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Mugabe honour may be revoked
13/05/2008 14:01 - (SA)
Boston - The president of the University of Massachusetts on Monday recommended that the school revoke an honorary degree awarded two decades ago to Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe.
The issue has been under consideration for a year at the university.
"I must recommend that we sever the connection that was formed when Robert Mugabe appeared to be a force for positive change in Africa. Today, that promise no longer exists," Jack Wilson said in a statement.
In April 2007 the student senate of the school's Boston campus passed a resolution asking the university to revoke Mugabe's 1986 honorary doctorate of law, awarded by the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. The issue has also arisen at other universities.
Mugabe said last year through a spokespterson that he will not lose sleep if the University of Massachusetts and other schools stripped him of honorary degrees over his human rights record.
Former school teacher
An 84-year-old former school teacher, Mugabe received a string of honorary degrees from universities in the US, Europe and Asia after his nation's independence from Britain in 1980. He was recognised for his policies of reconciliation after a bloody seven-year guerrilla war that ended colonial rule.
In recent years he has been accused of holding onto power through elections that independent observers say were marred by fraud, intimidation and rigging, and of overseeing his country's economic collapse.
Last June, the University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees rebuked Mugabe for policies and practices that have "brought worldwide scorn" on him. They also agreed to look at further action.
Robert J Manning, chairperson of the board, said it will act on Wilson's recommendation at its June 12 meeting. The school has never rescinded an honorary degree.
- AP
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