Can somebody please explain to me how come Mugabe is in New York (albeit at a UN meeting, technically not on American soil but on international soil) when US sanctions prevent him from travelling to the US?
Ethan Zuckerman of Global Voices has a really interesting post titled ‘Zimbabwe: Reading between the lines’ on his blog, …My heart’s in Accra, about his recent visit to Zimbabwe.
Well worth a read!
There’s an interesting article in the current Financial Gazette titled MDC ‘infiltrated’ . The article focuses on the findings of a commission of inquiry set up by the Morgan Tsvangirai faction of the MDC into the violent attacks against Trudy Steveson and other party officials. These are random extracts - it is well worth reading the article in its entirety:
Zimbabwe’s secret service, the dreaded Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) allegedly took advantage of the schism within the opposition Movement for Democratic Change to perpetrate last July’s brutal attack on Harare North legislator Trudy Stevenson and four other party officials, according to a report compiled by a commission of inquiry set up by one of the feuding factions of the party. In a 123-page report immediately dismissed by critics as a desperate attempt at self-cleansing, a commission of inquiry appointed by Morgan Tsvangirai’s faction of the MDC - which has been accused of orchestrating the assault - found that the opposition party had been heavily infiltrated by the CIO and its agents. The commission, chaired by Advocate Happias Zhou, found that the CIO masterminded the attack on Stevenson, Simangele Manyere, Linos Mushonga, Luxon Sibanda and Tawanda Mudzerema on Sunday, July 2 2006. Zhou’s commission included lawyers Irene Petras of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, Kay Ncube of Gill, Godlonton and Gerrans and Kudakwashe Matibiri.
[...]
Reads part of the findings: “All evidence points to the involvement of the CIO in the attack of Mrs Stevenson and her colleagues in so far as they infiltrated the opposition MDC. Mrs Stevenson, herself, categorically stated that in her belief the attack was carried out by or with the involvement of the CIO who she believes have infiltrated the Tsvangirai-led MDC. She (Stevenson) did not seem to have considered the possibility that her own grouping had been infiltrated, although it is a real possibility. The presence of a police motor vehicle soon after the attack is suspicious. The attack was carried out with such skill and efficiency that even though it happened in broad daylight there were no eyewitnesses. Further, it took the police about four or so days before they arrested the first suspects whom they subsequently released. That approach is consistent with an intention to divert attention from the real perpetrators of the brutal act.”
[...]
The Commission’s findings reveal what it described as a “naïve perception” on the part of the leadership of the party in Mabvuku that there were some members of the CIO and senior police officers who were sympathetic to their cause. “Even the member of parliament is not immune to that quixotic notion. As a result, the state agents and senior police officers have inside information on all operations of the party.”
This is not new information. Sokwanele mailed out an article earlier this year (10 February) titled “You will know them by their fruits”: Is Zimbabwe’s CIO involved in the MDC split?. Our article explores the actions of various characters within the MDC, associating well known names with violence, and others with failed mass action. Please read the Financial Gazette article and then read the Sokwanele piece. Towards the end of the article Sokwanele wrote:
We end where we began - with two bitterly divided factions of the MDC. Each needs the other yet at the moment they are divided into two warring camps. Accusations are being traded back and forth on the basis that absolute right resides on the one side of the divide and the other is somehow complicit with ZANU PF. Yet we urge our readers to consider another possibility - namely that, wittingly or unwittingly, both sides have played right into the hands of the CIO. Consider that this is precisely the end result the CIO planned all those years ago when the MDC was first formed, and which the CIO has carefully choreographed through the intervening turbulent years, to be brought to a dramatic denouement just as ZANU PF reaches its lowest ebb in terms of popularity and would otherwise be on the ropes. Consider how convenient the timing to a desperate ZANU PF. Consider how otherwise a strong opposition would be in a position to press home its advantage and demand real and radical change.
