For some reason the middle bit of my last post dissapeared into the ether. basically what i was saying was that if it wasnt for the treatment of the white farmers noone would be talking about this. he would be just another black leader treating his black subjects badly. Africa is full of these situations.. but throw in some white farmers and suprise suprise the west cares.
I think this is not quite the case. However,
statements like this one you have made can be viewed as political in nature and are generally not considered as discussion topics on this forum.
==Warning: this is partially political, in order to make a point. It is not a precursor or invitation to a policital discussion==
When the trouble blew up in Rwanda in 1994, very few (if any) whites were initially affected.
The western press is driven by loud minority groups, and sensationalist stories involving shocking details. These include (but are not limited to):
Human rights abuse
Mass killing
Starvation
Racial intolerance
Slavery
Environmental destruction
War.
Any story involving the above is paraded around by the media, and this brings it to the attention of the lobbyists in the US, and the independent/small party MPs of Westminster parliaments. More directly, it is picked up by political activist groups. The importance here is that concrete credence of the situation doesn't have to exist - it can simply be 'leverage' to entice control over certain aspects of the governmental system, whether that be to unite two opposing groups, or to break a coalition, or simply to gain a platform to launch one's own agenda.
This is where it gathers snow and begins to build, and where some people begin to take sides, making it louder, and eventually hitting headlines as a 'right now' problem. To some degree, this is when governments become involved, releasing statements and forming plans to appease the louder constituents. In some cases, the nature of what is going on offends the moral compasses of some governments - pushing them to either begin international intervention, or in the extreme cases it prompts immediate action.
To summarise: It's not a case of "Whites are affected, lets break out the shotguns and go frag some bad guys".
Fear and loathing at what is seen by outsiders as 'brutal, horrific and disgusting', and outright violation of what westerners see as "rights of the common person" often is what powers the outrage. It is seized upon by some who seriously believe in the rights and wrongs of the situation, and also another number of those who are opportunists, using it for their own means.
However once it becomes a national news item, or is introduced to the main floor of government, it usually cannot be ignored by the political powers.
-[somewhat political here]-
In the case of Zimbabwe, think about if a white was in power; and he pushed through a motion that allowed blacks to be kicked off and replaced by whites. Now could you imagine that in this day and age that any country would stand idly by; in particular given the last four decades of international views on South Africa?
Not a chance. Mr White would have found himself in the drivers seat of a plummeting economy due to embargo, zero outside policital support, and hundreds thousands of westerners (white, black and otherwise) either protesting in their own country or even travelling to the source!
Pressure would not only come from within the country, but by the closest neighbours. The US has many anti-discrimination parties and organisations, and they are a very loud voice indeed, so you would expect some sort of reaction from there.
-[/somewhat political here]--
Unfortunately, Mugabe is considered by the west in some cases as "Idi Amin Lite", while not a brutal dictator, he believed to be subverting power in more sinister and veiled ways. In this decade, his country has gone from being a solid, producing economy into a struggling nation.
Regardless of this, there is little that can be done. As previously discussed, 'liberation' of Zimbabwe is almost impossible, and any outside intervention doesn't seem to gather impetus.
(This thread has derailed enough. Have we put this one to rest?)
