In 1980, the oppressive, apartheid government of Rhodesia relinquished power to a democratically elected regime led by an idealistic revolutionary, Robert S. Mugabe. The country, rechristened Zimbabwe, was seen as a model for freedom fighters in other states in the region, in particular neighboring South Africa, where democracy was finally reestablished in 1994 with the transfer of power from the white minority to Nelson Mandela's African National Congress.
Over the past two decades, however, President Mugabe has squandered whatever good will he once had with much of the world. Once a net food exporter and one of southern Africa's wealthiest countries, Zimbabwe is now a dysfunctional state characterized by human rights abuses, lack of respect for the rule of law, rampant corruption, rising poverty levels, and widespread food shortages.
Mugabe and his ruling ZANU-PF party have made a mockery of recent elections, brutally terrorizing supporters of the main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), and denying food aid to regions that support MDC candidates. Instead of seeking to institute a systematic and rational land reform plan, the president has waged a vocal campaign against white farmers, seeking to expropriate their land with no compensation and urging his supporters to use violent measures, if necessary, to seize farmland. Activists around the world have condemned Mugabe's actions in recent years, yet he continues to cling to power and has even received tacit (if not direct) support from other governments in the region that praise him for standing up for "African interests."
At an OSI Forum in New York on November 7, 2002, two members of the MDC's shadow government joined two Zimbabwean human rights advocates, including one from the recently formed Save Zimbabwe campaign, to discuss the increasingly dire civil rights situation in their country. They urged other governments, in particular the United States and South Africa, to speak out more forcefully against the Zimbabwean government's actions and to take strong measures, such as economic sanctions and seizing of bank accounts and other assets held by government ministers, as part of an effort to influence change. The speakers also asserted that without more aggressive outside intervention, millions of Zimbabweans could starve to death in the coming years, partly as a result of Mugabe's indifference and vindictiveness.
For more information about the situation in Zimbabwe and the Save Zimbabwe campaign, read a personal statement by the organization's chief spokesman. The Save Zimbabwe campaign's website is savezimbabwe.com.