We do not seek to arbitrate between the two warring factions but we do wish to sound a clear wake-up call to civic society. It is desperately important that we all cease henceforth from making simplistic judgments between the one MDC faction and the other. It is dismaying to see how otherwise sane and rational people have leapt to accuse people in one or other camp without taking the time to consider the hard evidence, or lack of evidence, supporting such allegations. It is time we considered that our assumptions may not be correct, or not wholly correct. It is time we considered that perhaps the CIO is involved in both sides of this dispute and that neither side commands absolute moral high ground. It is time to consider that perhaps the very people we think are the “good guys” simply because they are on the “right side” and saying the “right things” are anything but that.
And how has Tsvangirai received the findings of this commission of inquiry appointed by his own faction of the MDC?
Tsvangirai said his party would go through “intensive leadership analysis and scrutiny” in light of the findings of the commission. He also said he did not agree with all the findings of the commission. “We disagree with some of the findings because they are based on factually incorrect information. For instance, the commission says we have a security department headed by Nhamo Musekiwa. We do not have such a department. The commission also states that previous attempts to address issues of violence within the party failed to bear fruit. That is incorrect. We took action against certain individuals involved in violence in the past. In June 2005, we expelled more than 30 youths from the party because of their violent activities,” Tsvangirai said.
Did he take full action against ALL those accused? Turning again to the Sokwanele article, I’ve highlighted sections of the text that require critical thinking:
Again in May 2005 there was an outbreak of serious violence within the MDC. A week of sporadic attacks on individuals who worked closely with Welshman Ncube culminated in a violent rampage through Harvest House by the same vigilante group of youths. Again it was the same instigators of the violence and the same plot - to isolate Ncube and undermine his authority within the party, effectively therefore dividing the MDC. When the violence was at its height Isaac Matongo stood outside Harvest House, quietly observing events. He was in fact challenged to intervene and restore order by other observers who thought it his clear duty as party chairman to do so. Matongo however refused to intervene. Matongo escaped sanction in a subsequent enquiry in which he ironically presided over himself.
[...]
Tsvangirai entrusted the re-structuring of his slimmed down version of the MDC [...] to none other than Isaac Matongo. Under his direction elections have been held at district and provincial level.
[...]
The only member of the MDC Management Committee who has not been detained or obviously harassed by the regime since the formation of the MDC in1999 is none other than Isaac Matongo. Tsvangirai and Ncube both had to endure a treason trial and the detention that went with that. Sibanda was detained after the “Final Push”. Chimanikire has been detained on several occasions. Dulini-Ncube lost his eye during his 2001/2002 detention which included a long period of solitary confinement. Virtually every other MDC leader of any significance has been detained or harassed in some way, but never Matongo. For that matter nor has Gandi Mudzingwa. The question must be asked: “why is this?” Do the CIO not know that Matongo is head of the so called DRC?
Do you think that Tsvangirai’s claim that action was taken against all those involved in violence is entirely accurate?
In February 2006 Sokwanele concluded:
It is also high time we ended the personality cult in Zimbabwean politics. It is time we stopped blindly following (even popular and charismatic) personalities who have already shown that they are seriously flawed as leaders. Where there is confusion and uncertainty in the political realm, as here, it falls to civic society to critique those who put themselves forward for positions of leadership. The evidence is before us if only we will take the trouble to sift and weigh it.
That conclusion still holds true today, and is given added gravitas by the findings of the Morgan Tasvangirai faction’s commission of inquiry concluding that the CIO has inflitrated the MDC.
Everyone is concerned, and rightfully so, about the impact that Mugabe’s government’s desired communication laws will have on our human right to free expression and communication. But an article via the BBC points to another threat to communication: will Mugabe’s government’s economic mismanagement be more effective at silencing us than their oppressive laws?
In another sign of Zimbabwe’s economic meltdown, its main internet connection has been shut because of unpaid debts.
One internet provider said the closure was “catastrophic.”
[...]
Meanwhile, Zimbabwe’s Internet Service Providers Association (Zispa) said that e-mail traffic and web use was down by 90% after the main satellite internet connection run by the state-owned TelOne was closed over a debt of $700,000.
TelOne says it is waiting for the foreign currency to pay the bill from Zimbabwe’s central bank.
