University of Massachusetts Board Issues Resolution Rebuking Zimbabwean President Mugabe

AMHERST - June 21, 2007:The Board of Trustees of the University of Massachusetts today approved a resolution rebuking Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe who was awarded an honorary degree by the university in 1986.

The resolution states:

"Whereas President Robert Mugabe was nominated for and awarded an honorary degree by the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 1986 for his actions as a 'humane revolutionary' who ended an oppressive white rule to establish an independent Zimbabwe in 1979;

And, whereas in the intervening and particularly recent years his actions have prompted his being scorned worldwide as a tyrannical dictator whose rule has been marked by intimidation, violence, fraud, and robbery;

And, whereas his actions of seizing land from white commercial farmers and giving it to allies, while using the secret police to beat or kill opponents;

And, whereas his actions have prompted observations of his having degenerated as a political leader and a human being, and allowing in Zimbabwe the near disintegration of health, education, and other public services, and the worst inflation in the world;

And, whereas he has tried to crush opposition to his power and has threatened to expel Western envoys for criticizing his government;

And, whereas he has been accused of ruling with fear and cronyism and of turning his back on the fight for racial harmony for blacks and whites;

Now, therefore be it resolved that the Board of Trustees of the University of Massachusetts vehemently condemns these actions and decries the association with the University of Massachusetts of a person of such early promise and commitment whose descent to the depths of a brutal and bloody regime have brought worldwide scorn and unremitting rebuke."

Contact: Bill Wright, 617.287.7065