17 November 2017 12:35 am
There are important lessons for Sri Lanka’s political leaders from the military Coup de Grace against Zimbabwe’s long-standing President Robert Mugabe who ruled with an iron fist for almost four decades, isolating his country and bringing it to economic bankruptcy.
According to reports, the 93-year-old Mr. Mugabe was trying to hand over power to his
Grace Mugabe, who was not even born when Robert Mugabe and his Liberation Front fought for independence from the white minority ruled Rhodesia, is reported to have formed women’s and youth leagues to consolidate her position as the potential successor.
But the ruling party’s old guard was furious, and Mr. Mugabe’s stubborn refusal to give up power, lead to the “Coup de Grace” on Tuesday.
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reported yesterday afternoon, that Zimbabwe’s people were still waiting to see what steps the military would take next.
Mr. Mugabe is said to be under house arrest but the whereabouts of his wife Grace are unknown.
South African Ministers have been in the capital Harare meeting the Army and political parties.
Mr Mugabe has been in control of Zimbabwe since it gained independence from Britain in 1980.
But the power struggle over who might succeed him, between Mrs Mugabe and her rival Mr. Mnangagwa, has split the ruling Zanu-PF party in recent months.
Evidence that Grace Mugabe’s circle was being pressurised by the military came on Wednesday when one of her key allies, Zanu-PF youth wing leader Kudzai Chipanga, made a televised apology for criticising the head of the Army a day earlier.
According to the BBC, correspondents are asking whether Mr Mugabe, having hung on to power so tenaciously for years, will offer his resignation.
One Zimbabwean opposition leader, Tendai Biti, told the BBC he wanted to see a transitional authority in place.
“It is urgent that we go back to democracy. It is urgent that we go back to legitimacy but we need a transitional period and I think, I hope, that dialogue can now be opened between the army and Zimbabweans. That dialogue can be opened between the army and regional bodies such as the SADC and, indeed, the African Union,” he said.
Britain’s Guardian newspaper reported that overnight, Zimbabwean defence forces seized control of the State broadcaster ZBC, with their spokesman Maj. Gen. SB Moyo screening a statement declaring they were “targeting criminals” around Mr Mugabe.
In a statement broadcast overnight,
Moyo insisted:
“We wish to make this abundantly clear this is not a military takeover of government. What the Zimbabwe defence forces are doing is to pacify a degenerating political, social and economic situation in our country, which if not addressed, may result in violent conflict.”
In the United States whatever the falls and failings may be, the President can hold office only for two terms or eight years. The legendary US Constitution makers believe that a longer term would, among other matters, is too much for the mind of the President and his decisions may be unbalanced. Analysts note that President Obama after completing his second term last November had white hair thought he was black-haired when he took office in 2008.
In Sri Lanka, under the 1977 Constitution, the President could hold office for two terms of six years each. Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, through the notorious 18th Amendment, made it possible for the President to go on for an unlimited period but the people were more intelligent and threw him out on January 8, 2015.
President Maithripala Sirisena, who pushed through the 19th Amendment promised he would quit after one term, but his party is now putting pressure on him to continue for the second term. Meanwhile, we see former President Rajapaksa also trying to get back to power. We hope the fall of Robert Mugabe from hero to disgrace will reveal to them that power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely and an unlimited period in power could lead to a catastrophe.