Is Zimbabwe Hitting Bottom?

New developments are coming out of Zimbabwe at a dizzying pace...

The past 48 hours have seen a tightening of the strangle hold current president Robert Mugabe has on his countrymen.

Reports say opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai is seeking refuge in the Dutch Embassy in Harare. This follows his pull out yesterday from the presidential runoff set for this Friday, June 27th.

Tsvangirai dropped out saying the state-sponsored violence against his supporters made it impossible for him to run. In recent days, several of his political allies have been murdered.

In response, the government says it will be happy continue on the vote with out him.

Tsvangirai's departure from the race makes complete sense. Even if he wins, no one would probably ever know. So why put his supporters through all the hardship?

It is easy for those who have never been put in Tsvangirai's position to be critical of his stepping down. But could you really expect any different from someone faced with such bleak odds, watching his friends killed in the streets?

Unless international pressure, especially from neighboring African nations, is brought to bear on Mugabe's administration, it is doubtful if there will be any change in Zimbabwe...and the quick descent into chaos will continue.

It makes one wonder...how much worse can it get in Zimbabwe?

Reports are all over the internet of fresh violence and renewed crackdowns by the government on the opposition. Most recently, there are reports from the AP that police have raided the party's headquarters and taken away 60 people-most of them women and children who were seeking refuge in the building.

Click here to read my last post on Zimbabwe and watch an interview with the head of the Zimbabwe Christian Alliance.

Keep checking back for new developments...

Are you from Zimbabwe? Do you have any thoughts on the recent developments? E-mail me directly.