President Robert Mugabe and his political cronies
in the Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF)
exercised no restraint in making sure he would win another term in
the March 9-10 presidential election. Over the past year, Mugabe
instituted measures that further destroyed the country's economy
and trampled the rule of law, even
sanctioning attacks on opposition supporters, in his single-minded
determination to remain in office. Moreover, his supporters used
various measures to steal the election and prevent people from
voting, including vote fraud, intimidation, and delays. Following a
court-ordered third day of voting on March 11, the official results
show that Mugabe's tactics were successful in an election that was
neither free nor fair.
Before the election, the United States and
the European Union (EU) had imposed "smart sanctions" targeting
Mugabe and his inner circle of advisers as punishment for their
brutal policies. This approach should be
expanded by the Bush Administration to include a ban on
multilateral and bilateral assistance to Mugabe's illegitimate
government, a downgrading of diplomatic ties, and direct support
for the opposition. Shunning Mugabe politically and economically in
such ways may have an adverse effect on the people of Zimbabwe in
the short term, but short-term hardship is necessary to eliminate
the greatest impediments to to their long-term best interests:
Mugabe's repressive economic and political policies.
Mugabe's Despicable Record
President Mugabe's unacceptable efforts to
secure re-election include:
- Instituting
ruinous economic policies. Mugabe has pursued a number of
policies that have destroyed the Zimbabwean economy to increase his
popularity, such as expropriating farms under the rubric of land
redistribution, threatening to nationalize businesses, imposing
price controls, increasing government salaries with little regard
for budget constraints, and fueling inflation by printing money to
finance government expenditures. The
Economist Intelligence Unit estimates that Zimbabwe's government
ran a deficit of 11.5 percent of gross domestic product in 2001,
with the economy shrinking by over 7 percent.
Inflation last year was well over 100 percent, and unemployment is
now over 60 percent. Yet Mugabe steadfastly refused
to adopt the reforms necessary to restore economic stability; both
the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) refuse to
lend to Zimbabwe while its government refuses to implement policies
that would restore economic stability.
- Trampling the
rule of law and freedom of speech. In an effort to
increase support for his presidency, Mugabe set in motion a plan to
confiscate farmland without compensation, later urging his
supporters to illegally occupy land owned by political rivals. This
policy was pursued openly despite condemnation by the Zimbabwean
Supreme Court, which ruled the invasions unconstitutional. The
government has a monopoly on broadcast media and has outlawed
criticism of President Mugabe and harassed independent print
media.
- Attacking
political opponents. The Economist Intelligence Unit also
reports that President Mugabe has employed "state-sponsored
political violence against supporters of the opposition, Movement
for Democratic Change (MDC), measures to suppress the judiciary and
the media, and attempts to manipulate the electoral register." Government-sanctioned violence
against his political rivals led to the deaths of at least 26
people in 2002 alone, as well as numerous beatings and other
assaults and willful destruction and damage of private property.
- Impeding efforts
of impartial election observers. Because Mugabe's tactics
would not have passed muster, any efforts to ensure a free and fair
election were stymied. Election monitors from the EU, for example,
were prevented from conducting their mission by President Mugabe,
who would not allow observers from certain EU nations to monitor
the elections. As a result, the only notable
election observers were from the Southern African Development
Community (SADC), a regional organization consisting of
representatives from Zimbabwe and 13 neighboring nations, and the
Commonwealth. In the past, these organizations have been reluctant
to criticize Mugabe and his tactics; it is therefore likely that
they will express only moderate reservations to these election
results--which is unfortunate, since the elections were neither
fair or free.
What Washington Should Do
When
the European Union election monitors were prevented from fulfilling
their mission, the EU and the United States retaliated by applying
"smart sanctions" targeting Mugabe and other important members of
his administration. These sanctions included a travel ban on Mugabe
and high-level members of his government and their families, as
well as a freeze on their overseas financial assets.
Such
measures are appropriate and should be broadened to apply to more
officials in the Mugabe government. In addition, the Bush
Administration, along with other democratic nations, should
complement the targeted sanctions by taking steps in the near term
to:
- Downgrade
diplomatic relations with Zimbabwe while the illegitimate Mugabe
government remains in power. The United States should
recall its ambassador, leaving minimal staff in the U.S. embassy in
Zimbabwe to aid U.S. citizens and businesses that remain in the
country. The Bush Administration should maintain ties with Mugabe's
opposition as well as coordinate non-governmental aid efforts.
- Deny bilateral
assistance to the Mugabe government. The temporary
suspension of U.S. bilateral aid should be continued until free and
fair elections are held. Assistance to the suffering citizens of
Zimbabwe should be provided only through non-governmental
organizations (NGOs) and charities that work independently of the
Zimbabwean government to avoid strengthening Mugabe's hold on
power. Other democratic nations should be encouraged to support
this policy by adopting similar restrictions on bilateral aid to
Zimbabwe.
- Oppose
multilateral assistance to the Mugabe government.
Multilateral assistance from the World Bank and the IMF, which is
extended only to governments, should be suspended until free and
fair elections are held in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe is currently unable
to borrow from the World Bank and the IMF because of its failure to
pay its existing loans on time but would be eligible for new loans
once it reached agreement with the institutions for repayment.
This situation in Zimbabwe is more serious
than Zimbabwe's arrears to international financial institutions.
Mugabe and his cronies alone are responsible for Zimbabwe's
economic crisis, and they should not be rewarded for sacrificing
the prosperity of ordinary Zimbabweans for their own political
interests. While the United States, as the largest donor to the
World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, has significant
influence over their lending decisions, it cannot by itself prevent
them from providing new loans to Zimbabwe. Therefore, it is
imperative that the Bush Administration voice serious opposition to
any additional multilateral assistance to Zimbabwe until
independent monitors from both the United States and the EU verify
that free and fair elections are held; the Administration also
should solicit the support of other key donor nations for that
policy.
- Support
democracy-building efforts in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe has a
vibrant civil society that has defied Mugabe's efforts at
suppression. America should encourage and support democracy in
Zimbabwe through public diplomacy, education, and support for NGOs.
Specifically, America should provide assistance to democratic
entities in Zimbabwe to give them more resources with which to
campaign against the powerful ZANU-PF and to expose the repressive
nature of the Mugabe government, help fund private broadcast media
as alternatives to the government monopoly, and increase funding
for the Voice of America to expand operations in Zimbabwe. Once a
new date for the presidential election is announced, the United
States should insist that independent election observers from the
United States--for example, from the International Republican
Institute and the National Democratic Institute for International
Affairs--be permitted to monitor the election in Zimbabwe.
Failure to punish Mugabe through such
direct actions would have negative repercussions across the region,
sending the message to repressive governments that elections by any
means and regardless of how flawed are acceptable to the
international community generally and the United States
specifically. The minimally acceptable standard desired by the
international community is free, fair, and transparent elections
that establish representative governments and that seek to adhere
to the rule of law.
Conclusion
Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe has
criticized the "smart sanctions" imposed by the European Union and
the United States as "economic terrorism," but it is Mugabe and his
cronies who terrorize Zimbabwean citizens in a desperate attempt to
maintain power. The United States and its allies should warn Mugabe
that a stolen election will not absolve him of responsibility for
his despicable actions that include murder and that increase
poverty and the destruction of the rule of law in Zimbabwe.
Brett D. Schaefer is Jay Kingham
Fellow in International Regulatory Affairs in the Center for
International Trade and Economics at The Heritage Foundation.