Zimbabwe's Military Steps Up For Mugabe

It's little wonder that the Zimbabwean opposition to Robert Mugabe's continued rule faltered in their demonstrations this week. The military put on a show of force designed to cow the opposition into silence and the economic wasteland that is Zimbabwe means that those few people who do have jobs cannot afford to leave them to attend these demonstrations against Mugabe:

The relative ineffectiveness of the one-day protest says much about the long odds the opposition faces in ousting the nation’s long-entrenched autocratic president, Robert Mugabe, despite reports from independent monitors that he badly trailed the opposition candidate, Morgan Tsvangirai, in the March 29 election.

People lucky enough to have jobs in a country with 80 percent unemployment explained that they could not afford to lose a precious day’s pay by participating in the work stoppage.

“We have to eat,” said a man who guards people’s cars and identified himself as Michael. He gave only his first name for fear of retribution.

Some said they were afraid that the police would punish them if they heeded the opposition’s call and stayed home from work, which is known in Zimbabwe as a stay-away.

“We’ve been through this so many times, and every stay-away has had a lot of retribution attached,” said a leader of one of Zimbabwe’s nongovernmental organizations, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also for of fear of retribution. “The repercussions are severe. People have their property destroyed, their hands crushed. They’re beaten and battered.”

The Herald, the government-run newspaper, said Tuesday that the police had accused the opposition of “agitating for violence” in what the police said was an illegal stay-away.

Mugabe continues to hold onto power by any means necessary, much to the chagrin and detriment of Zimbabweans.