“This is catastrophic as all legal Internet Service Providers utilize TelOne for their outgoing bandwidth to the World Wide Web as well as for e-mail traffic. In short, this… is causing an almost collapse of the Internet in Zimbabwe,” said Mweb, the country’s biggest provider.
09;00AM 15 SEPTEMBER 2006
Harare
30 people arrested in Harare during the ZCTU protests on Wenesday are still in Police custody. The 16 who were detained and assaulted at the notorious Matapi Police station including the ZCTU leadership final got medical check ups (under police guard) this morning at Pariranyatwa hospital after protracted negotiations between the lawyer and the top hierachy of the Police.It has been established that Wellington Chibebe, the ZCTU Secretary General, fractured an arm and has bruishes on nhis head which is swollen. He has been admitted in hospital for treatment. Other activists who visibly could not walk properly were examined and sent back to the Harare Central Police Holding cells.
Meanwhile, lawyers have made an urgent chamber application to the Highcourt to compel police to take the arrested to remand court
Chitungwiza
The activists who were arrested in Chitungwiza, were released yesterday after paying admission of guilt fines. 8 of them who were assaulted by the police were able to receive medical attentionGweru
12 people who were arrested in Chegutu are expected to appear in court today. They are being charged under the Criminal Law, Codification and Reform Act.Victoria Falls
3 Members of the ZCTU who were arrested on Wednesday are still in Police detention in Victoria Falls. Lawyers are negotiating for their release. the three were arrested for their role in organising the protests.Kadoma
II members of the ZCTU are appearing in court in Kadoma, having being arrested on wednesday and charged under the Criminal Law and Codification Act.
More on the protests at these links:
As of today, 107 WOZA women are still in custody. They were arrested on the 11 September along with five babies. One woman went into labour while in custody and WOZA are still unsure as to the whereabouts of her or her newborn baby. What follows are a series of press release detailing the events since the arrests.
Please note that WOZA are asking people to help them to pressurise the police to release the women.
Although lawyers are writing to request the release of mothers and babies as well as the sick, please assist us by phoning Central to pressure for their release.
HARARE POLICE STATIONS
Braeside (Earlier reported as Hillside) - +263 4 742261 / 742260 / 742259
Mbare +263 4 706401
Glen Norah +263 4 611719 / 611478
Highlands + 263 4 495304 / 495340 / 495504
Chitungwiza + 263 70 22001
Central +263 4 733033 / 777777 (Assistant Inspector Shumba and Superintendent Tendere are dealing with this case)Don’t forget the abusive Officer Mhondoro on +263 11 513 364. (Read about Mhondoro here)
Please also call Sekesai Makwavarara and help us to hold her accountable. If there was respect for freedom of expression and assembly in Zimbabwe, our sisters would not be in custody and Sekesai would not be sitting in Town House failing to deliver basic needs such as affordable water and other services.
Call her on +263 4 752580 – 1. Her secretary Diana will put you through. The fax number is +263 4 753425.
These are the WOZA press releases, in reverse chronological order.
NEWS UPDATE
Wednesday 13th September – 3pmHARARE – 107 still in custody but are being joined by ZCTU protesters There is no news from Harare as police officers were not available in their offices today to process the 107 women for court. Last night 62 members at Harare Central signed warn and cautioned statements. There was however confusion as to who had removed the other members to different police stations. There are 10 members at Chitungwiza, 10 at Mbare, 10 at Rhodesville and 15 at Southerton. None of these members have been brought to Central to sign statements. Lawyers are still trying to make progress to get the women released but they are the same legal reaction team representing those just arrested from the lunchtime ZCTU protest.
We are still trying to track the new mother without success. Police are not providing her name and Parirenyatwa Hospital officials are being difficult and refusing to divulge information.
BULAWAYO – Six members of WOZA arrested alongside ZCTU protesters
In Bulawayo, WOZA began their protest within the vicinity of the designated starting point of the ZCTU called demonstration. Police pounced however before they had gone too far and told the women that they did not want to arrest them today but wanted ‘men’. We presume this meant ZCTU as we had seen a group of men in overalls arrested just moments before.
