Whose Victory is it?

A victory over racism? Not quite!

The defeat, by veto, of the recent UN Security Council resolution concerning Zimbabwe is being praised by Robert Mugabe and his fraudulent government as "a victory over racism and meddling in its affairs."

This was not a victory over racism, it was a victory over democracy and the rule of law. What has happened here is that a precedent has been set that authoritarian governments who abuse their power to maintain their position. In the future, dictators will be able to look back and point to this situation and use it to justify their actions.

What is really ignorant in this situation is the tone that Zimbabwean officials have taken towards the international community. For example, the Information Minister Skihanyiso Ndlovu told Reuters that,

"We are very happy with the turn of events and would like to thank those who helped defeat international racism disguised as multilateral action at the U.N."

This was not a random move or an act of spite. This resolution was a show by the majority of the members of the Security Council (who are elected by the international community) to condemn the manner in which Mugabe has retained power.

And those members of the Council who helped to bring down the resolution, what was their reason? They claimed that,

"imposing sanctions would indeed have impacted negatively on the current dialogue process among Zimbabwe political parties."

That seems like a responsible answer but one that doesn't reflect the current realities of the situation. These talks, that Russia, China and South Africa were afraid of damaging, are virtually non-existent as of right now.

Reuters is reporting that, "President Robert Mugabe's party and the opposition failed last week to agree to a framework for talks to end Zimbabwe's crisis." Without even a framework in place, how can these three nations believe that taking action against the Mugabe government would negatively influence the talks when the two parties cannot even agree to the manner in which the two sides will come together.

In the end, these members are using the talks as a shield from their unwillingness to take a stand against the ongoing attrocities.

This was a victory for Mugabe and Mugabe alone and has nothing to do with racism or influencing the peace talks.

- blenCOWe