euro|topics - Election farce in Zimbabwe

02/12/2008

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Main focus of Monday, June 30, 2008

Election farce in Zimbabwe

Elections in Zimbabwe have reinstalled President Robert Mugabe in office. Constant assaults by troops close to the government forced the sole opposition candidate, Morgan Tsvangirai, to withdraw from the race prior to the elections. How should Europe and the world react to this oppression?

Trouw - Netherlands

Following the re-election of Robert Mugabe the Dutch daily Trouw calls for tougher sanctions against Zimbabwe: "Some African countries have joined in [the condemnation of Mugabe] and one can only hope that the South African Development Community [SADC] will follow their example. ... That Mugabe did everything in his power to force a 'legitimate victory' this weekend shows that even this cynical ruler is sensitive to political isolation. This newspaper has already written that only a coup can put an end to Mugabe's regime. It will probably be easier to negotiate with his successors, even if their hands are just as stained with blood as his. Until then, even tougher sanctions are the only means of forcing Mugabe to withdraw. Let us hope the UN Security Council ... and the African Union ... agree." (30/06/2008)

Il Sole 24 Ore - Italy

The newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore sees the United Nations as an obstacle to imposing sanctions on Zimbabwe: "Once again it is the Americans who are taking the initiative. One day after the election in which Robert Mugabe was the only candidate, the US is already working on a package of sanctions. ... The US is likely to encounter great difficulties in obtaining the blessing of the UN for these measures; they will probably only be accepted and carried out by the US and Europe. The UN had already argued over a condemnation of the election on Friday because South Africa rejected the wording of the original text and forced the members to retract." (30/06/2008)

The Independent - United Kingdom

Following his re-election, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe wants to take part in the upcoming African Union summit in Egypt. The Independent writes in a lead article that it is time for the states of Africa to act: "This is indeed Africa's moment, for good or for ill. If the summit allows the bloodstained charade of Mugabe's election to pass unnoticed, hopes for the continent's democratic development will have been radically set back. Similarly, if the summit denies Mugabe the fig leaf of legitimacy that he craves, his regime will be embarrassed and forced on the defensive. ... Resolution of Zimbabwe's crisis is urgent. ... This is not an otherwise economically 'normal' country, disfigured by a politically repressive regime. It is a country where the economy is collapsing with such terrifying speed that a large proportion of the population faces only two options: flight, or death by starvation." (30/06/2008)

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung - Germany

The conservative Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung opposes intervention in Zimbabwe: "One day when Mugabe is no longer president and Zimbabwe is completely in ruins, people will once more come knocking on the West's door. The alleged exploiters from Europe and North America are always good enough to pick up the pieces. If it were possible even then to be sure that other countries would learn from Zimbabwe's dire fate, things would be not quite so depressing. But that is hardly to be expected. Instead, all too many people in all too many African countries will probably go on chumming up to false friends. Europe and American cannot prevent that, nor should they try. Certainly, they themselves contributed to their loss of prestige in the so-called Third World. But people in the South must learn for themselves that not all the evils of this world have their origin in colonialism." (30/06/2008)

» To the complete press review of Monday, June 30, 2008

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