The Economist published an article today, How to get him out, referring to Zimbabwe’s newly-elected “president.”

Some romantic spirits ask why Mr Mugabe cannot be ousted by force—by Western powers, if not the UN. It would be glorious if he were removed by any method at all. But it remains unthinkable for such an action to be taken without the co-operation—logistical, among other things—of the region’s leaders. Persuading them to collaborate in isolating Mr Mugabe is hard enough. Deploying an international force should not be ruled out in the future, especially if the violence spreads. But other methods, with Africans to the fore, must be tried first.

African nations must take action first and only then will western countries and the U.N. step in to help.

There isn’t a person on this planet that believes the election wasn’t rigged: Mugabe lost the first round in March and it took 5 weeks to announce the results. During those 5 weeks and the month that followed, Mugabe launched a violent campaign of political “reassignment” murdering nearly a hundred, injuring over 10,000 and displacing more than 200,000.

As I write, the African Union is meeting in Egypt. Only time will tell what the 2-day summit will bring for the people of Zimbabwe. Kenya started things off on the right foot about an hour ago — having just pushed through months of horrendous violence after its own presidential election — by condemning Mugabe and asking the AU to take immediate action.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 30th, 2008 at 10 am and is filed under africa, news, politics.