Robert Mugabe must step down. This is what many Zimbabweans expect from the ruling leader of the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), who constructed Zimbabwe’s current crisis with his own hands.
Half of Zimbabwe’s population is facing famine, hundreds of thousands have been displaced, 80 per cent of adults are unemployed, and the rule of law has been replaced by a self-appointed elite. ZANU-PF has faced strong opposition from the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), headed by Morgan Tsvangirai, and from the country’s suffering populace. Although many Zimbabweans have spoken out against the ruling party’s illegitimacy, they’ve suffered the consequences. The crackdown on Tsvangirai supporters during the country’s election season demoralised many. Under Mugabe, dissidents have been tortured, imprisoned, and murdered, while others have been forced into exile. Those who remain in Zimbabwe have suffered immensely, and their empowerment is the country’s last hope. For that reason, humanitarian aid should be the international community’s fi rst priority in dealing with the crisis. Resolving the political power struggle comes second.
Mediation efforts have largely failed, and a tenuous power-sharing agreement between Mugabe and Tsvangirai seems to have reached a standstill. Mugabe refuses to give up Home Affairs— the ministry in charge of the police force, which brutalized Tsvangirai supporters during the election—and Tsvangirai refuses to let him have it. This impasse has caused riots in Harare. Zimbabweans desperately need humanitarian aid, cut off by Western leaders who oppose Mugabe’s tyranny. Tsvangirai’s and Mugabe’s stubborness is quickly pulling Zimbabwe into a state of emergency.
Inflation is hitting record highs, food supplies are dropping, and deadly cholera outbreaks further threaten citizens. The World Food Programme warned that it would have to cut rations due to a lack of funds from donors, requesting $140 million in donations to prevent supplies from running dry. Western nations have agreed to supply the nation with aid as long as Mugabe’s regime is not reinstated. If a resolution isn’t agreed upon soon, the country could collapse.
But political stability is not Zimbabwe’s highest priority at the moment— the survival of its citizens matters much more. Neither Mugabe nor Tsvangirai seem to recognize this. If Mugabe is disposed of before aid is issued, then pro-Mugabe supporters may run rampant under an MDC leadership; a civil war could be the inevitable conclusion. An agreement with Mugabe as President and Tsvangirai as Prime Minister may be the only way to resolve the conflict without additional violence.
Humanitarian aid must be unconditional. UN forces should intervene and administer help before more people starve and disease spreads. Only afterwards can negotiation and peace be made a top priority. Disposing of one leader too rashly could foment a civil war as tensions continue to mount.
