Mr. Robert Mugabe has stolen another term as president of Zimbabwe. He "won" a runoff ballot last week after his goons ran off opposition leader Mr. Morgan Tsvangirai and intimidated his supporters. Unopposed, Mr. Mugabe won a sixth term and was sworn in as president days later.
This farce must not be recognized. The election should be denounced for the fraud that it is. Zimbabwe's neighbors must end their business-as-usual approach and halt the tragedy. Mr. Mugabe must go.
The former revolutionary leader has ruled Zimbabwe since it won independence from Britain in 1980. He is the last of the cadre that took power in the postwar African independence wave and his revolutionary credentials and his long time in office have bestowed on him an image as one of the continent's leading statesmen. Mr. Mugabe conveniently overlooks the intimidation and violence that have been the handmaidens of his rule in recent years.