Zimbabwe halts opponent's campaign

Maybe it's time for the nations of Africa to put an end to the rule of Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe. Supporters of Mugabe, who has led Zimbabwe since its independence from Britain in 1980, have continued their campaign of interference against Movement for Democratic Change standardbearer Morgan Tsvangirai, who is running against Mugabe in the presidential runoff scheduled for June 27. According to the Associated Press, Tsvangirai was detained for the second time this week and police officials said political rallies had been banned. Tsvangirai defeated Mugabe in the first round of voting in March but did not officially get 50 percent of the vote, prompting the runoff. The vote count was not announced for five weeks, causing the opposition and international observers to suspect fraud. Mugabe was formerly heralded as a hero of Zimbabwe's independence, but the latter years of his presidency have been marked by fraud, violence and incompetence. There are African organizations that could bring enormous pressure on Mugabe to leave office, including the Organization of African Unity and the Southern African Development Community. It's about time we heard from them.