Reviewing the media, you might get the impression that Robert Mugabe is a murderous dictator at the head of a uniquely wicked regime and that Zimbabwe is the "most important and urgent issue" in Africa. In reality, Mugabe is being picked on in order to divert attention away from the real reason for Zimbabwe's decline - British interference.Is Milne a caricature? I think we should be told.
The British (and Americans) are also interfering in China's internal affairs by making a fuss over Tibet. As with Zimbabwe, the reason is simple - to deflect the public's gaze from Western crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey.
The days of colonial diktat are over. Resistance will overcome.
April 17, 2008
The Shorter Milne
Seamus Milne's op-ed at Comment is Free (edited and abridged so you get it straight):-