Maravi

(ZIMBABWE GUARDIAN) America for Americans, Zimbabwe for Zimbabweans

America for Americans, Zimbabwe for Zimbabweans
By: Comment by Philip Murombedzi
Posted: Thursday, April 29, 2010 4:43 am

THE double standards of America can be nauseating sometimes. Whilst they criticize President Mugabe for calling for sovereignty ans self-determination, they push the sane agenda on their own soil.

In the US Congress, there's currently a push for a law that will ban foreigners from making financial and material contributions to American political parties and politicians; yet that country is the worst when it comes to inteference and poking their nose into the affairs of other countries.

Congressman Alan Grayson is pushing for an "America is for Americans Act," yet they Fund the MDC and other political organisations in Zimbabwe, despite the existence of a Political Parties (Finance) Act, which bars foreigners from funding parties and candidates.

This is also a country that claims to "respect the rule of law", yet violates our own laws in broad daylight in the name of "human rights".

America has been involved in making and un-making global rules. Up to this day, that country has not signed the Rome Statute, which formed the International Criminal Court (ICC). Mr Barack Obama, with his grandstanding on human rights is yet to ratify the Rome Statute.

The political parties Bill in the US is meant to "amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to apply the ban on contributions and expenditures by foreign nationals to domestic corporations in which foreign principals have an ownership interest."

The proposed law reads: "This Act may be cited as the ‘America is for Americans Act’. . . The government has a compelling interest in preventing foreign individuals and associations from influencing our nation’s political process.

"Such entities neither enjoy nor deserve any legal or constitutional right to such influence. The presence of foreign individuals or associations within domestic associations, to any degree, creates an unacceptable risk of foreign influence over our nation’s political process. The law does not allow foreign individuals and associations to vote in our elections; by the same token, the law should not allow them to exercise any influence over our nation’s political process, directly or indirectly, and neither personally nor in alliance or combination with others."

Zimbabwe’s Political Parties (Finance) Act, also makes it illegal for foreigners to interfere in the country’s domestic political processes. Section 6 (1) of the Act says: "No political party, member of a political party or candidate shall accept any foreign donation, whether directly from the donor or indirectly through a third person."

Section 7 (1) adds, "No person who is a citizen of a foreign country domiciled in a country other than Zimbabwe shall, within Zimbabwe, solicit donations from the public on behalf of any political party or candidate."

The Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act (Zidera) effectively tries to influence the political process in Zimbabwe.

America's public diplomacy is in tatters. The US can no longer be viewed as the leader in human rights. With China and Asian giants taking centre stage, that country can no longer claim economic superiority. Mr Obama can no longer claim to represent an administration that is different from George W Bush's. Infact, with Mr Bush you knew what to expect, but with Mr Obama the rhetoric is different from the action. Who is the hypocrite?

Labels: BARACK OBAMA, HYPOCRISY, NEOCOLONIALISM

posted by MrK @ 3:17 PM