Additionally…

The events in Zimbabwe have been of utmost interest, not only as thousands upon thousands of people attempt to shake off the death grip of Robert Mugabe against all the odds but as the UK government focuses attention away from the uprising in Tibet and brings it to bear upon its old colony. On Monday Gordon Brown said that the ‘eyes of the world’ were on Zimbabwe and it’s election, presumably the eyes of the world should be on Zimbabwe because it is slightly less embarrassing to the Labour government for people to watch that than to be made any more aware of the repression taking place in Tibet.
No surprise there then, but watch out for the telling statements in Parliament today. Commons leader Harriet Harman, standing in for Gordon Brown at prime minister’s questions, said MPs felt “concern and solidarity for the people of Zimbabwe and that they should have their democratic election respected and recognised”.
So MP’s feel concern and solidarity with the people of Zimbabwe, who are doing their best to take their country back from an individual who has mismanaged it for years. Strange that these same MP’s should not feel the same concern and solidarity for those Tibetans who are doing their best to take their country back from a nation who has occupied it, repressed it’s culture and isolated it’s people from political representation since 1951.
Ah but I’ve done it again, gone all principled and stuck my head up in the clouds, Ms Harman quickly explained the situation for us all by adding that that the UK was Zimbabwe’s biggest donor and would be “ready to step up that support”.
So it comes down to money then eventually. That concern and solidarity would only seem to stem from the fact that the MP’s want to make sure that the money is going to make a good return on it’s investment. Something that Robert Mugabe’s stewardship of the country, with it’s astronomical interest rates and subsequent poverty stricken billionaires, simply has not done.