Zimbabwe Burns While UN Twiddles Thumbs

The UN continues to debate the issues; South Africa and China continue to be part of the problem by supporting Mugabe's odious regime and blocking any substantive action against Zimbabwe; and the opposition continues to be mugged by Mugabe's goons.'

By mugged, I mean violently assaulted, mutilated, and thrown into jail for no reason other than they oppose Mugabe's dictatorial power grab.

Zimbabweans and outside observers say militias loyal to Mugabe's Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) have engaged in intimidation tactics designed to deter Tsvangirai's supporters from casting ballots.

"Violence has been taking place mainly in the countryside, people having their hands chopped off, fingers broken, etc. -- the reason for that being to prevent them from voting in the runoff," said a journalist Tuesday in an e-mail from Harare.

Both the woman and journalist requested anonymity out of fear they could be targeted for talking.

It's just another day in paradise.

Tsvangirai is now talking of getting the UN to intervene, but where are the peacekeepers going to come from? South Africa and China are blocking UN action, and South Africa would effectively keep the African Union from acting as well. It's also important to point out that Tsvangirai has been forced to seek refuge at the Dutch Embassy out of fear for his life. He's spending most of his time at the embassy these days. The SADC is looking at taking some kind of action, but again, South Africa is the key stumbling block.

It is interesting, however, to note that the former head of South Africa, F.W. de
Klerk, says that Mugabe needs to be overthrown.

Zimbabwe's president Robert Mugabe had to be toppled, former South African president FW de Klerk said on Wednesday.

De Klerk, a Nobel peace laureate, told the Cape Town Press Club that those who were concerned about Zimbabwe had to ask how they could constructively support moderate forces in that country.

"I think he needs to be toppled. Mugabe needs to be toppled," he said.

He could not see Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai entering into a government of national unity.

Neither can I. There's no reason for Mugabe to give up power, and it is his goons that are responsible for the ongoing violence. De Klerk might want to focus his attention on his own nation's support for Mugabe - if South Africa ceases its support of Mugabe, he would lose a key ally that enables him to remain in power.

UPDATE:
Zimbabwe has plenty of zeros though - as inflation continues to surge there and nothing is on store shelves.

UPDATE:
Now this is an interesting question: Should McCain or Obama come out and declare and recognize Morgan Tsvangirai as the legitimate president of Zimbabwe even as the US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs noted that Tsvangirai had won the elections by more than 50% and should have been recognized as winner.

It would be a departure from current US policy, and would put pressure on Mugabe to quit the scene, but it would take far more than that. It would take change in Johannesburg as well.