When Robert Mugabe bullied white Zimbabwean farmers from their land, lefties cheered at what they thought was an unpleasant but ultimately justified righting of the colonial scales. What could go wrong? Mugabe vilified the Brits and could see that every problem the country had was rooted in the pilfering of good land from the native peoples. Zimbabwean land was good, it was exporting food, and it doesn't take much brains to grow food on good land, right? Private property rights? Who needs those when you've got leftist ideology!
Trouble was, Mugabe was and is a cheap thug who was covering up his own pilfering of land with the rhetoric that useful idiots all over the world snap up time and time again. Who got the land after the legal owners were pressured out? Not the black Zimbabweans who could have put it to best use (the former employees of the former owners). Mugabe's buddies.
Now, in the space of only a few years, hunger has returned to what was once an exporter of food. Mugabe has gone on blaming the legacy of colonialism, but the line doesn't convince as many idiots as it once did. And now, in what is a tacit confession of his own idiocy, Mugabe is inviting the white farmers back! From The Telegraph:
The prospect of a return for white farmers was dangled by Mr Gono, Mr Mugabe's leading economic policy maker, in a rambling three-hour statement in which he also announced a 31 per cent devaluation of the Zimbabwean dollar.
He said: "In order to ensure maximum productivity levels, there is great scope in the country promoting and supporting joint ventures between the new farmers with progressive-minded former operators as well as other new investors, so as to hasten the skills transfer cycle."
During the evictions, some white farmers were murdered and many others were beaten and their families abused. The evictions prompted the collapse of the agriculture sector, the traditional engine of the economy.
Those who took over the farms had no specialist knowledge - and most farmland now lies uncultivated. The machinery has been stolen, buildings have been plundered and the former workers are starving.
Eddie Cross, the economics spokesman for the opposition Movement for Democratic Change - which was heavily defeated by the ruling Zanu-PF party in recent parliamentary elections that were widely condemned as being rigged - said that Mr Gono was desperate.
Mr Cross said: "He's got no power and he can't deliver. The reality is a thousand miles away from everything he says. He wants to regain some credibility with multilateral institutions. He has meetings with the International Monetary Fund and World Bank next month. This is about having something to say to those guys. The only salvation will be a change of government and a return to the rule of law.
"Until then, no one's going to invest here or come back. Who on earth is going to do anything in agriculture when there is such dispute over land ownership? They'd be mad."
While Mr Gono's words could be interpreted as an admission that the land seizure policy pursued by Mr Mugabe - which led to him becoming an international pariah - had failed, they offered little comfort to the dispossessed.
One tobacco and cattle farmer, who was forced off his property by armed squatters in 2000, said: "He can't be serious. My house has been burnt down, my fields destroyed and he wants to invite me back?
While we can only hope that Mugabe will suffer a bit of what he has caused others, we can be sure that the real losers are the Zimbabwean people.
Tanuki said:
"When Robert Mugabe bullied white Zimbabwean farmers from their land"
What do you mean "their" land? Kind of like America is 'your' land? Kind of like if I moved into your families home after killing most of them, stayed for a while, then it would be MY home? So, is this just another part of that capitalist ethic which we're all to honor?KB
"lefties cheered at what they thought was an unpleasant but ultimately justified righting of the colonial scales."
Yes, it was. And it was great to see how the media immediately went into propaganda mode talking about how everything was going to fall to hell if whitey wasn't there holding it all together, even though blacky was doing all the work, as usual.KB
"What could go wrong?"
The obvious could go wrong. There would be immediate sanctions by whitey's partners. A lot of the money made by whitey off the backs of blacky would begin flowing out of the country thereby making it look as though blacky's economic system wasn't working. These are the usual steps which take place when there is movement towards the population taking control of their countries.KB
"Mugabe vilified the Brits"
Yeah, he should have been thanking them for colonizing HIS country, in order for them to take care of poor dumb blacky who has only lived there for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Once again, Tanuki believes the slaves owe the master, and that the masters are the victims. Poor whitey. Personally, I think whitey should be thankful that they let them live at all.KB
"and could see that every problem the country had was rooted in the pilfering of good land from the native peoples."
