Date: Thu, 14 Mar 2002 00:31:40 +1100
Subject: Re: AUT: Advancing the Anti Imperialist Discussion
From: Thiago Oppermann <topp8564-AT-mail.usyd.edu.au>


On 3/13/02 6:44 PM, "Tahir Wood" <twood-AT-uwc.ac.za> wrote:

> 
> 
>>>> nateholdren-AT-hotmail.com 03/12/02 05:41PM >>>
> I know 
> nothing and couldn't add much about Zimbabwe.
> 
> I'm not sure how much there is to know here; it's such a familiar situation.
> National liberation movement turns fascist when it faces discontent and
> opposition and uses imperialism as its pretext for repressing any 'agents of
> imperialism' it may care to identify. Is there really anything else going on
> here?
> Tahir

Tahir, isn't there a wider dynamic over there as well? Not only is Mugabe is
a homophobe, corrupt, cynical, election-rigging slimeball,  but from what I
have gathered, the MDC are no angels either. At the very least, the recent
video shows that they are prepared to sit down in a table with Ari Ben
Menashe and have a good old chat. About killing people and making deals with
the army.  They can plead naïvette and entrapment, but for me at least, this
episode has been very disheartening.

Whichever way you cut it, Mugabe has accomplished some sort of perverse land
reform. A lot of it is very unfair, but a lot of it is also desperately
needed.  Like it or not, the guy is actually elected, in reasonably fair
elections up to this last one, which is obviously very dodgy. He ranks
pretty high in popularity polls, which is striking given he is meant to be
some sort of pariah and the country is in ruins. He is obviously singing a
tune people want to hear. Maybe you can tell us more about this.

The dynamic which I find somewhat problematic is the talk around England and
Australia about this tragic story of the MDC, which has been horribly
oppressed by the Zanu-PF thugs; which is true enough, but rather cynical
given the material support from England and, for some odd reason, Norway, to
the MDC, who are also quite thuggish (although they obviously don't have a
state apparatus, yet). Worse, they seem to be on the Ian Smith side of land
reform opinion. That's no good.  Familiar situation indeed, with the west
picking its darlings in the opposition it has incidentally funded, and from
whose policies whites stand to benefit.

There is another interesting thing with Zimbabwe which might be worth
discussing, and that is that the current dynamic has led the workers in
white farms taking their bosses' sides. Or at least that is the picture the
MDC's benefactors are presenting us. Or at least the picture which has
drifted down my modem.

If I have this totally wrong, can you recommend some reading?


Thiago














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