Photo credit: Radiospike
Interesting idea in the New York Times op-ed pages today about how to influence the situation in Zimbabwe. Despite the opposition winning a plurality of votes in an election in March, 84-year-old Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe and supporters of his Zanu-PF party have clamped down on the country as an additional electoral hurdle approached, the run-off this Friday between Mugabe's Zanu-PF party and the opposition (because no party won a majority in March's election, Zimbabwe's electoral regulations require an additional run-off that limits the electoral pool to the two front-running parties). In recent days, Mugabe has raided opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai's headquarters, beaten opposition party members and forced Tsvangirai himself into hiding in the Dutch embassy.
What to do about all this? The UN Security Council can
condemn Mugabe all it likes. And the West has pushed Mugabe to allow a free and democratic run-off for months. As the region's most powerful country, South Africa exerts a strong influence over all matters in Zimbabwe. But the South African leader, Thabo Mbeki, has displayed a troubling reluctance to condemn Mugabe and his death squads. Today, the Zimbabwe-born writer Peter Godwin
suggests a fascinating way to pressure Mbeki into pressuring Mugabe to step down.
South Africa hosts the next World Cup, in 2010, Godwin notes. "That may seem like a long way off, but South Africa is already investing huge amounts both financially and politically, for what is supposed to be its triumphal coming-out party. Maybe Zimbabwe should become to the South Africa-hosted World Cup what Tibet has been to the Beijing Olympics — the pungent albatross that spoils every press conference and mars every presentation with its insistent odor."
Speaking of soccer, did you see Russia's insane win over the Netherlands on Saturday in the
Euro Cup? I can't help but draw analogies between the team's performance and the character of the country. Again and again Russia pulls off feats like this. Underestimated, they start out rough, then they endure difficult conditions, they never give up, they employ a remarkable resourcefulness, and they scramble and improvise and cobble together just enough to
eke out a victory. Good luck for that
rematch against Spain on Thursday, guys.
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