Not at all. But that's not the point. The point is that it's not the Brits country. Period. And if the population of that country decides it's time for whitey to go, then they should pack up their bags, thank them for giving them the opportunity to exploit them for all of those years, and get his white ass out.KB
"Zimbabwean land was good"
Still is. Do you really think that it's necessary for whitey to be supervising things for them to work well, even though blacky had already been doing most of the work to keep the lands healthy? Poor dumb blacky. Just can't survive without that benign paternalistic care of whitey.KB
"it was exporting food"
Yes, it was. And like most countries that whitey controls, it was exporting food to whitey while it's own population starved. But who cares about ones own population as long as exports are good? And do you think that exports could not continue just because someone else was at the helm? Why wouldn't they? If I came into the house which you stole from me, and from which you had an export business, and kicked your ass out, what would this have anything at all to do with whether I could keep exporting? Nothing at all. The only possible reason it would change is if the folks on the receiving end refused to get accepting your product. And why would they do this? Perhaps having their partner in exploitation removed causes them to react in such a way.KB
"and it doesn't take much brains to grow food on good land, right?"
The Africans have been doing it far longer than whitey.KB
"Private property rights?"
This has nothing to do with anything. So, ytou're saying that if someone has enough money that they can buy up all they want, anywhere they want, etc...that they actually have some sort of right? They have no right unless the population determines that they do. And even then it's an artificial construction which amounts to little more than words on paper.KB
"Who needs those when you've got leftist ideology!"
Exactly! I say that whitey should pay back blacky for all of the money they accumulated during their exploitative reign.KB
"Trouble was, Mugabe was and is a cheap thug who was covering up his own pilfering of land with the rhetoric that useful idiots all over the world snap up time and time again."
And the folks who YOU support are never thugs? AHAHAHAH!!! Well, he may be a thugm which I've seen no proof of yet, but at least he's a thug from HIS country. And if it is true that he's a thug, then he's qualified to be a U.S. client. Hoever, there's one glaring difference. He, like Castro, or the Sandinistas, haven't killed thousands of their own people, as have most of those who YOU are responsible for.KB
"Who got the land after the legal owners were pressured out? Not the black Zimbabweans who could have put it to best use (the former employees of the former owners). Mugabe's buddies."
Well, shit happens when you are trying to readjust a country from the bottom up. But we all know that no one surrounding Bush has benefitted from his being the President. AHAHAHAHAH!!! I mean, BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!KB
"Now, in the space of only a few years, hunger has returned to what was once an exporter of food."
Yes, as was to be expected. This always happens when the previous criminals try to make sure the country's liberators fail. This is no secret. This is always done. It's the same pattern and it's not even secret. For instance, in regards to the Sandinistas, it was even pointed out that the goal of the U.S. was to bleed the country through various means, making them channel their limited funds to defense from the Contra terrorists, thereby, causing the economy to go into ruin, and giving the U.S. candidate an issue to win on: Saving the country from economic collapse. It's been done MANY times. Are you actually unaware of this common phenomena?KB
"Mugabe has gone on blaming the legacy of colonialism"
As he should given that most every country which were subject to colonialism didn't start to prosper until the colonialists were kicked out. You live in Japan. You should be very well aware of this. None of the countries which Japan had colonized developed until their asses were booted.KB
"but the line doesn't convince as many idiots as it once did."
Yes, THESE people are the idiots. Only the smart guys, like whitey, know what really should be done.KB
"And now, in what is a tacit confession of his own idiocy, Mugabe is inviting the white farmers back!"
Yes, he should be booted for this gesture. But then again maybe he's decided that if bringing the colonialists back is the only way to regain the connects with their money sources, then perhaps the move is a smart way to make more money. It will give the appearance of a 'white facade', sort of like the Arab facade the west said would be necessary for controlling the oil in the middle east.KB
"While we can only hope that Mugabe will suffer a bit of what he has caused others, we can be sure that the real losers are the Zimbabwean people."
Once again, Tanuki sides with the colonizers over the people. It's really great when a system so depraved can be assembled whereby one group can steal anothers country, use the residents of the country stolen to do all the work in developing the country, thereby, eventually leading to the inevitable resentment by the population of the country once they begin to realize they been being screwed, only to have the people beg to have their exploiters back once they've been liberated from them. Now, that's a scam that would be hard to duplicate by any two-bit con-artist. I say Mugabe should allow those farmers back who wish to keep working the land, but make sure that they have no more than the poorest person of the country.KB
Posted by: KB | May 23, 2005 at 07:16 PM