Birthday Bash

Just been re-reading the blog and came across my thoughts last year on Mugabe's birthday. Well, we're here again. He's 84 and another huge party was organised accompanied by an event at a stadium in Beitbridge, a town just over the border from South Africa.

The South African media report consistently on the events in Zimbabwe and are just as outraged as the British media. Of course there is outrage.

But world leaders allow the situation to continue - South Africa's Mbeki in the spotlight here for failing in his duty to mediate between Mugabe and Zimbabwe's opposition parties and to setting down the foundations for free and fair elections at the end of March.
What does Mugabe care about these talks though? He changed his mind and announced he's running again in the elections, as well as creating a new constitution to allow him to do this, rather than rolling out the one that was agreed to in the talks.

He was flown in by the country's air force to his birthday celebrations joined by 10,000 invited guests apparently. He is still a formidable figure inside and outside Zimbabwe and in this world of freedom and fairness, of democracy and transparency - that's the extraordinary thing.

But it seems that these modern day checks and catch phrases mean nothing when it comes down to it. Look at Kenya - a robbed election victory and the players themselves seem to be happy to negotiate for Prime Minister positions and the power this role will come with, rather than a re-run.

Absence

It's now two months since I last posted anything on here - I don't understand how that happened. I'm now back in England and obviously I seem to have been struggling to find thoughts to post.

Zim has been kicking off since I was there just before I came back and when the first of the demonstrations happened. Driving into one suburb and seeing riot police and water canons was a surprise and came out of nowhere.

A few streets away people didn't even know what had happened. The demo had been given the go-ahead but then apparently the police didnt think they had the manpower to cope so instead the shields, dogs and canons were called in and beat people up. A ban on all demos - government and opposition - followed. Opposition members were arrested.

And since then articles, new pieces and commentary on Zim and Mugabe haven't been far off the lead story.