Zimbabwe Information Center in North America
A project of the North American Coalition for a Free Zimbabwe (NACFREEZ)
MDC
By Stanford G. Mukasa
Letter from America
April 23, 2007
MDC must learn survival techniques against abductions
A false sense of optimism has been created among many Zimbabweans that President Thabo Mbeki is now more actively engaged in the resolution of the Zimbabwean crisis because he has been appointed by SADC heads of state, and that this points to better prospects for success for Mbeki’s initiative.
This is the same Mbeki who supposedly has emerged from the woodwork of his quiet diplomacy and the same SADC heads of state who have traditionally and unashamedly supported Zimbabwe's dictator, Robert Mugabe.
Both Mbeki and the SADC heads of state have not shown, at least publicly, any concern or care about the hundreds of opposition supporters who are being abducted, tortured and sometimes left for dead. It is estimated that over 600 MDC supporters have been subjected to some of the worst forms of human rights abuse so far this year.
In light of this, it is outrageously mischievous for the SADC to argue that they gave Mugabe a grilling in private about his human rights record. If they did, how come Mugabe emerged from that grilling stronger and more determined to intensify his abuse of human rights? It is almost like the SADC heads of state were holding Mugabe’s feet to the fire for NOT abducting and torturing Zimbabweans intensely enough.
To add insult to injury, the SADC secretary general came to visit Zimbabwe to discuss how the region can help improve the country’s economy. We did not hear that the secretary general was also coming to discuss what progress Mugabe was making to respect and improve human rights as a result of the so-called grilling he received from the Tanzania summit.
There is also no evidence at all that Mbeki’s shuttle diplomacy at the behest of SADC is showing any meaningful results so far.. For Mugabe it’s full speed ahead with perpetuating his rule. Mbeki himself is a lame duck. He is due to retire next year. It’s probably too much to expect Mbeki to do anything more than regurgitate the empty promises and clichés he has made in past seven years about helping Zimbabweans resolve their problems.
It is de javu in Zimbabwe. Mugabe and ZANUPF have now put into action their rigging machinery. And the prospects for free and fair elections next year, if they ever existed, are now dimmer than ever.
The plan to rig the elections is emerging like a hydra- headed monster from the deep blue sea. And the plan comes with its usual baggage - violence against the opposition.
Mugabe’s strategy is two pronged.
One is to deal with internal dissent over his successor. Through a carefully contrived strategy of running both presidential and parliamentary elections at the same time, Mugabe has virtually assured himself full support even from prevaricating factions like the Mujuru group. He may have succeeded. How else do you explain the outburst by Joyce Mujuru recently that Zimbabweans must thank God for Mugabe! The same Mujuru, whom Mugabe had criticized for plotting to subvert him, is on her knees hero worshiping Mugabe.
Mugabe’s external enemies are many and varied. The most traditional are, of course, MDC and the opposition or Save Zimbabwe campaign. Mugabe is aware that MDC is a government in waiting because of the popularity it enjoys countrywide.
It is a myth that urban areas support MDC while rural areas favor Mugabe. No one outside ZANUPF and anywhere in urban or rural Zimbabwe would willingly vote for Mugabe Matibili, as some would call him, after he has crash landed the economy and created Stone Age conditions for Zimbabweans. Those who do support Mugabe are so few they would not fill a busload into exile. Mugabe knows that too, otherwise he would not be going to great lengths rigging elections in both urban and rural areas.
Another external enemy for Mugabe is the West, especially Britain and, specifically, Prime Minister Tony Blair. There are also, to a lesser extent, the European Union countries whose internal policies on Zimbabwe are not always in harmony.
But the most formidable of Mugabe’s enemies is the economy and its stubborn independence from Mugabe’s fiscal, military or political control.
However, Mugabe still has friends who are ready to rescue him.
China, for example, has just horse- traded a $58 million loan facility for tobacco. Whether Mugabe’s cronies will live up to their side of the bargain to deliver 110,000 tons of tobacco over two years is, of course, another story, given the appalling condition of the agriculture sector, which lies in a mangled wreckage.
