Botswana Shows Admirable Strength

Giving credit where credit is due, the government of Botswana, one of the continents most stable and successful democracies, should be saluted for stepping up and openly challenging the legitimacy of Robert Mugabe's continued rule in Zimbabwe. Botswana's delegates to the recent AU summit refused to recognize Mugabe as president of Zimbabwe following last week's election in which he was the only candidate, the opposition candidate Morgan Tsvangirai having withdrawn out of fear for his and his supporters physical safety. Some other African states, such as Tanzania and Liberia, have strongly criticized Mugabe following the election, but others, most notably South Africa under President Thabo Mbeki, have made excuses for Mugabe while refusing to take any measures to stabilize Zimbabwe and provide respite for its people.

Botswana has raised the possibilty of military conflict in order to force some stability, a measure not entirely uncalled for considering the mryiad of Zimbabwean refugees that continue to pour into the neighboring country. If violence results, it must be seen as directly the result of Mugabe's despotic rule and consequent ruination of Zimbabwe, causing a mounting crisis to the entire region that many of the most significant power players have miserably failed to address.