To:
President George W. Bush
CC:
Vice President Al Gore
From:
Rachel Sousa, Secretary of State
Date:
June 27, 2008
Subject:
Protecting Democracy in Zimbabwe
Context
Zimbabwe has tried to commit to
democracy since the election of President Mugabe in 1980, however, the nation
has hit a road block. As of 2008, President Mugabe has been president for 28
years. We have witnessed government violence against Zimbabwean people
protesting for a new government in 2006 and yet the world has strong
inclinations of election tampering in the most recent elections. As punishment
for protests, protests were banned for three months and finally the opposition Morgan
Tsvangirai was hospitalized after being arrested during a rally. Democracy and
its future is crumbling in Zimbabwe and it is imperative that the United States
makes a commitment to repair it.
Task
The United States should commit to
overseeing democracy in Zimbabwe because our country’s purpose of being is to spread,
protect, and preserve democracy across the globe. What is needed from us is to
send non-governmental organizations to supervise yet another year of “presidential”
dominance. It is evident that social injustices have occurred since President
Mugabe’s reign and these social injustices cannot continue.
Solution
Implementing a new democratic
system for Zimbabwe seems to be the best solution to fixing Zimbabwe’s situation.
The social climate in this country is tense and oppressive and our nation needs
to support Zimbabweans in their fight for governmental leaders that they want
and deserve. Inflation and food shortages have plagued the nation. Since 2001,
warnings of serious food shortages are released and food funding to Zimbabwe
are no longer. Although economic sanctions can be effective, Zimbabweans are
starving and are desperate for aid. Food should be sent to the country to
occupy the shelves in the markets. Inflation is sky-rocketing and prices are
higher than ever for food, therefor, food donations would be advantageous.
Evidence
Protecting the rights of the people
and ensuring that they have their basic human rights like water and food is a
fundamental responsibility of successful nations such as our own. Implementing
new policies may not be the answer quite yet, but observing democracy in this
nation has the potential to be beneficial for not only Zimbabweans but also Africa
and The United States. Spreading democracy is beneficial to our great nation
because it shows the power of our influence.
Implementation
Non-governmental organizations like
Food Tank should be sent to Zimbabwe to feed the people. Other NGO’s that
specialize in improving the political atmosphere of the country should be sent
over to work within government walls and try to keep an eye on government
processes.
Summary
In conclusion, the United States
has a responsibility to promote democracy and ensure that every human has the
right to all of its benefits. Zimbabwe has been under strict control by the
same president for 28 years and we must finally end it now. Starvation,
violence, and inflation has consumed the nation and it is now time to do
something about it. The more influence we have in this world, the better. We
must seek this opportunity to intervene in Zimbabwe so we can preserve life and
liberty and promote democracy.
Hi Rachel,
ReplyDeleteIn your memo you justify a "new democratic system". What do you mean by this? Are you looking to have reforms to curb political power where the President acts as head of state, generally a symbolic role, meaning that the Prime Minister would be head of the Government? Also NGOs such as Transparency International work on elections to see that they are free and fair. (I was paid by the organization for my role in Armenia). I think humanitarian aid is necessary in some situations but beware of the unintended consequences. Hyperinflation is when prices rise rapidly in a short time period. We will take one good, say toothpaste. Today I can buy it in the store for $2. Next week I can buy it in the store for $12. The week after $30. To get rich I will go to the store, buy it at $30 and wait 2 weeks. Now, two weeks later, that same tube of tooth paste will cost me $65. Remember, I still have the one I bought for $30. I turn around it and sell it to someone walking into the store for $64, thus making $34 in the process. The other person saves $1. The point its under this economic environment, people will horde goods because they expect the price to increase. So depending on the humanitarian aid provided, many families may decide to hold onto it because they believe it will increase in value over the short term. Hopefully this makes sense.
-Dan
Rachel,
ReplyDeleteGoing off of Dan's point, I think inflation in the country is a massive issue. Unfortunately, in order to decrease inflation, the most common ways involve some form of government policy, or increasing the interest rates, which comes from the FED in the U.S. In Zimbabwe, this is difficult to fix, due to the poorly functioning government.
As I also mentioned in Dan's post, what if the nation of Zimbabwe doesn't accept our aid, or the aid from NGO's? In Somalia, the Red Cross was shut out of many areas, and it took military force to change the situation, unfortunately resulting in the deaths of U.S. service men. Do we force it upon them with troops in Zimbabwe if the government denies the aid from reaching the citizens, or is that a risk not worth taking, even if it means giving up democracy in Zimbabwe?
Overall, good memo!
Dear Rachel,
ReplyDeleteI really liked the way you wrote your memo. It was very clear and concise and easy to understand. There was no fluff and I enjoyed reading it. I feel as though your implementation section could have gone into a bit further detail. Is sending in NGO's all you would do in this situation? Or all you would like to see done? If so, I would further discuss what the outcome of sending in NGO's would be. Would you hope that by feeding the people they would then have the resources to stay in the streets protesting? Is that enough to accomplish a regime change? Also, I am just confused by the fact that our government is choosing to intervene and is sending in NGO's, I would have thought they would send in governmental organizations.