Step 3 Crush opposition

 

If there is a common theme to Zimbabwe’s elections it is that they are usually described as , ’A violent sham’, ‘Day-light robbery’, ‘Rigged’, ‘Opaque’, ‘A playground for thugs’, ‘A shooting range for Mugabe’s goons’., and so on.

 

Violent repression is a hallmark of tyrants and Mugabe excels at it. Prior to the general elections in 2002, over 100 political affiliates were murdered. For the 2008 elections, three candidates from the opposition party inexplicably died. Morgan Tsvangirai, Mugabe’s opposition leader was arrested, usually on trumped up charges, in 2000, 2003 and in 2007: the last detention resulting in documented beating at the hands of the Special Security Force.

 

The only independent newspaper, Daily News, had its business license revoked because it was critical of Mugabe and the ruling elite. The official version is that it was inciting violence and hence was a national security threat.

 

The most blatant and perverse misuse of power came about just after the 2002 election, an election widely ridiculed since it was obviously rigged.. On the eve of Mugabe’s swearing in ceremony, a grainy video was released purportedly showing Tsvengirai arranging with an ex-Mossad official for the ‘elimination’ of Mugabe. This was taken to be an assassination plot. Tsvengirai was charged with treason and spent the next few years fighting the charge and could not provide much direction or leadership to the opposition, just as Mugabe had intended. It so happens that the Israeli national, Mr Ari Ben-Menashe, has done consulting assignments for Mugabe and has a reputation spanning the globe as a con man and the Jerusalem Post refers to him as, ‘A notorious, chronic liar’.

 

Hitler had the Hitler Youth {Hitlerjugend or HJ} which was the youth organization of the Nazi Party. The HJ were disciplined and dedicated to a fault and were put to fight for the country when things started to get rough towards the end of the war and they carried themselves admirably. Mugabe has what he considers as the equivalent of the HJ in the Youth Wing of the Zimbabwe National Union Patriotic Front or ZANU-PF. However, the similarities end with the commonality of the word ‘youth’ in the names. This rag tag group consists of youngsters who revel in gratuitous violence, are feared by all law-biding citizens and have no chain of command except a nominal head who is 65 yrs old and is a lackey to Mugabe.

 

Mugabe counts on this wing to execute on his commands for neutralizing any unwelcome attention and will be called upon increasingly since Mugabe’s treasury is soon going to be bare and he may not be in a position to pay the police or army.

 

Mugabe will then have to call on his fourth step to national destruction, Legislate the almost impossible, to repress the people even further.