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Triplets that share sins of political laundering
Clyde Chakupeta
December 18, 2007

One cannot resist the temptation to look and admire the similarities and common characteristics obtainable among the three most popular politicians of the world this day. Of the three, even though the shout loud and clear that their countries are being victimized by super powers, it is an open secret that these leaders have rode on the backs of their countries at the detriment of the common good. General Musharraf of Pakistan, Chavez Hugo of Venezuela and our own Robhati Mugabe of Zimbabwe. Mentioning Mugabe lastly does not make him least, theirs is not better way of having written it than this, and they simply top the best. They tie on position one, unloved at home, embarrassing at international and regional summits and economic sabotages of their countries through myopic policies that are doctored, not for their sound merits, but to usurp and grab political power. The three men have become political poison, that is very true for all and the following is a clear summation of their doctrinal manipulation of the political systems on their respective countries.

General Musharraf on November 3 imposed a state of emergency rule in an apparent bid to hold on to the presidency. He suspended the constitution, sacked judges before they could sack him, and he curbed the media. He has however, in his democratic principles, appointed Senate chairman Soomro Mohammandmian, a close ally of his, as caretaker prime minister to oversee the elections pledged for 9 January. The appointment is a scheme to perpetuate his rule. In a paradoxical shift, the United States had hoped for a power sharing between Musharraf and Bhutto after the election, a bid meant to restore power to civilian rule. But with the fall of such anticipation, no one is sure what the elections would be for. Bhutto has threatened to boycott the elections, yet she is mobilizing opposition to gang and square it up with the general.

Musharraf, a ruler who has given himself ultimate power. People are speculating that someone, maybe his generals, maybe the United States - will advice him to step down. But it seems there is no Moses to liberate the sons and daughters of Pakistan from the claws of this misgauged of a leader.

As noted by one political analyst and I wholly subscribe to her views, Musharraf should try to and leave with dignity, perhaps people will remember his good points. Musharraf-s only defenders have been politicians who owe him their jobs since he came to power in a coup eight years ago. The same is notable in ZANU (PF) where people who are expected to taut the lines with their reasoning capacity, vow day in and day out that Mugabe is the messiah and should stand in the 2008 election. Such myriad and meandering thinking still reins in the minds of our own men and women of sound reason. Yet in the heart of their hearts they went him to secure their employment in government. Grace continues to support husband because she has no second chance to become first lady again, though the precedent was set by Graca Machel, Grace is no match to the old pillar. Many people choose to sell their rights and dignity for a song, avowing Mugabe till death. The man himself is a Catholic, follow this notation, might sound ludicrous but very questioning, Catholics have created staunch pillars for democratic rights through the social teachings of the church, yet when such men attain power, they turn their backs and persecute the same church that enlightened them on human dignity and rights.

"Hurricane Hugo" Chavez is also a Catholic! In his bid to stay in power, following the same vein as to Mugabe and Musharraf, he has held the country at ramson to secure and maintain power. Officials say the Hurricane averages 40 hours a week on national television, pouncing and drooling his policies that have long since ceased to work. Ever had the main news at 8 in Zimbabwe, without mention of the president or any of his top men and women. Just to equate him to Mugabe and their loud mouths, Chavez recently made attacks on the ex-prime minister Jose Maria Anzar, launching hours of attack against Madrid and threatening diplomatic and business ties. The Mugabe way. The country is polarized in the middle of a passionate and sometimes violent campaign for a December 2 referendum over the Cuba ally-s proposal to change the constitution to let him run for the presidency indefinitely.
Venezuela, United States- No. 4 oil supplier called George W. Bush "the devil" at the United Nations. The man who equated Bush to the devil is a socialist who calls Cuban leader Fidel Castro his mentor, sees himself as a modern day liberator purging the region and beyond of "imperialism" and capitalism. Political analysts say his bark is worse than his bite, same with Mugabe, the man now only barks, for he has lost his teeth.

Hugo however, with oil as the main foreign currency earner, makes strides in trying to 'barking- and effecting results. If he resolves scheduling problems and go to Portugal, he will celebrate an accord to supply a third of the Spanish neighborhood oil needs. Unlike our own Mugabe, goes to meet those he calls 'patriotic supporters-, yet comes back with hands tied behind his ailing back. He has visited Muammar Kaddafi in a bid to secure oil supplies, and comes home to bark at Blair and Bush, after failing to secure the supplies needed. He praises and admires Fidel Castro, like Hugo, yet nothing has come from the socialist nation apart from the support we got during the war and the training of science teachers after independence. Can we afford to continue backing in the glories of yester-years, yet today-s generation is starving and have been turned into refugees within the country and others into exile in search of a balanced economic milieu.

Chavez, like our own ailing horse, has courted controversy at summits before, attacking those who have the mighty and power to feed their nations. Recently, the constitutional changes that have been proposed by Chavez to scrap term limits and to create a socialist state, a clear and evident usurpation and confiscation of power by the executive. Mugabe is no saint when constitution manipulation is necessary to remain fixed on the presidency. Chavez is Catholic, so is Mugabe.

Even though they have the same coating on the outward, Chavez does not always follow through on his rhetoric such as when he pledged, seven months ago, to leave the IMF. Ours truly threatened and went on to leave the Commonwealth, for the mere reason that Blair was not on his side of adulterating the economy of the budding nation. Chavez, with his threat to scrutinize the books of Spanish banks in Venezuela, worries investors who have seen him nationalize billions of dollars worth of foreign assts this year. Mugabe has adopted the same method of play, with no buttressing ideology behind, apart from the flimsy reasoning that others are doing it.

A mixing bilateral political issue with the local operations of private companies . . . . . . establishes a very negative precedent". Hugo provoked a rebuke by the King of Spain, Juan Carlos 1, for his boorish behaviour, not unlike his appearance at the UN in 2006, where he likened George W, Bush to the devil. At the 17th Ibero-American summit in Santiago, Chile, attended by heads of State and Governments of twenty-two countries and the Iberian Peninsula. He accused Jose Maria Anzar, of having backed the US led invasion of Iraq, - which he did - and for having supported the 2002 attempt against Mr. Chavez, for which there is no evidence in the public domain. Mugabe has used the same tactic; remember what has led to the death of Gunda early this year. Many soldiers have disappeared with those implicated in to be the leaders having been made to die in "accidents".

The three man draw on all sorts of historical allusions and connotations of rank, privilege, class and race to depict themselves as the wronged parties in a neo-colonialist spat between themselves and the old imperial powers (Spain and Britain). However, the Spanish monarch is himself no neo-imperialist. He is highly popular and much loved in Spain. He is regarded as a champion of democracy for having successfully overseen the transition of the country from General Franco-s dictatorship to a democratic constitutional monarchy and more so, for having personally faced down an attempted military coup in 1981, in the interests of preserving Spain-s fledging democracy. Mugabe and Chavez have reason to spat such personalities, realizing that they still have world renowned acumen to turn the tables against both the Venezuelan and Zimbabwean dictators. Every dictator would not want to come face to face to one who has castrated the dictatorial tendencies of one of theirs. Mugabe and Chavez thus are men who hold their hearts in their hands and are scared of everyone, reason why they lack civility at international summits and end up misusing the privilege to address such and abuse fellow leaders. Leaders whose nations are flourishing under well thought polities. Mugabe relies on "War veterans" like Sibanda to moot economic and political policies. That could be bush politics, worthy of flushing down the now common blair toilets in most cities and towns, due to water shortage and power failures.

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