Enabling Terrorism and Chaos in Africa
By Douglas Farah
One of the abiding tragedies of Africa is the twin curse of brutal and corrupt leaders and the unwillingness of the region's less brutal leaders to take corrective action.
The latest, long-running train wreck is Robert Mugabe's thuggery and kleptocracy in Zimbabwe, a once proud and prosperous nation now boasting only the highest infant mortality rate in the world and some of the worst inflation.
As Arnold Tsunga writes in today's Washington Post, Mugabe is not single-handedly destroying his country. He is enabled by the weak, pathetic and tragic lack of leadership of his enablers, the leaders of other southern African nations, to face the crisis he has wrought.
At a recent African summit following the naked aggression of Mugabe's thugs, including the beatings of main opposition leaders then the public bragging about it, the other leaders were worse than silent. Tanzanian president Jakaya Kikwete announced that he an other leaders were "in support of the government and people of Zimbabwe." So much for the policy of "quiet engagement" in working with Mugabe. It is more like public endorsement.
There is no question of historic factors such as colonialism, slavery and exploitation causing deep and lasting effects in Africa. But it is these self-inflicted wounds by the "Big Men" of Africa that have allowed the cancer of corruption, brutality and despotic rule to spread and last.
This is akin to paying lip service to cracking down on drugs while publicly bragging about distributing heroin and crack on the streets.
This is a crisis that extends far beyond Zimbabwe. By creating (and standing by and/or encouraging it), southern Africa is creating the conditions for the spread of terrorism and chaos. My full blog is here.
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