EU delegate welcomed by Mugabe; but are a curse to Zimbabwe's regime change agenda!

Mugabe welcomes a high ranking EU delegation with “open arms” to mark the thawing relationship between the dictator and the Union.

The West imposed targeted sanction of Mugabe in 2002 following his failure to hold free and fair elections and thus afford the Zimbabwean electorate a meaningful say in the governance of the country. Last year’s run-off presidential elections were even worse, Mugabe “declared war” on the people, as Tsvangirai so aptly put it.

When Mugabe dangled the carrot of the premiership to Tsvangirai, the later immediately forgot all hundreds of innocent blood the dictator had just shed and joined him to form the GNU. Indeed the political violence has never really stop and on Saturday Mugabe was telling his party’s Youth League those who had dare to vote against him last year had sold out. They should not allow that to ever happen again in future.

One of the key tasks for this GNU is to produce a new constitution in 18 to 24 months. The nation is then set to hold fresh election. Mugabe has already started denouncing his critics and opponents as anti-Zimbabweans the next election is set to be as violent and bloody as past election. Tsvangirai, blinded by all the trimmings of office, has himself refused to acknowledge Mugabe is the same ruthless dictator has always been; being in the GNU has not changed him in any way.

In June Mugabe sent Tsvangirai on a diplomatic charm offensive to the West to get sanctions lifted West financial aid renewed. Much to the annoyance of most Zimbabweans, particularly those at the cutting edge of Mugabe’s continued repression and misrule, Tsvangirai told the world Mugabe had changed and Zimbabwe was on an “irreversible” democratic path.

All the Western government dismissed Tsvangirai’s optimism with the contempt it rightly deserved and sent him back empty handed. All that is except European Union, they seemed impressed by the GNU and were ready to work with Mugabe.

On Saturday 12 September a high powered EU delegation led by EU Aid and Development Commissioner Karel De Gucht visited Zimbabwe and met the dictator Mugabe himself. It is a very significant diplomatic victory for the ruthless dictator Mugabe. He welcomed the delegation “with open arms”!

When Mugabe was asked after his meeting with the EU delegates whether he consider stepping down he laughed and answered “You are asking a regime change question. I am still young.”

This was a laughing matter to the dictator; he has vowed that only God will remove him from office. But to the Zimbabweans this is no laughing matter.

Zimbabwe is in this political and economic mess because the people could NOT achieve regime change even when there was overwhelming evidence that Mugabe’s regime was incompetent, corrupt and repressive. For three decade Mugabe’s message to the Zimbabwe electorate was that they could vote for whomever the pleased as long as he alone emerges the winner; Henry Ford style. Of course it is the people who have should have the final say expressed through free and fair election on who should rule. Until this anomaly is dealt with the country will remain in this hell-hole.

So good governance and regime change remains top on the Zimbabwe national agenda.

The only reason EU Commissioner Gucht should be doing in Zimbabwe right now is to ensure the hang-man's noose seats snugly round the dictator’s neck. The targeted sanctions should be extended beyond the mere 203 individuals and 40 companies, for example, to include the next tier of the Zanu PF leadership and all their children and dependents.

Instead, the EU is welcoming Mugabe back into the community of nations, lift the sanctions and renew financial aid to the dictator. The EU is sweeping all the human rights violation and murders Mugabe has committed under the carpet. And worse still, the EU endorsing the dictator’s position that he alone - and not the Zimbabwean electorate - should continue to decide who rules the country.

The right to have a meaningful say in the governance of one’s country is a basic and fundamental human right. It is bad enough that one has to remind dictators like Mugabe of that; it is heartbreaking that one to do the same with EU leaders too. The truth even powerful democratic institutions like EU are still led by white racists who deep down do NOT accept that blacks are really fully subscribed members of the human race and therefore do not have to be accorded the same human rights and dignities accorded to whites.

The EU can renew their past practise of propping up Mugabe; this GNU is nothing but a Mugabe dictatorship in everything but name. This will save to dilute the strong message the West was sending to the dictator and will, no doubt, help Mugabe to extend his ruinous rule of Zimbabwe. Still, regime change and good governance will remain firmly on the national agenda – this is one issue this nation must now resolve once and for all. Regime change is a now a matter of national survival, Mugabe can delude himself in thinking only God can remove his repressive regime!