Mugabe ruled by fear and terror, impoverishing his people even as he and his cronies looted the national exchequer.
Apologists for Mugabe would argue that the fear and terror came later, after an initial blessed period of harmony in the newly independent Zimbabwe. Not so. Mugabe fought for the independence of his people, but not for their welfare. He did not become a tyrant after achieving power; he was a tyrant already.
In that, Canada has a particularly shameful role. In 1983, the Trudeau government was advised repeatedly by its own diplomats about Mugabe’s massacres in Matabeleland. Like most Western countries at the time, Canada could not be bothered. But Trudeau went a step further, inviting Mugabe to visit Canada even as the massacres were ongoing. And not just for diplomatic niceties and a quick greeting in Ottawa. Trudeau laid on a cross-country tour for Mugabe to be greeted by first ministers across the land. Not a word was spoken about the ruthless repression.
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