Starting today 6 June 2009, Zimbabwe PM Morgan Tsvangirai has started on a three week long tour of Europe and North America. He is on a diplomatic offensive to get the West to give financial aid to Zimbabwe and to lift the targeted economic sanctions. Forget the fancy title, Tsvangirai is Mugabe’s errand boy and I hope he comes back empty handed.
Tsvangirai is behaving like a lazy but stubborn school boy who would not do his home-work and yet insist he should get the reward he was promised if he DID do his home-work.
The West has said again and again that they will not give financial assistance to a white-washed Mugabe regime. All the evidence at the time of signing the GPA and ever since the formation of the GNU has pointed to one conclusion: that Mugabe is calling all the shots and he rules Zimbabwe much as in the past- with an iron fist! And that Tsvangirai and MDC are nothing more than Mugabe’s errand boys!
If Tsvangirai and MDC were in charge then one would have seen some progress in getting those responsible for the serious human rights violations and murders last year arrested and punished. The land issue is another one that required urgent attention and resolution. MDC had promised to carryout a land audit and the party had said the regime would take away the additional farms from those who had more than the stipulated one-farm per individual. After three months one would expect the country to now have restored the rule of law. Sadly none of these issues and many others have not been addressed.
Robert Mugabe has just said he will not allow Gideon Gono to be replaced at the RBZ, no doubt Tomana will stay as AG, the show trials of the MDC supporters and human rights activists have been set, farm invasions have continued with the active support of the state security agents, etc. All these serve to underline that Mugabe is firmly in control. So for Tsvangirai to be visiting the West with all this chaos on the ground will only serve to confirm that he is Mugabe’s errand boy.
It was the economic melt down and the targeted economic sanctions that forced Mugabe and his cabal to accept Tsvangirai and MDC as junior partners in this GNU. But before the ink on the GPA was dry Mugabe was showing his belligerent self. Tsvangirai should have taken a firm stand against the dictator and demanded that he honoured the word and spirit of the agreement. Sadly Tsvangirai did no such thing land the nation in the present position where the dictator once again believes he can do as he pleases.
The Western leaders have agreed to meet Tsvangirai and his entourage on this three week globe-trotting exercise. They must accord the Zimbabwean PM and his team all the hospitality; take then to all the tourist attractions and feed them. However, at the end of the day West must tell this “errand boy” they want to see meaningful change in Zimbabwe and send him and his fellow travellers back empty handed!
The West’s task is not to throw more good money after bad by propping up Mugabe. The GNU as it is presently constituted is nothing but a Mugabe dictatorship with an MDC front. For the long suffering people of Zimbabwe it is tempting to say the West should give in and let Mugabe do as he pleases. What the people’s hope is that with MDC as the junior partner there will be a bit more falling off the dictator’ table for them.
The people should thus give up hope of full democratic change, of restoration of justice and rule of law and of solid economic recovery. That the nation should accept living under the shadow of fear, corruption and all the misery the dictatorship stand for.
Fellow Zimbabweans we have come a long way, the road has been rough and the load heavy. For three decades, we have appeased Mugabe and let him do as he pleased and he did. With each year he has stayed in power he has made our lives more and more difficult not less. Tsvangirai has not reduced Mugabe’s dictatorial powers in any way. This GNU seeks to extend Mugabe’s rule not to end it. Tsvangirai and his MDC friends been welcome at Mugabe’s high table and they will do nothing to risk their position.
On the other hand, we the people have nothing to gain from this GNU but everything to lose from its continued existence - our democratic right to a fair share in the country’s wealth and a life with dignity. Tsvangirai chose to be Mugabe’s errand boy, he betrayed us in joining Mugabe’s brutal dictatorship. We must not fellow him down this road to hell.
As long as the West do not fail us and prop up this Mugabe dictatorship masquerading as GNU the dictatorship will fail. It has stolen everything worth stealing and sold everything worth selling, it is broke. If Tsvangirai comes back empty handed like Tendai Biti before him; Mugabe will be forced to accept regime change this time!
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