12:45 pm
Controlympics: Mugabe Wins Gold in the Deceitathon
Via Reuters:
President Robert Mugabe may have decided to abandon power-sharing talks aimed at ending Zimbabwe’s deep crisis, opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai said on Thursday. Tsvangirai said Mugabe’s intention to open parliament next Tuesday was a “repudiation” of a Memorandum of Understanding on the basis for talks to end a political deadlock that followed disputed June elections.
Hmm. Tuesday, August 26. That would be. . .exactly two days after the Olympics end.
From a July 28 story in The Telegraph (UK):
A demand by China that the Zimbabwean government “behave” in the run-up to the Olympics lies behind Robert Mugabe’s surprise decision to open negotiations with the opposition. Beijing put pressure on Mr Mugabe to begin talks because of fears that the continuing crisis in Zimbabwe risked overshadowing the Olympics, according to government and diplomatic sources.
China’s leaders, who have have long enjoyed a close relationship with Zimbabwe’s beleagured president, feared growing protests in the run-up to the Games and so leaned on Mr Mugabe to agree to the historic talks.
At the time, I wrote the following:
Turns out that China, fearing bad publicity due to its close relationship with Zimbabwe, has told Robert Mugabe and his gang of thugs to cool it for a while. . . .
And does this mean that Mugabe will renege on the power-sharing agreement as soon as the Olympics are over?
Looks like we have our answer.