What next for Zimbabwe?
Thank you for all the impressive articles on Zimbabwe, especially those by David Smith and Ranga Mberi (24 November). Although recent political events were sparked by infighting inside the regime, the appalling domestic, economic and social situation in the country was also a catalyst for change.
Zimbabwe has a literacy rate of 91%, but this is no benefit if the country is one of the poorest and people can barely subsist.
The new leader of Zimbabwe has said he wants to fix the economy and called for the lifting of sanctions. The international community could exert pressure by offering to do this in stages, when the regime takes steps towards real democracy.
I’m not surprised that the new leadership in Zimbabwe want to let Mugabe keep his ill-gotten gains and give him immunity, as prosecuting him would also shed light on his cronies’ corruption and atrocities. But I hope that the removal of Mugabe is the first step to real freedom. It would be a great pity if the Zanu-PF party elite were to carry on with business as usual. Hopefully the people can find ways to push forward the struggle for their rights without more brutal repression.
It is incredibly heartening to see such wonderful developments. Maybe other corrupt regimes in Africa are afraid of similar events and will give in to the people’s wishes for fundamental change.
Steven Katsineris
Hurstbridge, Victoria, Australia
Stop blaming the Russians
Tom McCarthy (A nation divided by impostors, 27 October) and Natalie Nougayrède (Russian cyberwarfare threatens democracy itself, 10 November) need to get real about the impact of Russian interference using fake social media accounts.
Do they really think that the tiny amount spent by the Russians in spreading misinformation had more impact than the half-truths promulgated in the lead-up to the US election by multimillion-dollar donors, or nightly by Fox News? The truth is that there was already fertile soil for that misinformation to thrive in.
Blaming America’s divisions on Russia’s interference conveniently shifts blame away from the nastiness that has already taken root in America.
Ron Thomson
Nelson, New Zealand
Political blood relatives
Unlike Julian Borger, George Orwell would not have been surprised by the anti-democratic alliance of radical libertarians and conventional despots (24 November). They are usually blood relatives, with the former often adopting the “libertarian” label, or similar euphemisms, as a disguise in places where “autocracy” is in disrepute.
Here in Australia, the conservative government that jails refugees offshore but shows strong sympathy for the fossil-fuel industry and the right to denigrate minorities is called the “Liberal party”. For those confused by the semantic fog pumped out by the hard right, they can be detected by a strong smell of xenophobia.
John Hayward
Weegena, Tasmania, Australia
We have too many toys
So Damian Carrington tells us that various megatrends will help to turn the tide against catastrophic global warming (24 November). I have my doubts, since no one has yet proposed to “take our toys away”.
We might have more renewables, more electric cars and more efficiency, but how can we seriously believe that this will solve the problem? Indeed, you only have to ponder megatrend number 4 – electric cars – to realise that this is hogwash. We can’t even cover current electricity needs with renewables, so where will the electricity come from to power all those cars?
Take a look at our skies, where planes jostle for position. And at our roads, where oversized trucks haul millions of tons of “stuff” backwards and forwards unnecessarily so that we can enjoy cheap shopping and corporations can turn a hefty profit. Yes, you only have to look at the mountains of tat being piled up in our shops in preparation for Christmas to know that this is the case, but we simply don’t seem to care.
I won’t believe that we are serious about preventing climate change until someone really does start to “take our toys away”. And there is no sign of that happening.
Alan Mitcham
Cologne, Germany
Briefly
• It’s a pity that from the suggested canon of great women film-makers (24 November), only Agnès Varda is convincing. What about Kelly Reichardt, Naomi Kawase, Catherine Breillat, Jane Campion?
John Aspinall
Castelnau d’Auzan, France
• We don’t need a border between the two Irelands at all (1 December). Reunite the island: the Northern Irish can then stay in the EU as they wish to do and my forebears will rejoice. Great Britain can then go its own way.
Derek Murphy
Bad Pyrmont, Germany
• Prince Harry is to wed an American divorcee? (1 December). The last time a member of the royal family did that, matters did not end well.
Alan Williams-Key
Madrid, Spain
• Email letters for publication to weekly.letters@theguardian.com
