If I said what I really felt about Mugabe...

I'd have the Zimbabwe secret Internet police at my door in seconds.

Where in HELL is the UN on this???

[Odin2005]

23. Same reason as Darfur. Russia and China are getting in the way.

Which is why I consider the UN to be a joke.

[derby378]

9. "Zimbabwe is mine," said the flea...

...failing to take into account that the dog he claimed for himself is about to shake him off.

[Freddie Stubbs]

15. Or perhaps the dog is about to die

[maxsolomon]

10. how much time do you have left, old man?

sociopathic narcissists are the world's biggest problem.

[LeftishBrit]

19. Probably not long. But too long.

[MasonJar]

12. And we went after Saddam for what? Obviously this poor, suffering

country does not have enough oil to entice the Bushista.

[Critters2]

26. Exactly. nt

[rpannier]

13. Mugabe please say hi to Pinochet and Falwell when you get to hell

His death couldn't come fast enough.

Unfortunately, he isn't even the worst leader on this planet

[Matilda]

17. He has to be pretty close, though.

The economy has imploded, there is no rule of law, people are dying in
their thousands, and Mugabe doesn't give a damn.

And still the majority of other African states have no comment to make.
They have a great deal to answer for - one can only suppose they'd all
do the same as Mugabe if they were in his situation, as they don't seem
to have a problem with it at all.

[LeftishBrit]

18. Sounds like an overgrown 2-year-old with an army behind him

"It's MINE! You can't have it!"

What a disaster this man is for his country. How many more people will die before he finally goes?

[roamer65]

20. I hope Zimbabweans do to Mugabe what the Romanians did to Ceausescu.

The fucking piece of shit deserves every ounce of it.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

21. might be difficult,

with Mugabe's white south african ex-paratrooper security - their getting paid.

[Odin2005]

22. His security is a bunch of AFRIKAANERS!?! If that's not hypocrisy...

...I don't know what is!

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

29. Mugabe is actually quite fond of the wealthy whites

Mugabe is much closer to the most powerful Rhodesian families than Ian Smith ever was, the Robert Mugabe fan club gets really pissed off when people bring up the relationship between Mugabe and the Davy family who were the largest land owners in Rhodesia AND the second largest land owners in Zimbabwe, (the largest land owner in Zimbabwe is another white named Van Hoogstraten)

Other Rhodesians with a special relationship with Mugabe include the Bredenkamp's (who recently had their US assets frozen) who were war criminals during the Bush War, but oddly enough found themselves quite welcome in Mugabe's Zimbabwe as Bob found the skills that earned Bredenkamp favor during the UDI years were also useful to him.

[Matilda]

27. Is that so?

Explains a lot.

[KakistocracyHater]

25. proud Ivy League alumni

what?

[bemildred]

31. Don't forget to pay your "soldiers" Robert.

I don't understand why he isn't shopping for a secure "retirement" situation, it's clear enough his days are numbered. He could even do the patriotic thing and arrange for a competent successor.