Former US official says don’t let Mugabe win

A former State Department official today said the United States should not let Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front leader Robert Mugabe win tomorrow’s elections.

Todd Moss, who was Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of African Affairs at the US Department of State from May 2007 to October 2008, said “even if (Mugabe) is declared the winner of the July 31 poll, this will in no way reflect the will of the Zimbabwean people. It will be a sham that the United States and its allies must not unwittingly legitimize”.

In a repeat of what he told the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee of African Affairs last month, Moss said this was not the time for the State Department to sit on its hands and merely wait for Mugabe to die before pushing for change. “The time to influence Zimbabwe’s future is now.”

Writing in Politico, Moss clearly stated that the call by the United States for change in Zimbabwe was to protect United States interests and not those of Zimbabweans.

“The upcoming election is in no way an expression of democracy; it is instead political theater being stage-managed by Mugabe and his junta,” he said.

“Meanwhile, the U.S. government has been asleep at the wheel, haggling over minor election details and impotently calling for everyone to behave. Worse, the United States is sending worrying signals of future indifference. Zimbabwe has the long-term potential to be an economic driver for southern Africa and a partner for the United States and its private sector. But we risk ceding that potential to others while also visibly failing to stand by our democratic ideals.”

Moss. who advocated military intervention in 2008,said the United States should not ease the pressure on Zimbabwe and must continue to work with future leaders, plan for quick-reacting forms of recovery assistance and find creative ways to aid democratic forces.

“The July 31 election may not bring Zimbabwe the change it needs, but America’s reaction afterwards is an opportunity to recalibrate. If US officials are seen as quietly accepting a deeply flawed election, it will damage America’s reputation at just the time the United States needs to be standing on principle by helping the country turn away from the hatred and fear of the past and toward a new Zimbabwe based on openness, prosperity, and freedom. Real change is coming to Zimbabwe one day — and America should be prepared,” he said.

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