Nothing, absolutely nothing will ever be achieved in Zimbabwe until something is finally done to end the culture of politically motivated violence Mugabe imposed on Zimbabwe. In 1980 the people voted for Mugabe because they feared if Zanu PF lost the civil war will not stop. Mugabe has played on this fear for the last thirty years.
Mugabe has created a de facto one-party dictatorship in Zimbabwe by undermining the country’s democratic institution like the media, Police and judiciary so that they would not provide the check and balances against his tyrannical rule. He has effectively silenced his political critics and opponents by enacting oppressive laws and acting outside the law when it suited his selfish gain. Mugabe had Zanu PF Women and Youth Leagues members and later War Veterans whose task was to intimidate and terrorise the civilian population to ensure they remained faithful to Mugabe and Zanu PF.
Every time Mugabe felt his hold on power threatened he has stepped up the violence and lawlessness a gear or two. In the 2008 election the people desperate for changed momentarily ignored the ever present “buzzing noise” of violence and lawlessness to vote for changed in the March vote. Mugabe stepped up the intimidation to ensure that he wins the presidential run-off that followed. This time the Police, Army and CIO who normally paid a blind eyed to Zanu PF thugs’ lawlessness this time spear headed the thuggery. Millions of Zimbabweans were terrorised, beaten, raped and/or had their property destroyed. Over 500 were adapted and murdered.
MDC had neither the vision nor the political finesse to realise that nothing would be achieved until Mugabe is stopped from effectively holding the gun to the nation. MDC had hoped the drafting of the new constitution would be a success; a plus amongst the forest of negatives in a GNU in which it has been reduced into a pathetic junior partner with no meaningful power. But again Zanu PF has stepped up the violence to ensure only its point of view is heard during the consultation meetings.
Mugabe has shown again and again that he the political muscle to turn Zimbabwe into a lawless country and is not afraid to flex that muscle when push comes to shove. The Zimbabwe populous has always known that and gave him the absolute power he wanted. In the circumstance that made perfect sense. If Tsvangirai had no vision or finesse to address the single most important issue of our generation why should the populous risk their very lives supported such a man?
The sad truth is neither Tsvangirai nor SADC have the courage to admit political motivated violence is THE single most important issue in the Zimbabwe crisis. If they admitted that they would be great pressure to offer a way out and so they all pretend not to see the elephant in the room.
People of Zimbabwe find themselves in exactly the same helpless situation they found themselves in April 2008 when Mugabe stepped up his threat of violence and lawlessness. The last two years of GNU have made no difference to their situation. If the GNU was Tsvangirai and SADC’s plan A to ending Mugabe’s reign of terror – many of us dismissed it as appeasement and doomed to fail – the bottom line is the plan has not change anything. The people of Zimbabwe should stop calling for MDC and/or SADC’s plan B. Neither MDC nor SADC have a plan B.
President Zuma is calling fresh elections in 2011 in much the same way Tsvangirai pushed for the drafting of the new constitution without addressing the underlying cause of Zimbabwe’s political crisis. Of course the fresh election will turnout to be yet another meaningless exercise just as the drafting of the new constitution has done.
It is high time we, the Zimbabwean people, looked for plan B of our own. The solution to our problem is a simple and nothing new and dependent on the following coming together:
a) The realisation that it is the Zimbabwean people ourselves who have to face and deal with the tyrant in our midst. Whilst SADC and the international community can help ultimately the burden of restoring the rule of law is ours and ours alone. So far we have yet to we mean business.
One should never under estimate the cathartic value walking the walk and fighting the fight. A nation tested and purified by the struggle will cherish and guard their freedoms and rights with the diligence and vigour that will make it near impossible for a tyrant to emerge ever again!
b) We have treated by this Mugabe regime and the Smith regime before it as if we are second class citizens. If we are ever to be treated with the respect and dignity we rightly deserve then we must demand the freedoms and rights denied us all these years and never to settle for anything else.
We can demonstrate that we mean business about ending human rights violation whenever they occur and documenting to ensure that in future we can get redress even that is denied us today.
c) Our plan A was to risk all and give Tsvangirai the electoral mandate to change things. He has turned out to be an incompetent, naïve and blundering idiot. It is both disappointing and hard to accept but it is nonetheless a fact and one we must now accept and move on.
As a nation we must now come up with a real alternative leadership to Mugabe for next year’s election. The threat of political violence worse than that seen in 2008 is real and it is irresponsible for anyone to ask the Zimbabwe electorate to risk Mugabe’s wrath again and vote for an idiot. Even if Mugabe did not use violence still the nation need a pathfinder leader to get us out of this mess, Tsvangirai is not that leader.
d) Mugabe’s terror machine is controlled by the ruling elite plus hundreds of thousands of ordinary Zimbabweans who have been co-opted to run it. Whilst Mugabe and his inner circle have enjoyed absolute power and have benefited from the looting of the nation’s resources. The dictatorship’s foot soldiers the Zanu PF Youth, the War Veterans and the rank and file officers in the Police and Army have suffered with the rest of us from the economic melt down.