Attempts by Mbeki and SADC to reach a settlement between Mugabe and ZANUPF and the opposition MDC are now subject to preconditions established by Mugabe. Because he knows that he can never be completely isolated, Mugabe is going to take a hard-line approach to any negotiations.
Mugabe’s other strategy is to neutralize the opposition. In addition to abductions and torturing opposition supporters, Mugabe's well advanced rigging machinery is aimed at making sure MDC will lose any elections. Mugabe himself openly declared that MDC will never rule Zimbabwe. How would Mugabe know the outcome of a national election if he had not planned it? The fact that he speaks with such confidence means he has taken measures to make sure MDC victory does not happen.
Now that Mugabe has, so to speak, laid out his cards on the table and has declared his intentions to stay in power indefinitely, what is the opposition going to do? What strategies will the MDC, in particular, engage in?
Mugabe has added a burden on the opposition. In addition to proactively campaigning against Mugabe the MDC is now faced with the challenge of protecting its members. MDC has yet another burden of taking care of its wounded members. This means MDC has three major tasks and they are all quite formidable because they are dealing with a fully armed oppressive machinery which operates under direct orders from Mugabe.
But MDC is not without strengths. Some of these lie in Mugabe’s weaknesses. Having the monopoly of violence in his control of the police, army and the CIO does not give Mugabe a totalitarian control of the entire population. No regime, however brutal, was ever able to have absolute control of its oppressed nation.
One strength the Zimbabweans are using is resilience. Their ability to withstand and survive the harsh dictatorial rule of Mugabe is, ironically, creating stress in not only Mugabe himself but the police, army, CIO and their hired thugs.
But resilience alone will not push the agenda for change fast and far enough. Resilience relies on Mugabe and his cronies getting exhausted from beating people. What is needed is the infusion of another people -driven initiative that will be a catalyst for change.
However, if they are to be proactive agents of change, people must have the confidence to overcome fear generated by the abductions and savage beatings by Mugabe’s thugs. Resilience is a double edged sword. On one hand, it gives people the will to live and keep going on in the face of such oppression. But resilience also dumbs people into a sense of a fear- driven resignation and inability to take mass action.
People are in despair. They feel a sense of helplessness in the face of such brutal repression by Mugabe’s storm troopers.
One small but significant step to overcome this fear factor would be a strategy to resist abductions. If Zimbabweans can see that they cannot just be picked at will and randomly and be subjected to all kinds of inhuman and bestial measures, that might go some way in instilling confidence to take on the regime through mass action.
Here are examples of measures people can take.
Zimbabweans must use strategies that many women have been taught in order to avoid becoming rape victims. Women are encouraged to avoid traveling alone in high risk areas. They are also taught to be part of a network where they can call for help. Where possible, women are encouraged to have a working cell phone so they can call people they know and trust for help. As a last resort women are also taught, where possible, to carry mace pepper sprayers or tasers which can stop a potential rapist and give the victim a chance to escape and call for help. Women are also encouraged to learn martial arts and other ways of surviving.
In a similar vein opposition supporters should discuss similar and appropriate measures, especially for the more visible and most sought after leadership at all levels. They should be suspicious of mysterious men in dark glasses who approach them with all kinds of cock and bull yarns to coax them into their vehicles.
MDC officials and their supporters should learn the basic survival techniques in the face of attempted abductions. It is illegal to abduct. Therefore, potential victims have, under the international law, the right to defend themselves using whatever means they can muster to survive this kind of state -sponsored terrorism.
Women are also taught to, where possible, run to public places and scream for help. They can also scream for anyone with a cell phone to call a certain number. Members of the public may not always respond but there is always a prayerful hope that at least someone in the crowd might have enough courage to use his or her cell phone to call for help.
Individual experiences vary. But it is important that kidnap victims should be aware of a range of possibilities they could consider when faced with a potential abduction.