Robert Mugabe Under House Arrest In Apparent Zimbabwe Military Coup

[Adar]

I don't think anyone suggested America should help. I was just saying, it's definitely newsworthy that one of the world's most infamous and long-lasting dictators is finally falling, especially given potential ramifications for regional instability in a part of Africa which is usually extremely stable. The US isn't really a major player in Subsahran Africa anyway, it's never been a part of the world they had much influence over except in concert with France and Britain and they are losing their tenuous grip there by the day. China is the country Zimbabweans are now looking to. In fact there's growing evidence this coup was Chinese backed.

There is currently an ongoing insurgency in Mocambique so extremely stable is by African standards only. But having China starting to mess with African dictators is actually kind of awesome news. China is completely heartless when dealing with Africa and are building a very bad reputation among the average population as they bring in their own work force for infrastructure development and mining while contributing a minimum to local development. So their competitive edge have been their ability to bribe local politicians which should be a lot harder if these politicians now need to worry about being overthrown by the Chinese if they become too influential.

[RandomPerson2000]

ZANU-PF, Mugabe's own political party has sacked him as leader and has removed his wife, Grace Mugabe, as head of the ZANU-PF Women’s League and barred her from the party for life. The Party has also given Mugabe a deadline to resign as President before noon of Monday, failure to do so will mean he will be impeached. I say it is certain by now that Robert Mugabe's political career is finished.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-42043370
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-1...-party/9166716
http://www.straitstimes.com/world/af...e-to-step-down
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-z...-idUSKBN1DJ069

[Condottiere 40K]

They could write a musical for her.

You could see him grooming one of his kids for a dynastic succession, but his wife was universally despised.

[Copperknickers II]

There is currently an ongoing insurgency in Mocambique so extremely stable is by African standards only. But having China starting to mess with African dictators is actually kind of awesome news. China is completely heartless when dealing with Africa and are building a very bad reputation among the average population as they bring in their own work force for infrastructure development and mining while contributing a minimum to local development.

Unlike Western countries of course who never do anything of the sort ...

So their competitive edge have been their ability to bribe local politicians which should be a lot harder if these politicians now need to worry about being overthrown by the Chinese if they become too influential.

Again, bribery is pretty endemic among Western corporations in Africa as much as Chinese ones.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-b...-idUSKBN1AH3HD
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/17/b...-och-ziff.html
https://www.ft.com/content/51060cbe-...9-9445cac8966f
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/...on-probe-nine/

What happened in Zimbabwe wasn't Mugabe per se, it was the planned succession of Grace being poorly organised and unpopular among many in the Zimbabwean elite. So it was a case of opportunism. Indeed it's not clear to what extent the Chinese were actually involved, they may have been just giving and receiving guarantees of support with a guy who was already planning on mounting a coup of some sort.

[Condottiere 40K]

I believe that Grace was busy purging any rivals and their supporters from the Party, instead of establishing alliances with competing factions.

[Condottiere 40K]

Apparently, God has convinced Mugabe to resign his office of the Presidency.

[The Gurkhan]

He's gone at last.

One of the few things worse than Bob staying on or a violent coup would have been his dreadful wife obtaining absolute power. This was an internal coup by the tyrant's henchmen since the crooked financial interests of its leaders were also being threatened by a dire economic situation.

That being said, things have to start somewhere and possibly his replacements may realize things can't go on as they are.

[Condottiere 40K]

Might explain that proffer of making him a WHO goodwill ambassador, as a way to retire and fill his time.

[The Gurkhan]

Blair the peace envoy. Mugabe the goodwill ambassador.

[Henry of Grosmont]

Blair the peace envoy. Mugabe the goodwill ambassador.

Are you honestly comparing those two?

[Copperknickers II]

Are you honestly comparing those two?

You're right, it's not a tasteful comparison. The Iraq War and its aftermath killed far more people than Robert Mugabe ever did.

[Ziltoid]

Now that Mugabe is gone i hope Zimbabwe takes turn for the better.

https://www.news24.com/Africa/Zimbab...-land-20170604

Would have likely been yet another example of kicking out the "bad white farmers" and then failing to fill the void in food production left by them and country going to starvation mode.

Like this earlier case: https://qz.com/458137/mugabe-is-aski...e-chased-away/

So yeah good riddance.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Starved and ruined economy of his own already poor country just for sake of xenophobic racist patriotism. Not very wise move to shoot yourself in the own leg like that, just too bad for the regular people who suffered from it, he didn't in his palace. This coup should have happened already few decades earlier. But knowing Africa, i somehow have my doubts things from now on will be just smooth sailing either.

