[Of course they will. They will keep him in power, and the MDC will never rule Zimbabwe… as long as Mugabe has a say in the matter. Jan]

Zimbabwe™s President Robert Mugabe is known as a snappy dresser, a man who swapped the fatigues of a guerrilla commander for the business suits of civilian office with a sharp eye for political fashion.

Military uniforms with braids and epaulets have never been Mugabe™s style.

Political analysts say, however, that the 81-year-old leader is increasingly using Zimbabwe™s military to bolster his hold on power, mobilising army allies to ensure his ruling Zanu-PF emerges victorious in the March 31 parliamentary elections.

“For Mugabe the strategy is very simple: he is hiring men he really trusts, and telling everyone else that the army and other security forces are with him,” one political analyst said.

Mugabe honed his political skills in the 1960s both as a backroom strategist in Zimbabwe™s liberation struggle and as an articulate public speaker, and has long matched political savvy with a healthy respect for military muscle.

Unlike many African countries, however, Zimbabwe™s army remained largely in the shadows following independence from Britain in 1980, a public image analysts say belied its role in keeping Mugabe™s government afloat.

That low-key approach started to change in 2000 as Mugabe faced a rising challenge from the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), and the military is increasingly coming to the fore in this election as Mugabe deploys army officers, war veterans and youth brigades in a campaign which he says will “bury” the opposition.

In the last six months, the veteran Zimbabwean leader has brought more senior serving or retired military officers into his party ranks to help shape a political strategy against the MDC, which he describes as a puppet of Western powers.

Mugabe has also appointed dozens of former army officers to key positions in the civil service, including the secret Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO), the prison service, the police force, and the judiciary.

Other senior army and security commanders have taken positions in Zimbabwe™s “independent” elections commission, in parliament, the cabinet and Zanu-PF™s powerful politburo and central committee bodies.

“He is not simply flexing his military muscles but sending a message to the world that he is a formidable force,” said the analyst, who declined to be identified.

Brian Raftopoulos, a political commentator and Mugabe critic based in neighbouring South Africa, says Mugabe and Zanu-PF have become a de facto military regime.

“It™s a polished style, but very stifling all the same. His is a classic combination of brain and brawn power, a real cocktail,” Raftopoulos said.

Mugabe learned how to look after the military in the 1970s while leading Zimbabwe™s independence war from neighbouring Mozambique. Since 1980 defence has been one of the top three departments in terms of receiving the government™s largest budget allocations.

Critics say Mugabe also cemented his relationship with the army when he allowed top commanders to make money from diamond deals during Zimbabwe™s five-year involvement in the war in the gem-rich Democratic Republic of Congo. ” Reuters

Source: The Standard
URL: http://www.eastandard.net/hm_news/news.php?ar…/p>