Zimbabwe’s Struggle: Peace vs. Provocation

Opposition Movement for Democratic Change Candidate Morgan Tsvangirai: “We ask for the U.N. to go further than its recent resolution, condemning the violence in Zimbabwe, to encompass an active isolation of the dictator Mugabe. For this we need a force to protect the people. We do not want armed conflict, but the people of Zimbabwe need the words of indignation from global leaders to be backed by the moral rectitude of military force. Such a force would be in the role of peacekeepers, not trouble-makers. They would separate the people from their oppressors and cast the protective shield around the democratic process for which Zimbabwe yearns.”

President Robert Mugabe: “We will proceed with our election, the verdict is our verdict. Other people can say what they want, but the elections are ours. We are a sovereign state, and that is it. Those who will want to recognize us on the basis of objectivity will do so. Those who don't, keep your judgment to yourselves. Our people are going to vote, and that vote will decide whether we have won or lost. They can shout as loud as they like from Washington or from London, or from any other quarter. Our people, only our people, will decide, and no one else.”