Another example of someone in the developing world taking advantage of publicity over terrorism in the United States to advance his or her agenda. Somebody sent several envelopes containing a white powder to government officials in Zimbabwe. Although tests have confirmed it is not anthrax, they are still supposedly trying to find out exactly what the substance is.
Which did not stop officials in Robert Mugabe’s government — which has become an informal dictatorship — from quickly determining who was behind the letters: white people and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change party.
A more likely explanation is that someone in Mugabe’s party sent the letters. For example, last year somebody — probably Zimbabwe security forces — set off a bomb at an MDC headquarters, and Mugabe’s government wasted no time in blaming the act of terrorism on the MDC itself.
This week, Zimbabwe’s legislature will almost certainly pass legislation making it illegal to for opposition parties like the MDC to criticize Mugabe without getting his permission first. Great Britain is on the verge of suspending Zimbabwe from the Commonwealth and the European Union is considering sanctions targeted at Zimbabwe’s ruling elite.
And, as usual, the Americans will probably have to step forward with plenty of food aid to prevent starvation in Zimbabwe for years to come.
Source:
Zimbabwe’s anthrax ‘gimmick’. The BBC, January 10, 2002.