The presidential election was held in Zimbabwe more than three weeks ago. While it’s widely rumored that strongman Robert Mugabe was ousted by voters, we don’t know for sure. That’s because his government has refused to reveal the results.

Mugabe apparently intends to cling to power, continuing to exercise his reign of terror (and error), thuggishly intimidating opposition, and killing off the Zimbabwean economy, while claiming that all the bad stuff in his country is Britain’s fault.

How is Mugabe holding on?

He has help, first from the South African government which, in spite of pious protestations to the contrary, has been Mugabe’s most stalwart backer.

Next, he gets help from the government in China.

A few days ago, dockworkers in South Africa refused to allow a shipment of arms they feared, rightly I think, will be used on Zimbabwean dissidents. (Read: Ordinary citizens who want their country to be a functioning democracy.) The shipment comes from China, whose government will do anything to feed the economic engine of their country, all designed to placate the Chinese populace while maintaining its own iron fisted hegemony on power.

It’s shocking to me that in this year’s presidential race, we continue to have almost no discussion about the greatest national security and economic threat confronting world stability generally and US interests specifically, the government in China.

We ignore the Chinese government’s increasing danger at the peril of the world and the US.

[This is being cross-posted at my personal blog.]

Last weekend, the 53 member countries of the UN’s Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) elected their new chair. The head of the commission is rotated on a regional basis, and it was Africa’s turn. Against objections from the U.S. and Europe, the nations voted 26-21 (with three abstentions) in favor of Zimbabwe.

According to the BBC, “Zimbabwe’s Environment Minister Francis Nheme will now become chairman of the CSD. Mr. Nheme is the subject of European Union travel ban because he is a member of President Robert Mugabe’s government. That means he cannot travel to the EU to meet ministers on commission business.” Nheme also faces a similar ban in the United States, and although UN rules allow him to visit the UN in New York, he can travel no further than 25 miles from UN HQ.

So a country that, in the words of the Guardian, “has destroyed a once-thriving farming industry, has a failing economy, an appalling human rights record and a poor record of looking after its wildlife and national parks,” is now heading a commission on sustainable development. Zimbabwe’s current inflation rate is a mere 2,200 percent. That’s right, two-thousand-two-hundred percent.

According to the BBC, “Zimbabwe’s ruling Zanu-PF party has endorsed President Robert Mugabe as its candidate for the 2008 election”.

Big surprise. Mugabe is 83. He’s been in power since 1980. In fact, he’s the only president independent Zimbabwe has ever had. His idea of democratic governance includes beating opponents and dissenters to a pulp, arresting them, and then blaming them for being beaten to a pulp.

And now he plans to run for re-election?

I’m sure it’ll be entirely fair and legit.

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Once again, credit to the U.S. State Dept. for at least saying the right things: “It’s sad, it’s outrageous and certainly we hope better for the Zimbabwean people.”

But doing would be better than saying. Sanctions would be a start — but only a start.

And it certainly doesn’t help that Zimbabwe’s neighbours have expressed support for Mugabe and oppose sanctions. Utterly shameful, but they must see a good deal of themselves in Zimbabwe’s tyrant.

For more on Mugabe’s “hold over African leaders,” see here.

For more on Mugabe’s political fortunes, see here. It could very well be that only a “palace coup” would liberate the people of Zimbabwe from Mugabe’s ongoing tyranny.