Old age haunts Mugabe's political life as he turns 89
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2013/2/22/reutersworld/1302221350-old-age-haunts-mugabes-political-life-a&sec=reutersworld
Friday February 22, 2013
HARARE: Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe turned 89 on Thursday determined to extend his grip on power despite concerns over his health and advanced age.Africa's oldest leader and world's second oldest after Shimon Peres of Israel, Mugabe has ruled Zimbabwe since independence from Britain in 1980.
Despite speculation over his physical fitness Mugabe accepted nomination from his ZANU-PF party to stand for another five-year term in elections due in July.
But doubts have been cast on whether he still has the physical and mental stamina to go through an election campaign and complete another full term.
"Mugabe's age and health will not allow him to remain active," said Blessing Vava, a Harare-based independent political commentator.
"Look at Pope Benedict XVI who recently announced his retirement at 85, saying his body and health does not allow him to carry duties that he used to do."
Sese Seko Mobutu a staunch catholic Greets Pope John Paul II at Kinshasa Airport
From: jotachito2003
From: jotachito2003
Observers think Mugabe wants to cling onto power for as long as is possible, then pick a successor of choice who will ensure he is shielded from prosecution for any rights abuses he may face.
"He is looking for a safe exit from politics by remaining in power until death or handing over to a successor who will guarantee that he will not be prosecuted for rights violations," said Charles Mangongera, another independent analyst He added "Mugabe realises that this is a do or die situation" and "for him I think it is an issue of personal interest rather than national interest."
But the longtime leader, who is blamed for having driven the country to pariah status, is likely to have a tough time working through an election campaign.
"Mugabe is an old man, he is not going to be moving around (the country) like he used to," said Vava. Mangongera said Mugabe faces an election hurdle in contesting with a much younger candidate, arch-rival Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, who is nearly 30 years his junior
"I don't see Mugabe withstanding a gruelling election campaign," Mangongera said.
"Look he is 89. I have seen ...television footage of him struggling to scale steps. That is indication that he is frail. Age will not allow Mugabe to mount a credible election campaign."
Mangongera said Mugabe's calls for peace ahead of the referendum on the draft constitution next month and elections are signs that he wants to redeem himself from past wrongs that have tainted his international image.
"If you listen to his language in the past months, he has been conciliatory, speaking like a statesmen. It is an attempt to secure his legacy," he said.
Mugabe and Tsvangirai were forced into a power-sharing government to avoid a tip into full scale conflict in the aftermath of a bloody presidential run-off election in 2008.
Mugabe is expected to offer his black empowerment drive to take over majority stakes in foreign owned companies as the main campaign tool.
A victory for the 89-year-old Mugabe would extend his 32 years in power, a reign that in the last decade has been marked by economic meltdown and serious rights violations. -AFP
Pope and the Vatican are a disgrace
http://www.thezimbabwemail.com/zimbabwe/7970-pope-and-the-vatican-are-a-disgrace.html
2011-05-02 01:08:00
WHAT is the Vatican
thinking? What possessed Pope Benedict and the papal authorities to invite
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe to the beatification of Pope John Paul II?
Does the Vatican not realize that Mugabe's presence was a jarring note to the beatification? Or do the papal officials just not care?
Zimbabweans expressed anger over Mugabe's presence at the ceremony.
In response to the controversy of Mugabe's visit the Vatican said said it had "nothing to hide."
Mugabe, 87, and his wife Grace, 45, filed past the casket of John Paul II on Sunday. Mugabe's presence, explained a Vatican spokesman, was a "function" of the diplomatic relations between the Holy See and Zimbabwe, "so there is nothing to hide."
There is nothing to be proud of, either.
When the British royal family revokes the wedding invitation of Syria's ambassador because the of reports that of human rights abuses, surely the Vatican could muster the moral courage to refuse to invite Mugabe to the big show at St Peter's basilica.
Mugabe is banned from traveling through Europe by the European Union and the Vatican had to obtain special permission for him to be allowed to enter the pocket statelet. It will be at least the third time that Mr Mugabe has taken advantage of the Vatican's and/or Italy's diplomatic largesse since John Paul's death.
Mugabe attended John Paul's funeral in 2005, where he stirred controversy by shaking the hand of Britain's Prince Charles. Mugabe also went to the World Food Summits in 2008 and 2009. Zimbabwe's is one of 87 foreign delegations attending the beatification.
Mugabe arrived in Rome Saturday with a large entourage, according to reports from Rome.
Zimbabwean Finance Minister Tendai Biti recently complained that Mugabe's lavish foreign trips are expected to cost the country $50 million this year, contributing to a projected deficit of some $150 million.
Zimbabwean economists agreed with Biti’s assessment that Mugabe's trips are not productive and waste precious funding.
Mugabe may be welcomed in Rome, but back in Zimbabwe he is feuding with the Catholic bishops, according to The Zimbabwean.
"There are other so-called bishops who fall under what is called the bishops' conference who are always telling lies, no truth at all," said Mugabe recently, referring to the Catholic bishops' conference.
Did the Vatican think that it could engage Mugabe in a discussion and persuade him to stop human rights abuses and allow free and fair elections? The Catholic bishops could have told them that such discussions have always been futile.
