US President Bush offers more rhetoric but no action on Zimbabwe

By Tererai Karimakwenda
2 February 2006

The crisis in Zimbabwe has again been highlighted on the world stage, this time by the United States president George Bush in his State of the Union Address delivered on Tuesday night. Grouping Zimbabwe with oppressive regimes in Syria, Burma, North Korea and Iran, Bush declared that the "demands of justice" require the "freedom" from Mugabe's dictatorship. Bush talked about the tremendous increase in the number of democratic nations since 1945 and dubbed the advance of freedom “the great story of our time.” The reference to Zimbabwe, and suggestion that Mugabe’s removal would advance freedom, has been hailed by many Zimbabweans but the lack of action to match the conviction of the political rhetoric continues to frustrate them.

US based Zimbabwean activist Ralph Black believes the United States should put more pressure on countries like South Africa and China. But he also stressed the importance of Bush’s comments, saying they show America is still focused on Zimbabwe and the political weight of the Bush statement must be weighed against its rhetorical value. Black said Bush kept Zimbabwe on the radar and elevated the significance of the crisis as other heads of state listen when he addresses his nation. But Black added that Bush needs to match his rhetoric with action, and this can be done by completely isolating Mugabe, widening the targeted sanctions and putting more pressure on countries that deal with Zimbabwe.

State security Minister Didymus Mutasa is reported to have described Bush as a bully and condemned his remarks. He said: "We should not and cannot allow warmongers like Bush to tarnish the image of paragons of peace and democracy like President Mugabe.” Mutasa’s response brings to light the continued failure by government officials to address the issues. As the minister also in charge of land distribution he is doing nothing to stop the continuing farm invasions and is being accused of masterminding the looting of farm equipment in Masvingo from behind the scenes.

Asked whether powerful nations such as the United States do not intervene in Zimbabwe because the country has no resources like oil ,which are vital to their economies, Black believes the Southern African region is actually important to them and Zimbabwe plays a pivotal role. He explained that Angola has oil and the DRC has mineral wealth that is very significant. But Black admitted if Zimbabwe had the “black gold” it might make some difference to the strategy of powerful nations.