As more and more police came into the venue surrounds, it became apparent that ZCTU had not managed to start at the ZESA headquarters or at the TM Hypermarket. The situation became more and more tense with the police water cannon eventually arriving on the scene. WOZA women decided to switch to a Plan C and started to move people to an alternate venue but failed to keep it quiet as ZCTU members all started to follow recognisable WOZA leaders. A police traffic vehicle tailed one leader for five blocks before catching up with her and telling her to start somewhere further along than the ZCTU targeted area.
By 1pm when WOZA were about to start their demo for a second time, riot police swooped and arrested six women, among them a WOZA poet and vocalist.
WOZA recognise support from the many police who told us we were not their target today but urge them to show the same respect for our partners in the struggle for a dignified Zimbabwe.
NEWS UPDATE
Tuesday 12th September – 4pmA baby is born
News from the sisters in custody indicate that a pregnant woman amongst those arrested yesterday went into labour and has since been rushed to Parirenyatwa Hospital where she has given birth. We are trying to follow up and ensure that mother and baby are well cared for. The lawyer tried unsuccessfully to gain access to her this morning but was this afternoon advised that she was rushed by ambulance to hospital.
Only 83 of the 107 have so far managed to obtain something to eat as no food is available other than that taken in by ourselves.
After a frustrating day, lawyers have finally been advised that a docket has been handed over to the Police Law and Order Department and will advise in due course of the way forward. WOZA would like to acknowledge that commitment shown by Tafadzwa Mugabe of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights in trying to ensure members gain access to their right to representation. We encourage him to continue until he is able to get them their right to appear before a court of law and be formally charged.
Meanwhile members of WOZA went to police stations to try to determine if members were in custody there and numbers. This search revealed 63 members at Central, 10 in Chitungwiza and 10 in Mbare. No one was found at Highlands or Glen Norah. We are still trying to check on Braeside and possibly at Rhodesville.
NEWS UPDATE
Tuesday 12th September – 10amLatest reports indicate that the group of women and babies (107 + 5 babies) have been split between six stations in Harare: Braeside, Mbare, Glen Norah, Highlands, Chitungwiza and Central. A pregnant woman at Harare Central is now ill from a night in crowded cells. Although lawyers are writing to request the release of mothers and babies as well as the sick, please assist us by phoning Central to pressure for their release.
NEWS UPDATE
Monday 11th September – 8.30pm107 WOZA women and five babies arrested today whilst trying to protest at Town House in Harare are spending their first night in custody. The majority of the group are being held at Harare Central Police Station but reports have been received that 19 have been moved to Hillside Police Station in Cranborne. It is unclear at the moment if any others have been moved to different stations.
Lawyers were in attendance this afternoon but the group has not been formally charged yet.
NEWS UPDATE
Monday 11th September – 3pmWOZA march on Town House despite earlier arrests
At 1.30pm this afternoon, WOZA members marched to Town House in Harare, despite the arrest of approximately 30 of their fellow members less than a block away an hour earlier. The defiant women were met at the entrance of Town House by police and arrested. Eyewitness reports state that five police trucks were seen ferrying those arrested to Harare Central Police Station.
Together with those arrested earlier in the morning, 91 women and four babies are being held at Harare Central. Lawyers have been informed and are in attendance.
The women had been carrying objection letters and placards with them to Town House. Their demands were for better service delivery in Harare, more affordable rates and the dissolution of the Commission that is currently running Harare.
More details will be released when they become available.
BREAKING NEWS FROM WOZA ….
Monday 11th September – 1.15pmWOZA women arrested ahead of a planned sit-in at Town House
Approximately 30 members of WOZA have been arrested in Harare ahead of a planned sit-in at Town House. The sit-in had been intended to demonstrate Harare residents’ anger at the shocking service delivery experienced in the capital.
The members were hoping to address their complaints to Sekesai Makwavarara, the head of the commission running Harare.
Lawyers have been informed of the arrests. More details will be released when they become available.
