britains responsibility

[Reidy's Bottle Of Grecian]

most will be suprised at the serious nature of this thread given that i have started it.

given that it's not that long ago that zimbabwe gained independence do we still have a responsibility to people who for years we're part of our extended family ?
i think that if assistance was offered then the people of zimbabwe would be very grateful, this is the sort of foreign involvement that we should be undertaking instead of some of our other involvements.
i say get in there drag the despot out and stick him on trial in the hague, but not just dump zim back in the crap, give them the assistance that they ask for, we handed over power to this guy and have then just washed our hands of it ever since.
most people won't realise that we also washed our hands in palestine and handed over land to israel before buggering off and leaving a nation displaced.
they say the british empire was red on maps because of blood spilled but there's been a hell of a lot more spilled since it's collapse.
we stopped trading with our commonwealth family when ted heath put us in the common market, new zealand was our main supplier of dairy produce until then, we signed up and had to stop buying off them due to the butter mountains etc, they say they have never recovered from the recession that we put them into.
i say britain would be stronger if we started trading within the commonwealth again (without the exploitation this time)rather than the e.u. and a lot of commonwealth countries would jump at the chance.
but in the mean time lets get mugabe out...we owe it to zimbabwe.

 

[DENNIS STEVENS]

unfortunately, we can do very little, or at least we have to appear to do very little due to all the colonial baggage. the people who can & should get involved are other african countris, notably south africa.

 

[Jamo Martinez]

Thoughtful, well expressed post there Reidy. Certainly be more useful than some of our other 'adventures' on foreign soil, as you said.

 

[McBain]

I wouldnt know to much about this really, but Africa in general is a pretty un helpable place.

Im not sure what else Britain could do. Its up to the people of their own country to stand up, it always has been. If Zimbabweans cant band together and create a democracy and a fairer systen for themselves then someone else doing by force (or indeed any involvement) will be interfering.

Give em some money and it wont end up with the people.

If I was Britain Id worry about my own house before tidying up anyone elses.

Just my limited opinion.

 

[Reidy's Bottle Of Grecian]

I wouldnt know to much about this really, but Africa in general is a pretty un helpable place.

Im not sure what else Britain could do. Its up to the people of their own country to stand up, it always has been. If Zimbabweans cant band together and create a democracy and a fairer systen for themselves then someone else doing by force (or indeed any involvement) will be interfering.

Give em some money and it wont end up with the people.

If I was Britain Id worry about my own house before tidying up anyone elses.

Just my limited opinion.

thing is , when it all kicks off propper over there, we'll be giving refuge to mugabe's mob as political refugees and having to deal with them over here.

 

[ToffeeDan]

Just give someone a gun to kill the motherfecker

TD

 

[McBain]

Just give someone a gun to kill the motherfecker

TD

Im sure theres a few floating around there.

Hasnt he been in power for ages anyway?

 

[monty]

Mugabe is by no means the first black tyrant in Africa, Idi Amin was once assessed by the FO as being a good egg who played football. IMO Mugabe is amongst the biggest racists in the world, unfortunately his history is such that we trained him to a degree. We should let the Africans sort him out and if they will not then use the UN. Our little nation is already doing far too much policing in the world hopefully some one will take TD's advice and shoot the prick, we can but hope.

 

[Reidy's Bottle Of Grecian]

Im sure theres a few floating around there.

Hasnt he been in power for ages anyway?[/quote]

he has , by rigging elections, killing opposition, sending his henchmen to torture anyone who speaks out against him. the bbc are banned from zim. for reporting what goes on there and now have to sneak in and out, risking probably what his opposition get done to them.
it was known as the bread basket of africa, a place where you could plant a walking stick and grow a tree because the land was so fertile. his thugs took over the farms, the farmers left empty handed and the workers macheted, now the farmland is ruined, theres no food on the shelves, no petrol and if you can find anything to buy it costs your life savings,
a friend who's wife is from there said that you used to get 10 u.s.$ for 1 zim. now it's around 1,000,000 zim to 1 u.s.
yet the world sits back and watches, and why....NOT RICH WITH OIL !!!
maybe some osama sightings would get them over there but they'd still probably leave mugabe alone.

 

[monty]

Im sure theres a few floating around there.

Hasnt he been in power for ages anyway?[/quote]

he has , by rigging elections, killing opposition, sending his henchmen to torture anyone who speaks out against him. the bbc are banned from zim. for reporting what goes on there and now have to sneak in and out, risking probably what his opposition get done to them.
it was known as the bread basket of africa, a place where you could plant a walking stick and grow a tree because the land was so fertile. his thugs took over the farms, the farmers left empty handed and the workers macheted, now the farmland is ruined, theres no food on the shelves, no petrol and if you can find anything to buy it costs your life savings,
a friend who's wife is from there said that you used to get 10 u.s.$ for 1 zim. now it's around 1,000,000 zim to 1 u.s.
yet the world sits back and watches, and why....NOT RICH WITH OIL !!!
maybe some osama sightings would get them over there but they'd still probably leave mugabe alone.

What you say is correct Reidy and it is that which will be his undoing. Politics in that part of the world is also tribal, that fact that he has lost the common vote to this degree is a sign that he will be overthrown. The only trouble is that his successor is likely to be a soldier, remember Uganda. Africa cannot afford another Uganda or Ruanda, I would like to see the likes of S Africa, Ghana, Nigeria and even Egypt involved in some way but I honestly believe that it has too come from within that continent.

 

[Bluelass]

I watched a film called The Last King of Scotland which was about Idi Amin and it was quite harrowing. No doubt some elaboration of the real events but still very sobering stuff. I had nightmares after watching some of the scenes. The world stood by while atrocities went on and a madman took hold of a country. The principle of tyrrany is the same, wipe out your enemies and you will have the power.

In my opinion we have some responsibilities, let's face it, we rush into wars against nations and dictators (Saddam) who 'threaten' the world order and in the name of human rights, though I have no idea how any other nation could legally intervene in Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe is a so called democracy but Mugabe is no less a tyrant than Saddam or Amin.
God help them all.