Sunday, June 29, 2008

Zimbabwe government illigitimate

“The international community has condemned the Mugabe regime’s ruthless campaign of politically motivated violence and intimidation,” Mr. Bush said in a statement from the presidential retreat at Camp David, Md., adding that he had directed his secretaries of treasury and state to develop sanctions “against this illegitimate government of Zimbabwe and those who support it.”
The wording of the Bush statement as reported in the NY Times brings to mind what Paul Collier wrote in a recent WaPo op/ed. Collier suggested that under certain circumstances governments such as that of Robert Mugabe ". . . should temporarily lose international recognition of their legitimacy." Collier believes the temporary suspension of international recognition -- ideally orchestrated by the UN but more feasibly by the EU -- could create circumstances favorable to a military coup.

It certainly seems appropriate to speak of the Zimbabwe government in this way.


No comments:

Post a Comment

Because all comments on this blog are moderated, there will be some delay before your comment is approved.