http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=6547
October 29, 2008
By Tendai Dumbutshena
IF the communique released by the SADC secretariat after the failed meeting
to resolve the political impasse in Zimbabwe is to be believed, 15 regional
heads of state and government are to meet to decide who controls the
ministry of Home Affairs in the proposed inclusive government.
Taxpayers and donors in the SADC region will fund a summit to get Zimbabwe's
warring factions to agree on who runs the Home Affairs portfolio. How
farcical can things get?
Desperate people clutch at straws. This is what is happening in Zimbabwe as
people wait expectantly for SADC to provide the solution.
It is forgotten that for eight years this body has let the people of
Zimbabwe down. It turned a blind eye to Robert Mugabe's violation of its own
protocols on governance and human rights. It endorsed elections which were
condemned even by its own observers. It cynically embraced the lie that the
land issue was at the core of the crisis in Zimbabwe to absolve itself of
the responsibility to take a principled stand against Harare's aberrant
behaviour. It was only jolted into half-hearted action when it appointed
Thabo Mbeki last year to mediate following brutal assaults on political and
civic leaders including MDC president, Morgan Tsvangirai. Images of the
savage attacks and the resultant international outcry forced the hand of
SADC leaders.
Also central to the problem has been Mbeki's treacherous role which began in
2000. Masquerading as a mediator, Mbeki has done everything within his
powers to protect Mugabe and prolong his rule. Even now he continues to bat
for Mugabe seeking at every turn to undermine the MDC. His hidden hand was
visible in SADC's communiqué which took the position of Zanu-PF that only
the ministry of Home Affairs was the outstanding issue.
The MDC has set the record straight. Differences go beyond the home affairs
ministry to include the posts of provincial governors, diplomats, permanent
secretaries and the composition and functions of the proposed national
security council. Mbeki and the SADC secretariat want the full SADC summit
to only discuss the Home Affairs ministry leaving other issues of concern to
the MDC off the agenda.
It will be interesting to see where the summit is held. Normally it is held
in the country of the current chair which is South Africa. The MDC has
threatened that Tsvangirai will not attend if he is not issued with a
passport. It may well be decided to hold the summit in Zimbabwe so that SADC
leaders do not have to put pressure on Mugabe to issue a passport. The
policy of appeasement is still very much alive.
Nothing positive should be expected from the SADC summit. Mugabe has no
intention of sharing power with the MDC. At long last the MDC has officially
acknowledged this. Regional leaders with the notable exception of Botswana's
Ian Khama are unwilling to get Mugabe to do the right thing. There is great
resentment among African leaders when Western powers involve themselves in
the Zimbabwe issue They are told this is a matter for Africans to resolve
among themselves.
But what if Africans cannot bring themselves to seriously address the issue?
What if their feeble efforts are rendered useless by an insatiable desire to
protect and appease Mugabe? What will a full SADC summit achieve that a
smaller group more suited to resolving such a matter failed to do? For as
long as SADC leaders are not prepared to show some spine and address the
issue squarely these summits and troika meetings are a waste of time and
money.
Some analysts suggest that the matter be referred to the AU - another
guarantor of the agreement. What makes them think AU can do better than
SADC? The AU usually defers to regional bodies on such matters. The
continental body is full of leaders with a peripheral interest in Zimbabwe.
Many of them lack the moral stature to pronounce on Zimbabwe. If an African
solution is to be found it has to be in the region. Unless there is a
paradigm shift in their thinking and approach SADC leaders will not be able
to offer a solution to Zimbabwe's crisis. If they fail to author an
acceptable solution there is no point in running to Addis Ababa.
The inescapable conclusion to draw is that the September 15 agreement is
worthless. No one including the two major protagonists, Zanu-PF and MDC,
believes it is a workable solution. Given Mugabe's visceral loathing of
Tsvangirai and his party, is it not naïve optimism to believe that somehow
the agreement will work? The fact that seven weeks after the signing of the
agreement nothing has been achieved says it all.
The solution offered by Botswana is the only realistic option. Mugabe must
be put under pressure to accept a short transitional arrangement leading to
the adoption of a new constitution and elections. This process must be
driven by the international community because the regime in Harare cannot be
trusted to behave properly. Mugabe is vulnerable to pressure. What is
lacking among his peers in Africa is the will and courage to apply the
pressure. The people of Zimbabwe must be given an opportunity to settle this
matter once and for all. They must freely decide who governs them.
Therein lies the solution. But the international community must play its
part. If Africa is unwilling to do the right thing for Zimbabwe, others
should.
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