Australia must boycott dangerous Zimbabwe
By Rayed Mamun – 12 May 2007
During high school science, we were always given warnings on what to mix, and what not to mix. When the wrong chemicals are mixed together, there can be violent reactions. Something tells me Robert Mugabe didn’t learn anything from chemistry in high school. He has deliberately mixed sport and politics together, and left Zimbabwe cricket, and his nation as a whole, in absolute turmoil. Mugabe’s brutal regime has gone far enough, and Australia should not tour Zimbabwe later this year.
John Howard and Alexander Downer have made their views clear this week when speaking to Ricky Ponting and Cricket Australia CEO, James Sutherland. The government has encouraged a boycott, and with good reason. Cricket is the least of Zimbabwe’s problems. A protest against this dictatorship that Mugabe still calls a democracy, will be better than playing three meaningless one day games.
Zimbabwe was given test match status in 1992. They continued to grow from there, and about five years ago, were quite a competitive side. The future was bright, until 2003, when, Andrew Flower and Henry Olonga famously wore black arm bands to mourn the ‘death of democracy in Zimbabwe’. This statement was reflected throughout the whole country, as well as on the cricket field. Players were picked on under racial and political bias. Many senior players were not paid properly, and when their demands were not met, they all fled the country. Since 2004, Zimbabwe’s team has been selected, indirectly, by Robert Mugabe. Zimbabwe’s team has since been worse than it was when it gained test match status.
It is not only the team that is of an unacceptable, corrupt standard. Even the smallest, most basic tasks are impossible in Zimbabwe. During Bangladesh’s recent tour there in February, CricInfo, the largest cricket site in the world, had no journalists at the matches. Many Bangladeshi fans, including myself, complained, however Martin Williamson, the executive editor of CricInfo, explained the farcical situation:
“To get someone into Zimbabwe to cover the four matches would have cost us thousands of dollars, which we were prepared to pay. However ... firstly we needed to get the approval of the infamous Information ministry whose aim seems to be to avoid giving anyone access to the country. Secondly, even then we had no assurances that our people would be allowed to remain in the ground. It was not feasible to send people under these circumstances.
Local TV has not switched to the match. The situation again verges on the farcical. We have local people but, as I say, the cricket has simply not appeared on TV and there has been no explanation. We have no-one at the ground because several stringers have been banned and another - and this is no joke - won't go as he fears for his personal safety if he does. And, to reiterate, to send ANY journalist to cover the matches means paying US$600 to the government with absolutely no guarantee that the individual will be allowed into the country on arrival or allowed into the ground.”Add to that, the crowd at that game was a mere 500. Even if a journalist had miraculously made it to the match that day, there would be fears for his/her safety in any case. Mugabe’s government has already cowardly (physically) attacked the opposition leader this year. Now with the government controlling the Zimbabwe Cricket Union, and Australia strongly opposed to the Mugabe regime, there would have to be serious concerns about the safety of the players. With that much corruption going on, can Cricket Australia honestly believe there will be genuine security for the players?
It is absolutely baffling as to why Zimbabwe still has ICC membership. A blind man can see the system is corrupt, there are hardly any sponsors, there is no crowd, and there is no coverage of the matches on TV.
Australia’s decision is simple, which is not to tour. James Sutherland isn’t quite sure yet, as he says Australia has an ‘obligation’ to tour. I say, the ICC is the one that has an obligation to remove Zimbabwe’s ICC membership until they can get their act together. Consequently, taking into account player safety, Australia should not be made to pay any fine either. Mugabe has mixed too many chemicals and has turned Zimbabwe into a volatile state. Australia touring there will simply cause more violent reactions.