Zimbabwe [EM]

[Narins, Josh]

Just over the wire....

"The U.S. condemned the 2000 election in the country as having
 'denied the people of Kyrgyzstan the right to exercise their
 vote in a free and fair political context.' Akayev claimed 74 percent
 of the the ballots cast and a third term in office."

Doesn't stop us from using Kygryz military bases, though.



-----Original Message-----
From: Narins, Josh 
Sent: Monday, March 18, 2002 5:08 PM
To: 'election-methods-list at eskimo.com'
Subject: RE:Zimbabwe [EM]


>>>> However, I really don't know who the MPDC (the opposition)
>>>> was.

>> MDC.  Movement for Democratic Change.

I knew that much. What I don't know is what they stand for, or, what sort of
backgrounds their leaders have. Who funds them? Are they just another band
of thugs, who happen to the illegal victims of political suppression?

None of these questions have even been approached in the articles I have
read in the Economist, Bloomberg.com, or in any media I've seen.

Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar's opposition leader, under house arrest for many
years now, earned the Nobel Peace Prize. Could her MDC counterpart come
close?

The advantages of trading one band of thugs for another is limited.

For the record, there was a lot more violence in the 1982 Guatemala election
than in Zimbabwe in 2002, and the entire US establishment couldn't crow
enough how wonderful things had become with election in Central America.

This time, the winner is not the rest of the world's choice, and 33 dead and
a very large margin of victory (56 to 42) is insufficient.

Historically, we complain about elections where we don't like the result,
and ignore election irregularities where we do.



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This message is intended only for the personal and confidential use of the designated recipient(s) named above.  If you are not the intended recipient of this message you are hereby notified that any review, dissemination, distribution or copying of this message is strictly prohibited.  This communication is for information purposes only and should not be regarded as an offer to sell or as a solicitation of an offer to buy any financial product, an official confirmation of any transaction, or as an official statement of Lehman Brothers.  Email transmission cannot be guaranteed to be secure or error-free.  Therefore, we do not represent that this information is complete or accurate and it should not be relied upon as such.  All information is subject to change without notice.