P.S. Events in specific countries may dominate the news, but the most pressing issues facing Africans cut across national boundaries. See our Africa Policy Outlook 2002, released in January, and AIDS: Another World War, which appeared in The Nation in January.

Statement on Zimbabwe
Africa Action, March 14, 2002

The election just concluded in Zimbabwe had little chance of being free or fair, in the context of two years of violence and intimidation against the opposition. The descriptions of the poll by independent observers, some cited below (see posting), leave little doubt that the result will have little credibility for most people in Zimbabwe, the region, or internationally.

Parliamentarians of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and Commonwealth observers have joined local civil society groups in identifying systemic and large-scale problems in the electoral process. Meanwhile, pronouncements of legitimacy by official observer teams, such as those from South Africa and Nigeria as well as the OAU, do more to damage those governments' and institution's own credibility than to add credibility to the process in Zimbabwe.

The Zimbabwe elections garnered disproportionate international attention, and defenders of the government and other observers have a valid point in noting the selectivity of this attention especially among western countries. Recent elections in Congo (Brazzaville), Zambia and Madagascar, for example, received no such notice. While the focus on Zimbabwe highlights the inconsistency of international concern for Africa's democracies, the experience of Zimbabwe also reflects the contradictory state of democracy throughout the continent.

On the one hand, incumbent governments have learned well how to exploit their advantages to hold show elections designed to ensure their re-election while still obtaining international acceptance. On the other hand, the legitimacy of these exercises is increasingly challenged by growing opposition parties, civil society and independent media within these countries. There is also heightened scrutiny of the electoral process, and a growing commitment to democratic principles. Throughout Africa, the forces of democratic change continue to gain momentum despite setbacks such as those that have occurred in Kenya, Cote d'Ivoire, and now Zimbabwe.

The organizations that merged to form Africa Action share a heritage of support for liberation in Zimbabwe and other African countries dating back to the founding of the American Committee on Africa almost 50 years ago. We acknowledge the historic contributions to that struggle by many who now lead or serve in governments in the region. In solidarity with today's campaigners for democracy and social justice in African countries, however, we stress that individuals, parties, and governments should be judged not on their past victories but on their continued commitment to promoting political, economic and social justice, and respect for human rights.

The urgency of protecting democracy and human rights in Zimbabwe is just as great after the election as before. In this context, we join in calling on the Zimbabwe government (1) to release hundreds of election observers and others recently arrested for political reasons, and (2) to refrain from any further restrictions on internal protest and criticism.

After the election, as before, it is Zimbabweans and their neighbors in southern Africa who will have the most weight in determining what happens in response to that country's crisis.

That crisis has been deepened rather than eased by the election. Democratic forces inside Zimbabwe are still considering what actions they will take next. It is those actions that should set the context for determining what additional outside measures are most likely to be of help. One immediate priority, however, is very clear. Those who support democracy in Africa should reject outright any expedient attempt to grant the election a false legitimacy.

- - Africa Action

Marketplace Commentary on Zimbabwe
(Salih Booker, March 8, 2002)

For an audio version of this commentary, go to: http://www.marketplace.org/shows/2002/03/08_mpp.html

Rising violence in Zimbabwe is the direct result of Robert Mugabe's desperate effort to hold onto the presidency as the country goes to the polls. Mugabe has abused the political power of his office and manipulated the explosive issue of land redistribution. That has cost Zimbabwe both lives and impaired its democratic institutions.

But Western powers must also share the blame in Zimbabwe's economic and social crisis. Demonizing Mugabe as solely responsible is inaccurate.

When Zimbabwe gained independence in 1980, Britain and the United Sstates, brokers of the settlement, didn't address the theft of land by whites from Africans in crimes dating back a full century. The theft of land created a small class of rich white farmers and an impoverished black majority.

When Zimbabwe gained independence it couldn't afford a wide-scale redistribution of land or the roads, waterworks, schools or clinics needed for such a program to succeed. Neither London nor Washington lived up to their pre-independence pledges to finance land reform on a large scale. So, only a small number of the majority of landless Zimbabweans acquired any. Many of the best farms went to corrupt officials.

But Mugabe did invest in public health, education, and the small farm sector. As Zimbabwe's exports earned less and the government borrowed more, Mugabe turned to the International Monetary Fund. The IMF forced him to cut investments in social programs. War veterans protested. To placate them, the government made compensation payments that broke the bank. That, together with Zimbabwe's self- serving but costly entrance into Congo's war, sparked an economic plunge.

The extreme inequities in land distribution remain a smoldering fire that Mugabe stokes for his own political ends. But the issue also remains a real source of contemporary inequality. Condemning political crimes while tolerating obscene economic ones is disingenuous. Especially when the perpetrators of those crimes--the Western colonialists and their backers--refuse to take responsibility for their consequences.

In Washington, this is Salih Booker for Marketplace.

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