THE situation in Zimbabwe has so deteriorated that it is difficult to believe that President Robert Mugabe will retain any credibility in Africa, let alone on the international stage where he has already been roundly condemned for his inept and brutal management of his country. Inflation, which at the beginning of the year surpassed the astounding rate of 100,000 percent seems to be on its way to doubling, standing at about 165,000 percent. Aid agencies, which are responsible for feeding and providing medical care to about 4 million Zimbabweans – about 1/3rd of the population – have been closed by Mugabe on the ludicrous charge that they are politically agitating against him. Opposition campaign rallies have been banned. State-controlled TV has announced that it will no longer carry opposition election advertisements. The opposition MDC says that 70 of its supporters have been killed by Zanu-PF operatives and countless others injured. BBC reports show MDC voters with chunks of flesh beaten out of their feet, backs and buttocks. Yesterday, news came out of Zimbabwe that four MDC members were found dead just south of Harare, one of whom was the wife of the elected mayor of Harare. Her son, who had been abducted with her, was dropped at a police station, a sign of sickening and sick compassion. Zanu-PF officials incredibly try to place the blame for the violence on the MDC, which is almost surreal given the number of times that the MDC candidate, Morgan Tsvangirai, has been detained by police in the past couple of weeks. Western intelligence services have revealed that Mugabe was prepared to hand over power to the opposition after the original presidential election but that he was persuaded by security forces to go on the offensive. Now, a document obtained by the BBC shows that the military and the police are intimately involved in the Zanu-PF campaign to win the run-off on June 27. In other words, a military coup by stealth is underway if not already effected. With some three million refugees already in South Africa unwittingly creating ethnic tensions and violence certain to increase both in the lead up to and aftermath of the election, a disaster is in the making. Either the international community comes up with a creative approach to counter the criminal activity sweeping Zimbabwe or there will be an enormous price to pay. __
