 2007 Articles 19 Dec Looking Back 9 Dec Mugabe at Large 5 Dec Pressure Mounts 30 Nov Deceit Deception 28 Nov Making progress? 19 Nov Perspective 18 Nov What happens 11 Nov Developments 7 Nov World Markets 6 Nov Struggle cont d 31 Oct Mugabenomics 29 Oct When will it end? 24 Oct Kevin Wood 18 Oct Economic Collapse 17 Oct Murambatsvina 16 Oct Question of Time 8 Oct Whats ahead? 28 Sept Destruction 28 Sept Public Posturing 27 Sept End of Winter 24 Sept What on Earth? 19 Sept Political Weapon 13 Sept Not Cricket 10 Sept Fighting back 9 Sept Water Crisis 2 Sept Kraals burning 1 Sept Gota Plan 26 Aug Free Markets 24 Aug Eco Fundamentals 23 Aug Done enough? 15 Aug Reality 9 Aug Still up there 6 Aug Crisis deepens 2 Aug Pol Pot 26 Jul Tug of War 20 Jul Closing Down 12 Jul Drifting 10 Jul Why? 7 Jul A warning 5 Jul The Pirates 4 Jul Kleptocracy 26 Jun Economic Lunacy 25 Jun Vasbyte 20 Jun Dawn? 15 Jun Ground Zero 12 Jun Mugabe should.. 10 Jun Sky at night 9 Jun Zanu PF Campaign 7 Jun Pesky Steers 1 Jun Dip Tank 30 May Collapse Looms 27 May May Magic 18 May Real Leadership 12 May Hard Choices 27 Apr Drought 25 Apr Majority Rule 21 Apr How much longer 16 Apr Games begin 8 Apr Nowhere to hide 1 Apr Let Down 28 Mar Crunch time 23 Mar Collapse 21 Mar Emergency 18 Mar Tea Party 17 Mar Aftermath 13 Mar Beaten 9 Mar Winds of Change 28 Feb The Crisis 26 Feb Economy 23 Feb Cyclone 19 Feb Root & Wings 5 Feb Rain 28 Jan My Cell 23 Jan Deserts 22 Jan Political outlook 17 Jan Shame on you! 8 Jan Chicken Treatment 5 Jan Outlook 2007
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Let Down or the Last Quarter?
I was in two minds on Friday - drink the whole bottle myself, or put
it back
on our wine rack. That ... SADC communique was the just about the
worst bit
of pure African politics I have ever seen. They covered all the bases.
Mugabe was 'democratically elected in free and fair elections in
2002!' 'The
International Community should lift sanctions and allow the recovery of
the
Zimbabwe economy', President Mbeki is to 'oversee the initiation of
dialogue
between the MDC and Zanu PF so as to get the process of reform and
reconstruction underway'.
We expected that the leaders of the region would never criticize Mugabe
in
public. Behind closed doors we understand they gave it to him with both
barrels - 'he was endangering their own progress', he had to
'deal with the
crisis or retire', and 'this situation could not be allowed to
drift for any
longer'.
In the final communique there was at least one major new development
- the
last time they had met they had asked Mkapa - the former President of
Tanzania and a personal friend of Mugabe to mediate, they had
specifically
said that the mediation should be between Zimbabwe and Britain. At
least
this time, they recognised that the crisis was home grown and that the
resolution lay in domestic dialogue. I guess that is a step forward, it
was
also the first time that they had formally acknowledged the key role of
the
MDC in any resolution of the crisis.
I understand that they made two specific demands of Mugabe - either
retire
in March and allow new leadership to step up to the plate or start the
process of reform yourself and get Zimbabwe back on track. It is Mr.
Mbeki's
role to make sure that he does one or both.
Mugabe did not loose any time in giving regional leaders and Mr. Mbeki
a
clear view of his intentions. He came home and using his considerable
resources and the support of the security machinery here, he brushed
aside
the internal challenge he has been grappling with inside Zanu PF and
simply
got himself nominated as the Presidential candidate in the March 2008
elections. He then also forced a resolution to the effect that the
Party
would increase the number of seats in the Parliament, elect the Senate
under
a system of proportional representation and hold elections for
Parliament
and all local urban councils at the same time.
His assumption in all of this is that he will be allowed to hold the
elections under the same system that delivered 'victory' to Zanu PF
in 2002
and 2005. Just to give emphasis to his distain for the SADC leaders and
Mbeki in particular, he intensified the crackdown on the MDC -
sending in
his thugs to carry out about Z$40 million worth of damage to the MDC
head
office and taking another 50 MDC people into custody - raising to at
least
200 the number of MDC leaders taken into detention in the past ten
days.
There was no attempt to follow proper legal procedures - it was just
pure
thuggery and vandalism, carried out in broad daylight.
Hate speech invoking the history of Zanu PF as a liberation movement
and his
own personal vendetta against all his perceived opponents, promising
more
violence and even death if anyone dared to stand against him, poured
out of
his mouth. The State press simply parroting his words. Joining in the
chorus
of crude propaganda and lies about the MDC and its associated
institutions.
On Saturday we faced yet another spectacle of the human suffering
engendered
by this outpouring of hate and intimidation. After dragging their heels
for
several days over a Court decision instructing the Police to produce
detainees for Court hearings, a group was finally produced at the
Magistrates Courts in Harare. On seeing the men and women in his Court
the
Magistrate ordered them to be taken to hospital. When they came out of
the
building to be loaded into ambulances, people standing by wept openly.
Ian
Makoni, a quiet local businessman who had been Chief Executive of two
major
organisations, struggling for his life, gave a MDC hand wave as the
paramedics outside the Court put him onto life support on his way to
hospital. Defiant, even as he faced possible death from his injuries.
You only realize the extent of these beatings in custody when you hear
the
story of William Bango. A small man, who is a professional journalist
and
was the Editor of the Daily News, is the PA and personal spokesperson
to
Morgan Tsvangirai. He was beaten savagely in detention along with
Morgan and
the others, had his glasses smashed and went home after his release and
an
examination by a doctor. He subsequently collapsed and had to be rushed
to
hospital in South Africa where he has undergone surgery for extensive
internal injuries. Do you know how hard you have to hit a person to do
that
with a police baton?
The MDC National Executive met on Saturday and after we had cleaned up
the
Boardroom so that we had somewhere to sit after the police vandals had
been
through the building, we opened with prayer and a minute's silence in
remembrance of those who had died in the past two weeks and those
injured
and disappeared. Then we went on the deliberate on what to do next.
We resolved not to respond to violence with violence in any form, we
further
decided that we would prepare to contest every seat, every city council
ward
and Mayoral post in the country when the elections were held in March
next
year. However we also decided that unless there were radical and
far-reaching changes in the whole electoral environment and system, we
would
simply boycott the whole exercise as a waste of time. Zanu can run
unopposed
in another sham of an election.
We also resolved not to let up on our campaign to maintain pressure on
the
Mugabe regime and that this coming week, we would not only support the
call
by the ZCTU for a two day national strike, we would instruct all our
supporters and members to participate fully in the strike action.
Silent
cities speak loudest.
We welcomed the SADC resolutions despite their obvious shortcomings and
accepted that the appointment of President Mbeki as the point man of
the
SADC on Zimbabwe crisis could signal the start of a new initiative.
After
all, he alone has the power to resolve this crisis and to bring Mugabe
to
heel. Political leadership is all about the exercise of such power to
achieve identified goals. Perhaps, just perhaps, this is the start of
the
end game.
Eddie Cross
Bulawayo, April 1st 2007
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