Recounts of last month's parliamentary elections have changed nothing: control of Zimbabwe's Parliament will pass to the opposition party Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) for the first time since the country won independence from Britain in 1980. However, the recounts have been used to stall the presidential elections, allowing incumbent Robert Mugabe to intimidate his people with violence and cruelty:
Twenty-four babies and 40 children under the age of six were among the 250 people rounded up in a raid on Friday, according to Nelson Chamisa, spokesman for the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). Yesterday they were crammed into cells in Southerton police station in central Harare...."In Mugabe’s Zimbabwe even children are not spared the terror that befalls their parents[," said Chamisa.]
Jendayi Frazer, assistant Secretary of State for Africa, is doing a fantastic job urging other African leaders to condemn Mugabe's actions. But I have heard nothing about other American officials. Secretary Rice, President Bush, and Congress should condemn Mugabe in no uncertain terms and strive to increase international pressure against him.
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