Mugabe's victory by violence, U.N. warns him

Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has retreated to the Dutch embassy. The United Nations Security Counsel, has issued a statement of condemnation to Zimbabwe's president Robert Mugabe. Siting his "campaign of violence" and saying the Mugabe "denied its (Zimbabwe's) political opponents the right to campaign freely. Tsvangirai said the U.N. resolution was "very important," adding: "It recognizes the people who are accountable for the violence and it squarely places that responsibility at Mugabe's leadership."

Start of Excerpt

Morgan Tsvangirai's decision to seek shelter at the Dutch embassy hours after announcing his withdrawal from Zimbabwe's runoff presidential election signals the collapse of organized efforts to unseat President Robert Mugabe. The 84-year-old despot who has ruled his country for 28 years and plunged it into economic ruin is now certain to remain in office, whether he is re-elected on Friday or declares himself the winner — as the sole candidate — before then. Mugabe had, of course, declared himself the winner long before Tsvangirai pulled out, making clear that he would not allow the opposition leader to take power regardless of the verdict of the electorate. Now, despite the fact that Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) won a parliamentary majority on March 29, it may have little influence over the country's immediate future.

Much depends on whether Mugabe, despite having signaled his contempt for the popular will, nevertheless respects the norms of parliamentary democracy. Even more hangs on whether the security forces and their allied militias keep up the campaign of terror against the MDC. Tsvangirai's move to seek shelter on foreign soil suggests he believes the signs are not good. The precise reasoning behind his decision may never be known, but its message to his supporters is as grim as it is clear: We can't win; save yourselves.

The world has greeted Mugabe's victory with outrage. There are moves to impose Security Council sanctions against Zimbabwe, and pressure on African governments to turn the screws on their neighbor and his junta — an option they must weigh against the likely consequence of an even greater influx of Zimbabwean refugees into surrounding countries. The U.N. Security Council unanimously adopted a statement Tuesday condemning the government's "campaign of violence" that had "denied its political opponents the right to campaign freely." Tsvangirai said the U.N. resolution (the Council's first formal action on the crisis) was "very important," adding: "It recognizes the people who are accountable for the violence and it squarely places that responsibility at Mugabe's leadership." But none of this will do much to unseat Mugabe, or to help ordinary Zimbabweans. That moment has passed.

End of Excerpt
Source: Time Magazine