[hellheaven1987]

Unlike Western countries of course who never do anything of the sort ...

The only difference between China and West in Africa is West at least hire local workers (even in very low payment), while China does not.

[Adar]

The only difference between China and West in Africa is West at least hire local workers (even in very low payment), while China does not.

No the differences are bigger than that and I am a bit surprised by Copperknickers response. There are numerous transgressions committed by Western nations, companies and aid organisations in Africa. But at least there are efforts by Western governments to prevent western companies from supporting corruption (like for example the investigations mentioned in Copperknickers links). China on the other hand claims that it has a "non-interference policy" which in reality is only used to provide funding for African leaders willing to open their markets to Chinese companies which does not benefit the local African economies.

http://docs.aiddata.org/ad4/files/wp...corruption.pdf
Abstract: Considering the mounting criticisms concerning Chinese aid practices, the present paper investigateswhether Chinese aid projects fuel local-level corruption in Africa. To this end, we geographically match a newgeo-referenced dataset on the subnational allocation of Chinese development finance projects to Africa over the2000-2012 period with 98,449 respondents from four Afrobarometer survey waves across 29 African countries.By comparing the corruption experiences of individuals who live near a site where a Chinese project is beingimplemented at the time of the interview to those of individuals living close to a site where a Chinese project willbe initiated but where implementation had not yet started at the time of the interview, we control for unobservabletime-invariant characteristics that may influence the selection of project sites. The empirical results consistentlyindicate more widespread local corruption around active Chinese project sites. The effect, which lingers after theproject implementation period, is seemingly not driven by an increase in economic activity, but rather seems tosignify that the Chinese presence impacts norms. Moreover, China stands out from the World Bank and otherbilateral donors in this respect. In particular, whereas the results indicate that Chinese aid projects fuel localcorruption but have no observable impact on local economic activity, they suggest that World Bank aid projectsstimulate local economic activity without fuelling local corruption

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...=.0320d1bd2150
countries to which it gives aid. In what’s known as its “non-interference policy,” the Chinese government pointedly says that it is not trying to influence the political decisions of African regimes. As evidence, China often gives aid directly to state leaders and regimes, who are allowed to use it as they wish. This policy has had dire consequences. A recent study found that African leaders are almost three times more likely to spend Chinese development aid in areas where they have ethnic ties, not necessarily where aid is most needed. [Many in the West fear Chinese aid to Africa. They’re wrong.] Further, and most critical, is that when Chinese aid to a country increases, political violence rates involving state forces also increase. We suggest that receiving high levels of Chinese aid has a harmful effect on human rights and on economic and political competition across Africa.

The "no strings attached" policy has never been honest as China will punish leaders who against their political aims (for example having good relations with Taiwan). But the Chinese influence in Mugabes ousting is unique as it is the first time they act against what most African dictators really about (their own power and security).

[The Gurkhan]

Are you honestly comparing those two?

No just making a joke at the expense of meaningless international organizations.

Nevertheless, may Tony Blair burn in hell. God willing.

[Greyblades]

The western colonizers developed pretentions towards being civilizing force, the white man's burden as kipling put it, such ideas had a moderatiing effect in the colonizers interactions to the natives the longer the colonial system persisted. In many colonies it motivated at least token gestures of altruism to those whose lands they extracted from.


The chinese on the other hand have developed no such pretentions and are frequently outright psychopathic in thier self interest.

[Condottiere 40K]

Apparently, the Chinese supported the coup because the Gracian faction was making noises about nationalizing Chinese businesses.

[NorseThing]

Apparently, the Chinese supported the coup because the Gracian faction was making noises about nationalizing Chinese businesses.

I would think the country's history of failure with nationalizing the working assets of businesses would be sufficient to deter such nonsense. Perhaps it would be better to make clear that nationalization of assets is not now nor ever in the future acceptable. Let the Chinese plunder the country it that could even be possible. Let a thousand new businesses plunder the country. I cannot believe that things could get worse.

[caratacus]

Zimbabwe will not change simply by the displacement of Mugabe, he has been at the head of a corrupt system for decades. A system that has been facilitated for so long by diamond interests outside the Country.

Zimbabwe regime accused of stealing $2bn in diamonds
https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...marange-fields

Today I heard this speech by President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana and thought that Africa may have hope still if there are enough leaders like this and their words are sincere. A fine speech from him on the need to develop Africa from within to stem economic decline and mass emigration. Contrast that with the fidgeting globalist that stands next to him, who's body language obviously is showing his discomfort in such an assertive national leader.