The Restlessness Is Growing

First on Friday.. then on Monday.. Mugabe's soldiers are starting to feel the realities of the country that they have helped to destroy. And then they have the temerity to actually riot about not getting cash from the banks??? This is the first really amusing thing I have seen in the midst of all the gloom and death.

It is amusing from a number of perspectives actually - these are the men and women who ensured that Mugabe's ruinous policies have been implemented. And they did this with impunity, shielded by the ZANU-pf system of patronage from the effects that they have forced upon the rest of the populace. And they felt nothing and cared less about it.. but now it is coming back to bite them and is it not wonderful??? And be sure, these are not isolated incidents, the discontent is finally starting to show amongst the ranks.. I bet the generals are feeling more and more uncomfortable by the day.

The second and more important part of these incidents is that the discontented soldiers have clashed with their erstwhile comrades.. the MP's on Friday and the Police (ZANU-pf militia) on Monday. On Friday it was an estimated 60 uniformed soldiers on the rampage, on Monday an estimated 200. So uniformed police fighting uniformed soldiers on the streets of Harare? I wonder what happens when the police cannot withdraw their salaries? Perhaps I am jumping the gun here... but this has all the makings of a final meltdown beginning.. what happens when the mobs of desperate people and soldiers want to confront ZANU-pf and their militia (the police) suddenly decide to step aside and NOT confront them? Does this mean we have another Romania and Nicolai Caeucescu situation?

There are many parallels between the economy and happenings of Zimbabwe and Mugabe and Romania and Nicolai Caeucescu - huge corruption and terrible governance resulting in an unfettered inflation rate, the government continually removing zeros in an attempt to keep the currency usable.. growing discontent among soldiers, regimes propped up by deadly state security police with no regard for law and order, confrontations on the streets and finally.. the people, soldiers and police will storm the party headquarters or parliament and suddenly the oppressors will find themselves in a world of hurt.

I think the can also be no doubt that Mbeki is not only biased, but as ignorant as Mugabe. South Africans must applaud the day that he was thrown out of the seat of power. He has repeatedly demonstrated that he lack the capacity to grasp even the most basic things. His now famous gaffe over AIDS was the first sign of stupidity to emerge clearly. Now he, as the so called "impartial" mediator writes the following to the Morgan Tsvangirai, the legally elected president of Zimbabwe:

"As you secure applause because of the insult against us that we are 'cowards', you will have to consider the reality that our people have accepted into their countries very large numbers of Zimbabwean brothers and sisters in a spirit of human solidarity, prepared to sustain the resultant obligations," said Mbeki in his letter written to Tsvangirai and published in full text by Sunday News. "None of our countries displayed characteristics of cowardice when they did this," he stressed in his letter."

Erm.. have you missed the point entirely Mr Mbeki? Why is it that those countries have had to accept these poor unfortunate people who actually used to form part of one of the best and growing workforces in Africa? The very people that used to feed Africa need help (and, mind you, they do not get too much help out the SADC countries in general).
And Mr Mbeki, if those very countries that you refer to had displayed real courage and faced up to one thieving man and his following of murderers and rapists, then they wouldn't have to be rescuing and supporting thousands of others. The have not, contrary to Mbeki's assertions, accepted them "in a spirit of human solidarity" they have admitted them out of guilt or just the fact that they are scared to lose what little support they get from the evil western world. And they are not prepared to "sustain the resultant obligations".. they are just too frightened to stand up like Botswana and tell Mugabe to go.

As Botswana quite rightly pointed out, if all Zimbabwe's neighbours closed the borders... this crisis would be resolved in a week. And a lot less innocent Zimbabweans will die. That is courage Mbeki - not kow-towing to a common criminal!

Later.