Tsvangirai calls the stolen election and the swearing in of Robert Mugabe as President Mugabe “a huge joke!” He is now calling on the African leaders in Egypt for the AU Summit starting tomorrow to reject Mugabe as the true Head of State of Zimbabwe. That is a very tough decision he is asking the AU to take.
If the presidential run-off had been truly free and fair, no doubt he would have been the one making his maiden appearance at the summit. If the shoe was on the other foot, and one of the Africa’s many dictator was riding roughshod over his people just as Mugabe has done. Would he stand up with leaders like Prime Rally Odinga of Kenya and condemn the said dictator, particularly since his own experience under Mugabe would still be fresh and the broken bones of his supporters still in plasters? Of course he could chose “quite diplomacy”, a favourite of SA President Thabo Mbeki. Then there is the most popular option of saying nothing and doing nothing – do not rock the boat, after all you too may need to rig elections, violate human rights, etc. sooner than you think!
Well Mr Morgan Tsvangirai you are not going to Egypt still you now have to demonstrate whether you would take act on the advice you so freely give to others. You want the AU not to recognise Mugabe as the President of Zimbabwe, right? Well are you going to do the same? There is the little matter of swearing in of the newly elected MPs and opening of the new parliament; Mugabe as the President of Zimbabwe will preside over these formalities. If MDC does not recognise Mugabe as the legitimate head of state then all recently elected MDC MPs and Senators can not take part!
Of course a tough stance by MDC will send a clear message to the AU that this is a problem that they deal with now or will have to deal with tomorrow or the day after that - it will simply not go away. Mugabe may think he is thick skinned by the prospect of a bye-election in over half the constituencies will wear him down.
Frankly I do not see MDC boycotting parliament and taking a tough stance against Mugabe. MDC leaders are itching to start enjoying the generous fringe benefits of being an elected official. Mugabe knows better that denying MDC MPs and Senators the privileged life style afforded his own cronies. MDC would join in a Mugabe led Government of National Unity even if it is clear such a regime would be totally ineffective in turns of taking the nation out of the mess Mugabe has landed it in. There will even be an open revolt by MDC leaders if Tsvangirai was to push them hard on this point.
There is all the evidence that Tsvangirai was not going to take his on advice not to recognise Mugabe as President of Zimbabwe- he has said or do nothing about that himself! It was one thing Mr Tsvangirai turning done the chance to drink glasses the best (nothing but the best for President Mugabe) French wine at President Mugabe’s swearing-in ceremony – electing to drown his disappointment with Dutch beer at the Dutch Embassy a few km away from State House- quite another taking the tough statesmanship choices!
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