© REUTERS/Philimon Bulawayo
Supporters of the Zimbabwe African National Union’s Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) march in the streets of Harare February 24, 2010, to protest against the decision by the European Union to extend economic sanctions on Zimbabwe for another year.
Commonly thought of as a bastion of peace and stability in the continent ever since the turn of the century, the southern part of Africa is once more returning to the spotlight of global attention.
Zimbabwean officials have alleged that the American and French embassies are behind the latest Color Revolution commotion in the country, stating that their ambassadors even met with the movement's newest leader, Pastor Evan Mawarire, before he began his
campaign. This accusation is echoed by regional leader South Africa, which
described the latest tumult as
"sponsored elements seeking regime change". If the US succeeds in its latest Color Revolution plot, then the collapse of
Resistant & Defiant Zimbabwe could be the tripwire for automatically setting into motion a preplanned sequence of other
destabilizations that might rapidly spread throughout the neighboring countries, thereby returning Southern Africa back to its Cold War-era of conflict and unexpectedly turning it into the New Cold War's latest battleground.
An Irresistible Target
Harare has always been very close to Moscow and especially Beijing, and this
trilateral relationship has only intensified in the past couple of years. China
openly stated that Africa is a priority area of its foreign policy and that its relationship with the continent is integral to the country's sustainable 21
st-century economic growth. The
$4 billion that President Xi promised Zimbabwe during his December 2015 visit there is expected to form the cornerstone of their future relations and
yield tangible market benefits for China, all in accordance with its African grand strategy.
Russia, just like China, also has many investments in the centrally positioned Southern African state, though they focus more on
minerals and
military equipment than on the real-sector economy. Still, when taken together in the complementary context of the
Russian-Chinese Strategic Partnership,
Moscow and Beijing's combined interests in Zimbabwe have made it an irresistible target for Washington's covert campaign.
Comment: Were these rumors correct? The current coup attempt was surely not a spur-of-the-moment decision. More from March: Did Erdogan sack Davutoglu and turn to Russia in order to get some support in the event of the coup taking place?