Newsflash: Zimbabwe is a total mess

Just when you might think that Zimbabwe can’t get any worse—property confiscation, crackdown on the poor, hyperinflation, fixed elections, and more—the struggling opposition party is facing a police crackdown that has left opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai fighting for his life—first beaten by police, then denied medical care. The crackdown began with the breakup of a prayer meeting:

Tsvangirai and dozens of other civic and political leaders were arrested and detained Sunday after they tried to defy a police ban on rallies and hold a prayer meeting in the restive Highfield suburb.

Skirmishes broke out between police and suspected opposition activists in the wake of the thwarted rally. At least one MDC member, Gift Tandare, a father of three, was shot dead by police.

Some EU diplomats are trying to positively intervene by visiting police stations in groups, hoping that by intervening in this way they prevent further crackdowns and injury to opposition members.

What’s also interesting is that three weeks ago, the US ambassador to Zimbabwe Christopher Dell (who was kicked out of the country in late 2005) said the Mugabe regime was on its last legs:

“I think what we’re seeing is the beginning of the wheels coming off the wagon in Zimbabwe… [hyperinflation of 1,600%] has eroded the regime’s ability to sustain itself.

We’ve always made clear that the question for us is not who, but how – how the country is governed, not by whom. As long as the country is governed by democratic norms and standards, as long as the government of Zimbabwe pursues sound economic policies that lead to prosperity and well-being for its own people, we’re prepared to work with any such government.”

That interview took place the day before Mugabe’s birthday, when he turned 83. Can the man be on his last legs? We can only hope.

Sidenote: Sorry for the lack of posts, I’m extraordinarily busy and reluctant to distract readers from Chirol’s stunning Iraqi Kurdistan travel diaries.