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You can hear my speech at the Heritage Foundation here.

—————–
Speaker(s):
The Honorable David Coltart
Shadow Justice Minister and Member of Parliament for Bulawayo South,
Republic of Zimbabwe
Host(s):

Brett D. Schaefer
Jay Kingham Fellow in International Regulatory Affairs,
The Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom,
The Heritage Foundation
Details:

Location: The Heritage Foundation’s Allison Auditorium

The decline of Zimbabwe over the past decade is tragic. When President Robert Mugabe came to power in 1980, Zimbabwe was rightly regarded as one of the bright lights in Africa. President Mugabe inherited well-developed manufacturing and mining sectors, a competitive agricultural sector, a thriving tourist industry, and sound infrastructure. Zimbabwe was also blessed with rich mineral resources and unique natural resources that led to a thriving tourist industry. Beginning in the late 1990s, however, Mugabe began facing serious challenges to his authority. In response to the growing opposition, he initiated a ruthless, seven-year campaign to maintain political power. During that time, Mugabe has targeted his opponents for abuse, legal harassment, and economic punishment, and used his authority to reward allies. Property rights and the rule of law have been severely weakened. Ruinous economic policies have led to hyper inflation and widespread poverty.

With elections scheduled for March 2008, what are the prospects for a free and fair poll? What are the prospects for policy changes that would arrest the economic decline? What are the prospects for long-term democracy and economic growth in Zimbabwe? Please join us as The Honorable David Coltart, Shadow Justice Minister and Member of Parliament in Zimbabwe, weighs these questions

Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Zimbabwe MP David Coltart

Yesterday afternoon the Mercatus Center sponsored some brief remarks by Zimbabwe opposition MP David Coltart (wikipedia entry) who is in Washington trying to gain gain assistance for his beleaguered nation. Mr. Coltart is an interesting character, at least to American eyes: a white Zimbabwean, a former supporter of the Mugabe administration, an anti-apartheid rabble-rouser who was asked to leave South Africa in the early 80s while he was attending U. Cape Town. Nobody asked the question, but I can imagine its difficult being one of the faces of the opposition while being white. He is almost certainly dismissed by many as just the second coming of Ian Smith. His credentials would indicate otherwise.

His talk focuses primarily on the humanitarian crisis: AIDS, hyper-inflation, a lack of food, malnutrition, lowest life expectancy in the world (lower than Sudan), all coupled with a fairly consistent lack of attention by the international community. He blames this, at least in part, on the fact that the crisis is almost totally non-violent. Mercifully, the MDC has set aside violence as an option so far, although I question how long they can keep a lid on things given current conditions.

Coltart described his country as suffering under ‘fascism’ for too long: both the white-led fascism of Ian Smith and others, as well as the Zanu-PF fascism of Robert Mugabe. His talk then degenerated into a play-by-play description of the SADC/Mbeki-led negotiations to come-up with a new constitution and transition into a post-Mugabe world. That, combined with the internal MDC politics was all a bit ‘inside baseball’ (or should I say cricket?) for me. I was there primarily for anything on the hyper-inflation and a description of the ways people survive on a day to day basis. Unfortunately, he did go down that path. But I thought it was a fascinating presentation and a personal (if political) view into Zimbabwe.

Washington Times

By David R. Sands
January 26, 2008

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe is expected to win a sixth term during early elections in March — despite ruinous policies that have led to the world’s highest inflation rate, estimated at 50,000 percent.

Zimbabwe’s opposition parties will almost certainly take part in elections set for March 29, a leading opposition figure said yesterday, even though President Robert Mugabe has “reneged” on a promise to put off the vote until key constitutional reforms had taken effect.

David Coltart, a senior member of parliament from the anti-Mugabe Movement for Democratic Change, told a Washington audience he doubted the presidential and parliamentary votes would be free or fair, but said it was unlikely the MDC and other opposition forces could agree on a total boycott of the election.

“We’re damned if we do and damned if we don’t” take part in the election, said Mr. Coltart, a lawyer and leading human rights activist in the southern African country.

The opposition and many international monitors have condemned past elections in the country, charging they were rigged by the president’s ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) party. MDC rallies have been violently disrupted by the government’s security forces.

“My own view is that we have little choice but to participate unless we can organize a total boycott of the process,” Mr. Coltart said in remarks to the Heritage Foundation think tank.

Over opposition objections, Mr. Mugabe’s aides yesterday confirmed the vote will be held at the end of March. The 83-year-old president has ruled the country since it won independence from Britain in 1980 and will be seeking a sixth term through 2013.