The dictatorship’s foot soldiers are as much the victims of this failed regime as the rest of us. Still they have now to learn fast than they continued willingness to do the regime’s dirty work for whatever crimps falling off the dictator’s table is the root cause of the nation’s suffering.
The Zanu PF Youth are often referred to as the “green bomber” in reference to a green fly with a strong preference for shit. These are someone’s son or sister and we should first of all tell them to desist doing all this “shit” work for Mugabe. Then we must warn them of the dire consequences of intimidating and terrorising innocent people.
e) Similarly the rank and file in the Police must be warned about hunting with the dogs and running with the hare. Any Police Officer who really believes that it is his or her duty to turn a blind eye to political violence regardless of the perpetrator’s political connections should be stripped the honour of serving in the Zimbabwe Republic Police.
It is in the power of ordinary Zimbabweans to end this nightmare that has befallen our beloved country. Mugabe has turned our dream of freedom, liberty and a life with human dignity into a nightmare. He used the gun to end white colonial oppression but sadly, he turned the gun on us to impose his tyrannical rule. We should have stood up to him way back in 1980 instead of appeasing him. We must stand up to him now or this cursed regime will continue to ruin our lives.
The threat of political violence remain the greatest issue on Zimbabwe’s agenda, we must deal with it by showing for once that we will be ruled by reason and not fear.
Dread Dread6
You are one sick idiot! Millions of Zimbabweans were intimidated, beaten, raped and/or had their property destroyed. Are you telling me that not one of these victims reported the abuse to the Police? Even if not one of the victims bothered to report, surely someone in authority including Police Officers must have witnessed at least one of these serious human rights violations and taken action. Over 500 people were murdered in the three month of April to June 2008. Even an idiot like you Dread Dread 6 would agree that the Police are expected to carry out a thorough investigation in such cases. Surprise, surprise, the Police is yet to arrest no one murderer!
You are South African and therefore can not expect you to feel for the suffering and violent death of all these Zimbabweans, still one expected you to have some empathy for fellow human beings. You indifference to the suffering of Zimbabweans is insulting to every Zimbabwean and every other human being!
2 comments:
Mugabe can continue blaming the sanctions for Zimbabwe’s problems but he is fooling no one.
On the economic front; it is the years of gross economic mismanagement and rampant corruption that destroyed Zimbabwe’s economy. The final straw that broke the camel’s back was the looting of the once productive farms by the ruling elite only to sell whatever they can and leave the land to the weeds. One of the key planks of Mugabe’s voodoo economic policies was printing money fuelling the country’s hyper inflation which is 2008 was seating at a staggering 500 billion %. When the country finally abandoned the Z$ and Gono’s mint fell silent over night the shops filled with food and other goods and there was some economic stability. The “evil sanction” Mugabe keeps moaning about were still in place.
Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe’s biggest political problem is that the people have been denied a meaningful say in the governance of the country. And until this political problem is addressed nothing can be achieved. When in 2008 you unleashed you “mad dogs” to intimidate rape, beat and murder the people was it the “evil sanctions” that spurred you to do this?
Today Zimbabwe finds itself in the ridiculous position in which the Police, the Army and the CIO not only turn a blind eye to politically motivated violence but are spear heading the violence and lawlessness! This is an outrage.
The root cause of all the human sufferings, unnecessary lose of lives because of the barely functioning health system, political oppression and murder in Zimbabwe is tyrannical regime of Robert Mugabe. The targeted sanctions are an inconvenience to the ruling elite and they should be stepped up so that they can start to real hurt them and the families. Lifting the sanctions will not improve the lot of ordinary Zimbabweans but will only boost the arrogance of Mugabe!
I must say, I am really disappointed that Tsvangirai and his MDC party have again allowed Mugabe to gravel endlessly on nonsense when the nation should be talking about the many important issues affecting millions of our people! What a useless bunch of idiots Tsvangirai and his lot have turned out to be!
@John Berry
There are many more possible combinations than would be more relevant and precise than you rather simplistic and blunt “wrong and popular or right and unpopular?
: egotistic, incompetent, greedy, corrupt, ruthless tyrant with blood thousands who has used brute force to imposed his rule on the people – BOB and ruling elite!
: corrupt, greedy, stupid, would sell own mother for a price and be proud had a mother to sell and as blind as a bat – you John and rest of Mugabe apologists and acolytes
:poor, hungry, angry, denied of even the most basic human rights and dignity and without hope – millions of ordinary Zimbabweans
:voice of common sense, justice and humanity – me and the millions of others moved by the human tragedy in Zimbabwe
@John Berry
You do like arguing in circles.
“Can you tell me of the "independent arbitrators" that oversaw the elections in the UK and the US............................” UK, US and most of the West have independent election commissions who will not be leaned upon by anyone to withhold election results for five weeks, independent media and Police who will investigate any election irregularities let alone blatant lawlessness, independent judiciary to ensure all those breaking the law are punished, etc. Any party can call for outside supervisors and there will be no interference from the government of the day. None of these things are possible in Zimbabwe.
No one is say Zimbabwe must be a perfect democracy but surely it can hold free and fair elections? It is nonsense that since no nation is a perfect democracy Zimbabwe does not have to deliver even the most basic requirements for free and fair elections.
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