The big question of our time is: Why is Tsvangirai so resolutely committed to this Government of National Unity (GNU), viewing it as the “only game in town” and “irreversible”; in the face of overwhelming evidence that the coalition is not working? To really understand why Tsvangirai is doing this, one has to climb into Tsvangirai skin and walk around in it.
“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view. Until you climb into his skin and walk around in it,” wrote Harper Lee in TO KILL A MOCKING BIRD.
There are those, and they are many, who said union between Tsvangirai and Mugabe was a marriage made in Hell. Others were more patient and wanted to give the union a chance, they labelled it a marriage of convenience. Tsvangirai himself said the arrangement was “not perfect but workable”. It was left to “Time” to settle the matter.
After four months of the GNU the decision is unanimous, the marriage was NOT working. It is such a one sided affair in which Mugabe has all the power and has continued to ride rough shod over Tsvangirai, MDC and the ordinary people and so, yes it is a marriage made in Hell.
Even before the GNU was sworn in Mugabe was making unilateral decisions such as the appointment Gideon Gono governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and Johannes Tomana, the Attorney General, for example. The appointments were contrary to the word and spirit of the Global Political Agreement (GPA). For five months Tsvangirai has fought to have these appointments reserved but failed. He even tried to force SADC’s hand on the matter and the regional body has played deaf, dumb, blind and stupid!
When Tsvangirai left Zimbabwe last month on his begging tour of Europe and USA the jury had given their thumbs down on the GNU and yet Tsvangirai told his hosts the exact opposite; the GNU was working. He was like one of those cheap magicians whose trick has been discovered and yet still goes through the motions. He made a complete fool of himself. The West sent him back empty handed.
Tsvangirai gave an interview with Atika Shubert in CNN AFRICAN VOICES. The interview gave some insight into who he is and what him tick. (The interview is available on http://edition.cnn.com/CNNI/Programs/africanvoices/)
“Without economic prosperity and economic recovery, democracy is useless,” Tsvangirai said. Well that would explains why Tsvangirai has failed to take an uncompromising stand against human rights abuses and the continued lawlessness by Mugabe and his henchmen.
In fact, this is nothing new African leaders see good governance as a threat to their hold on power and therefore consider political rights as secondary to economic rights. Mugabe has a similar approach. The truth is political rights cost nothing or very little to deliver and secondly if the leaders fail to deliver the economic prosperity, without the political rights, the populous has no recourse; they can not replace the leaders.
No doubt Tsvangirai will not be too hot on a having a free press and restoring all the basic democratic rights of the people. Ever since the formation of MDC the party and Tsvangirai is person has made some monumental mistakes and the criticism has left him smarting. He is certainly not of the brightest stars in the Zimbabwean sky and he does not like to be reminded of that. So he has cause to focus on the economy and down play political rights.
However there is another reason why Tsvangirai is down playing the continued human rights violations in Zimbabwe; because he is totally powerless to do anything to stop them even if he wanted to.
Last year the nation was subjected to some of the worst politically motivated violence in the last decade; over half a million people were beaten, raped and/or had their property taken away or destroyed. Over 200 people were murdered. Although the wanton violence reduced considerably after 27 June 2008 when Mugabe was declared the winner of the sham presidential run-off; still, it never really stopped. The violence has continued to flare up and the threat of it building up again is there, always.
Mugabe orchestrated last year’s violence using Zanu PF thugs in the form of youth militia and War Veterans. The Police, Army and other State Security agents, who should have contained these political thugs, at best turned a blind eye and often they actually spearheading the violence.
The solution to ending the violence and ensure it will never flare up again is obvious; arrest all those responsible for it including those in the State Security organs and have been all punished. But that is easier said than done!
Tsvangirai did make a stub at reining those responsible for politically motivated violence by making sure that at least one on the State Security organs, the Police, fell under MDC control through the Ministry of Home Affairs. Mugabe insisted the Ministry would be shared by MDC and Zanu PF. Mugabe had his coup de grace when Tsvangirai appointed the most useless individual, Giles Mutsekwa, to be the MDC co- Home Affairs Minister working with a wily Zanu PF co-Minister.
So Mugabe enjoys the same potent power to turn the country into a lawless and violent one as he did before the GNU. His political thugs remain a law onto themselves and the State Security organs will do nothing to end the violence and indeed will openly back the thugs if necessary.
On Monday 13 July 2009 Zanu PF activists completely disrupted a high profile Constitution Conference in Harare. The Police arrested no one and the Zanu PF controlled public media has had a field day blaming the MDC and civic societies for the disruptions. It was a clear reminder of Mugabe’s considerable political muscle and what happens when he flexes it.
The one thing that has completely dominated Tsvangirai’s dealing with Mugabe is his fear the violence the later can unleash. “Mugabe is part of the (Zimbabwe political) solution,” Tsvangirai admitted. “Do you want peace and stability or do you want chaos!” Hence Tsvangirai has sought to appease Mugabe and allowed him all his dictatorial powers.
The fundamental weakness with Tsvangirai’s appeasement policy is that the status quo is what landed the nation into the current political and economic mess and it is nonsense to think that it will, somehow, get us out. Secondly, Tsvangirai’s fear of Mugabe and his one-track minded mentality has stopped him considering other alternatives and seizing the many political opportunities that presented themselves.
Mugabe’s struggle hold on the country’s heavily politicised security organs is not as solid and firm as Tsvangirai fears. Whilst the top ranking members in the Police, Army, etc. are considered part of the country’s ruling elite are therefore have greatly benefited from the rampant looting of the nation’s wealth; those lower down have suffered the consequences of the economic melt down with the rest of us.
Now with the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe cleaned out and the West refusing to give Zimbabwe any aid, even the ruling elite will soon feel the effects of the economic melt down this time. There some in the Army and Police who have recently renewed their unflinching support of the dictatorship; these are the simpletons who have yet to realise that the status quo is not sustainable. They think the good times will be back, let them dream on!
As the economic hardship begins to bit the blind loyalty to the dictatorship will vanish like mist in the morning sun. Tsvangirai and MDC have failed to capitalise on this and as long as he remains in the GNU, he can not!
Tsvangirai and MDC’s greatest opportunity to change Zimbabwe was soon after the sham June election. Mugabe had been widely rejected as the legitimately elected president of Zimbabwe, even by some of his fellow African leaders would do endorse such a blatantly fraudulent election. Mugabe was on the hook and by signing the GPA Tsvangirai got Mugabe off the hook.
Tsvangirai has cast himself as a man of peace, taking great pride in achieving democratic change in Zimbabwe without resorting to violence. He has sometimes compared himself to the late Dr Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi. He is nothing like them. Whilst King and Gandhi went to great lengths to expose the justices of the day, Tsvangirai has sort to cover it up to appease the powers that be.
So who is Tsvangirai? He is a simple man of fuzzy ideas. He is scared stiff of the brutal dictator Robert Mugabe whom he is trying to appease under the misguided policy none-violence. Tsvangirai’s political blundering has wasted the many chances Zimbabweans had to end Mugabe’s tyrannical rule, has extended the rule under the guise of GNU and beyond that.
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