Augustine Chihuri [from right] addresses a press conference, as Constantine Chiwenga, Perence Shiri and Paul Zimondi look on Photo: AP (Image from The Telegraph)Reach Out To Zimbabwe's Generals -- Christian Science Monitor
The military's fear of retribution threatens a fragile power-sharing deal.
Zimbabwe's political power-sharing deal – the hope of that tattered country – is on the verge of collapse. Big-man leader Robert Mugabe has grabbed the mightiest ministries for himself, handing paltry leftovers to the opposition. But the problem is not that Mr. Mugabe won't share. It's that his top generals fear what will happen to them if he does.
The fear is typical of perpetrators of violence and suppression whose influence is coming to an end. In Africa, it gripped military and political leaders in Rwanda, Burundi, and Liberia, to name a few countries once cleaved by civil war and atrocities.
It didn't come to civil war in Zimbabwe, which not long ago was a prosperous nation, and now suffers searing inflation, joblessness, and hunger. But its citizens well remember the burned homes, beatings, rapes, and killings by President Mugabe's security forces in the run-up to last June's presidential election.
Had the campaign been fair and safe, Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the opposition party Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), would have likely ousted Mugabe, who has ruled for 28 years. Instead, Mr. Tsvangirai signed a deal last month that allows his nemesis to stay on as president, while he takes the post of prime minister. Cabinet ministries are to be almost evenly divided between Mugabe's ZANU-PF party and his rivals.
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My Comment: These thugs have murdered thousands, and have brought suffering to millions. A War Crimes trial with crimes against humanity being the charge is what these monsters should face. They all know how perilous their positions are, and are willing to do everything to make sure that they will not find themselves in a 6 by 10 cell.