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| Africa Subsaharan | ||
| Rice, Odinga, Lament Election Abuses in Zimbabwe | ||
| 2008-06-19 | ||
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga Wednesday condemned action against opposition politicians in Zimbabwe in advance of that country's June 27 presidential run-off election. Mr. Odinga called for the dispatch of an international peacekeeping force to Zimbabwe.
But Prime Minister Odinga is taking a much harsher line, saying that Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has made a sham of the proceedings, and that a Bosnia-style international force should be sent to Zimbabwe so that free elections can 'eventually' be held. Both Rice and the Kenyan leader spoke to reporters about Zimbabwe as they began a set of talks here in Mr. Odinga's first Washington visit since the resolution of Kenya's post-election political crisis earlier this year. | ||
| Posted by:Fred |
| #3 Those objectives being depopulation and pillage? |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2008-06-19 21:44 |
| #2 The difference in those countries was that a blood-letting had taken place, or there was already a transition in progress, or it was got to early enough. Zimbabwe will be difficult, if not impossible at this point, as a peacekeeping operation. It's too late to be a pre-emptive action. For all their talk, Zim's neighbors are and will remain passive about dealing with a fellow African 'revolutionary', so there won't be any local support. There hasn't been the usual African massacre-for-all (yet); there's plenty of arms, ammo, and 'war veterans'. Any UN force inserted is going to be iffy given the political situations. The French dealt with the Ivory Coast because of their interest in it. The British were in Liberia and Sierra Leone, but it really is debatable whether they would participate with more than a token force. Same with Australia, et al. The other options are ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States), the AU or the stock Third-World-supplied UN forces. These are severely lacking in transport and logistics. And we've seen how well that's being played with Sudan. The wild cards would be China and Pakistan. The latter has provided contract advisors (and pilots) to Mugabe's forces. And given China's interest in the country (and their long-standing support of ZANU-PF), it'd be like inviting the proverbial fox to a hen-fest. Nope. If Mugabe and ZANU-PF are listening to their advisors, it'll stay at a slow simmer. Just hot enough to keep the diplomats yelping, but just low key enough to achieve their (and their patron's) objectives. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2008-06-19 14:25 |
| #1 theyve done a fair amount of good in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and, IIUC, Ivory Coast. I suspect, given the particular situation on the ground in Zimbabwe, they might well be a good idea. Esp if the alternative is leaving Mugabe in power. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2008-06-19 09:16 |