Zimbabwe Information Center in N

By Stanford G. Mukasa

Letter from America

January 29, 2007

Emperor Mugabe has no clothes!

A number of recent internal and external events appear to be giving a glimmer of hope for a new momentum on the struggle for democracy in Zimbabwe.

The new secretary general of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, has placed Africa high on his agenda. His first ever international visit in his capacity as UN secretary general has been to the Democratic Republic of Congo. Here, the UN maintains a force of 17,000 peace keeping troops. Next, Ban Ki-moon was scheduled to visit several African countries including Sudan and the African Union meeting in Addis Ababa in Ethiopia.

Also significant was Ban Ki-moon’s appointment of former foreign minister of Tanzania, Asha Rose Migiro, as assistant secretary general of the United Nations. Thus, while Kofi Annan is now gone, Africa will continue to have a very high representation in the administrative structure of the United Nations. While Migiro can be expected to help keep African issues high on the UN agenda her role in resolving the Zimbabwean issue is uncertain – considering the fact that Tanzania has traditionally supported Mugabe and ZANUPF. There is no record or evidence that, in her capacity as foreign minister, Migiro, ever condemned the repression or atrocities perpetrated by Mugabe.

All in all, the embattled Zimbabweans could potentially benefit from the fact that, even though Ban Ki-moon will not initially focus directly on Zimbabwe, the secretary general has Africa under his spotlight.

The United Nations is increasingly being recognized around the world, especially by the Western countries, as a very important instrument for international diplomacy and resolution of problems. The Security Council has been regularly engaged in addressing crises around the world.

Ban Ki-moon’s placing Africa high on his agenda means that Mugabe and ZANUPF will regularly be in the crosshairs of international condemnation and criticism.

The decision by the European Union to maintain targeted sanctions against Mugabe and his cronies is an ongoing assurance that the international community is not likely to go soft on Mugabe any time soon.

However, the position taken by the international community on Mugabe and ZANUPF so far has not been strong enough to bring Mugabe to accept democracy and basic human rights in Zimbabwe.

This brings into focus the internal dynamics of the opposition movement, notably, Movement for Democratic Change.

For several years now the opposition movement in Zimbabwe has not launched an effective campaign against Mugabe. Members of the opposition and civic society have been denied their constitutional right to free and fair elections, free press, freedom of expression, and the right to campaign freely without harassment during the periods leading to elections.

MDC has subsequently failed to win power democratically through elections. Mugabe is goading the opposition movement into the politics of confrontation. But unable to launch effective mass protests, or other more assertive acts of civil disobedience, the opposition movement appears doomed to repeating the same strategies that have gotten them nowhere in the first place.

Faced with this pessimistic scenario in the opposition movement, it is refreshing to note that new opposition voices are emerging with a potential to jumpstart   civil society into more rigorous forms of protest.

However, to sustain this momentum Zimbabweans and their friends need to launch two bold initiatives.

First, civil society must significantly increase its regional and international diplomatic campaigns to lobby for a redoubled effort to bring pressure to bear on Mugabe. Such a diplomatic lobbying cannot be done once in a blue moon through occasional visits to the international community. The opposition movement must establish a permanent presence in selected countries around the world. Such presence will ensure that the lobbying efforts are conducted almost continuously.

The opposition movement needs information offices that will act as clearing houses for lobbying other governments. To minimize the costs of maintaining information offices, civil society should work through volunteers and other civil society groups in different countries.

The reason why the anti apartheid movement was so effective was its use of volunteers. There is no way the ANC and PAC political parties could have financially sustained such a network of offices throughout the world. This is what the opposition movement in Zimbabwe should do. It should approach volunteer agencies and NGO in several countries and work out an arrangement where these agencies and volunteers will help the opposition movement to keep the international community more dynamically engaged in pressuring Mugabe.

Secondly, the opposition movement must launch acts of non violent protest that build upon the existing strikes by workers.

While 2006 ended on a largely pessimistic note about prospects for the return to the rule of law and democracy, the year 2007 has so far had a few surprises. A number of strikes, most of them apparently spontaneous, have hit Zimbabwe. It seems Zimbabwean workers, in particular, have suddenly discovered a motivation, strength and determination to take the Mugabe bull by its horns. People are suddenly realizing not only the extent of their misery but also that they have an obligation and power to bring about changes in the country.

Zimbabweans are now slowly internalizing the late Rev. Ndabaningi Sithole’s clarion call that Zimbabweans are their own liberators.

One of Karl Marx’ political philosophies was that the more repressive a capitalistic regime is the more the oppressed people are provoked into a national uprising against their oppressor. In the Cold War Communist rhetoric, this philosophy was transformed into a powerful and compelling call to the workers to take action: Workers of the world unite. You have nothing to lose but your chains! With their increasing impoverishment Zimbabweans are probably realizing that they have nothing to lose by confronting Mugabe for the simple reason that Zimbabweans have nothing and everything to gain from such an uprising.

Until last year two noteworthy organizations that have been at the forefront of the demonstrations in Zimbabwe are Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) and the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA). But now it seems new forces have emerged to strengthen the cause for mass protests.

A number of strikes from doctors, teachers, nurses, and others have taken their places on the road to confrontation with Mugabe.

  Some unconfirmed reports also say some members of the elite presidential guard have tried to demonstrate against Mugabe.

Another emerging force are disgruntled ZANUPF officials like Edgar Tekere who recently wrote a very revealing book about Mugabe. Enos Nkala has promised a book that he says will also expose ZANUF and Mugabe.

Tekere’s book has debunked the myth about Mugabe’s accomplishments during the liberation war. If Tekere is to be believed, Mugabe’s role in the liberation struggle has been mischievously exaggerated.

There is a folklore in Zimbabwe about how an owl generated fear among animals by pretending that it had horns that it could use to attack or defend itself. But one clever animal was able to prove that the owl had no horns, only tufts of hair on its head that looked liked horns.

Through Tekere’s book, Mugabe has become the owl whose inflated ego has been exposed. In his book Tekere says Mugabe was dragged kicking and screaming into the liberation struggle in which his role and participation was marginal.

This new dimension in the politics of confrontation with its ever widening circle of opposition to Mugabe signifies a growing resentment from within ZANUPF about perpetuating lies about Mugabe’s prowess.

The action by Tekere in writing such a revealing book about Mugabe is evidence of the observation by many analysts that ZANUPF contains seeds of its own destruction.

When criticism of Mugabe comes from the opposition movement Mugabe can easily unleash the army, militia thugs and police to silence any such opposition. But Mugabe has not used such force on his top officials who oppose him publicly. When former minister of state for information and publicity, Jonathan Moyo,   was fired or resigned he campaigned freely in Tsholotsho without the harassment that dogged members of the opposition movement.