bsp;in a ‘clean up exercise’ in 2005,
before embarking on a crack down on the business community
this year that has led to empty supermarket shelves and even higher
unemployment levels. And of course he destroyed the agricultural base of the
country which has lead to extreme poverty for hundreds of thousands more.
With elections scheduled for 2008 just round the corner the
distribution of food aid is being
politicised and areas perceived to harbour opposition supporters are
being deliberately marginalised. His guns are still smoking from a blitz he launched on
the opposition beginning March this year, which saw over 600 activists hospitalised.
His colleagues at the Langkawi International Dialogue in Malaysia will
probably not care about such a record. The summit was launched in 1995 with the intention
fostering closer relations between South East Asian countries and resource rich
but poor African countries. Mugabe was said to be participating in round table discussions
alongside other African and South East Asian leaders.
His presence was a source of controversy after some delegates
objected, but the Zanu PF leader is reported to have managed a few ‘hugs and kisses’ according to
a Malaysian delegate who spoke to the media. No doubt this could have been from fellow tyrants
at the conference.
The theme of the summit this year is poverty alleviation and Malaysia
is using the platform to share its experiences on how it transformed its economy from the 1970’s
to the present. Observers say it can only be hoped Mugabe can learn a few things there on how
economies need a stable political environment in which to thrive. He is criticised for
attempting to enforce a command economy in which his cronies in the army and
security services control all the resources. In the last couple of months members
of the army have been running havoc on white owned commercial farms, disregarding court
orders and threatening police attempting to enforce
them. – SW Radio AFrica
Post published in: News