Demagogue

Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe's maniacal leader, is talking reconciliation. From Agence-France Presse:

"Let bygones be bygones," said Mugabe, set to open a road named after him(in Malawi) ...

Zimbabwean Agriculture Minister Joseph Made told [a reporter] last month that his country was ready allow the return of white farmers who were driven off their farms under Mugabe's land reform programme.

Made however denied that the new openness toward white farmers marked an about-face in land reform policies that have been widely criticised as a failure, triggering an economic meltdown in what was once the breadbasket of southern Africa.

Since the land seizures ordered years ago by Mugabe, Zimbabwe's grain harvests have been disappointing, but I'm sure that has nothing to do with Mugabe's sudden conciliatory mood.

Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika praised Mugabe, calling him a "true democrat."

"How can anybody say Mugabe is a sworn enemy of democracy? ..." Mutharika said.

How can anyone say that? By pointing to evidence such as this and this and this. It's very easy to say this about a man who signed the order for Operation Murambatsvina (meaning "Clear the Filth" in Zimbabwe's Shone language), which forced hundreds of thousands of poor people from their homes.