When: Wednesday 13 September 2006, 12:00 - 2:00pm
Where: The ZCTU leadership will lead processions in the following centres:
Harare, Bulawayo, Gweru, Mutare, Chinhoyi, Masvingo, Chitungwiza, Bindura, Marondera,Norton, Redcliff Zvishavane, Shurugwi, Mvuma, Mvuma, Chivhu, Gokwe, Kwekwe,Hwange,Plumtree,Victoria Falls, Gwanda, Chimanimani, Chipinge, Nyanga, Rusape, Chiredzi, Gutu,Beitbridge,Triangle, Mashava, Kadoma, Kariba, Karoi and Chegutu
In Harare the Procession will leave from the Construction House to deliver a petition to the Minister of Public Service Labour and Social Welfare, the Minister of Finance and to EMCOZ while in other centres the petitions will be delivered to the offices of the Chief Labour Relations Officer who in turn has to forward them to the Ministry of Finance.
The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) will be organizing processions country-wide on Wednesday 13 September 2006 from 12.00 PM to 2.00 PM to show government and employers that workers have gone this far with their suffering and cannot go any further. 80% of Zimbabweans are living in poverty because workers “take home” salaries cannot even take them home. Now is the time to SAY NO!
The ZCTU demands the following;
For more information on the action please contact the ZCTU Information and Organising Departments on 794742 / 794702 / 793093 or Email: info@zctu.co.zw
Kubatana send out this message:
If you can’t be There with the ZCTU then be consciously Aware
Together we can do more . . .
The struggle may be a moral one, or it may be a physical one, or it may be both. But it must be a struggle. Power concedes nothing without a demand; it never has and it never will. – Frederick Douglass
If you are an employer: consider giving your workers the time off to join the ZCTU processions OR encourage them to spend from 12 – 2pm on Wednesday, 13th September in discussion and debate about the factors that are contributing to our national crisis
If you are an employee: get talking together in an effort to stimulate ideas about how we can all contribute to positive change in Zimbabwe
If you are a student or youth: join ZINASU in fighting for the rights of students in Zimbabwe
And . . . everyone out there, fill your hearts and minds with love, peace and positive energy - pump up the volume! Play your favourite music loud and clear between 12 and 2 on Wednesday, 13th September: the beat goes on . . .
[This article was sent out to our subscribers today. Click here to subscribe to the Sokwanele mailing list. ]
The beginning of September in Zimbabwe truly marks the end of winter and the beginning of spring: the fruit trees are beginning to blossom, the birds are busy building nests, the cool mornings are turning into bright warm days.
In March this year, Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of one of the factions of the divided opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), spoke at his party’s congress. He promised a “sustained cold season of peaceful democratic resistance”, which has since been dubbed by his faction of the MDC a “Winter of Discontent”.
His speech outlined the right that the people of Zimbabwe have to mass action, where they are entitled to express themselves and to share their views on the way they are governed, and that “experience shows that only a sustained and concerted effort by all Zimbabweans shall deliver a desired result”.
Tsvangirai continued:
“The phase that we have entered calls upon every one of us to endure the pain and resolutely fight for freedom. In summary, our experience shows us that while we managed to shake the regime with action in March 2003 and in June 2003, we did not move sufficiently to cause meaningful democratic change in our society. The options open to us are very clear: we need a short, sharp programme of action to free ourselves.”
He pledged himself to take up the challenge and lead from the front. This personal pledge and the calls to the people have been repeated often in the last 6 months; they have been used as a rallying call to a subdued yet angry people who are longing for a leadership that will free them from the tyranny of the Zanu PF regime. In July, at a meeting of the MDC provincial chairpersons to evaluate the party’s state of preparedness to embark on a national resistance programme, he encouraged the participants with the words:
“The MDC leadership is ready for a comprehensive roll out effort. We are a serious political party. We represent the last hope of the nation. We have a duty to offer alternatives when a nation is under stress. Our road map to a new Zimbabwe can only be a reality if we make a political statement through action and demonstrate to the world the exact location of Zimbabwe’s political power balance.”
The promise that there would be a winter of discontent has often been repeated by National Executive members of the Tsvangirai faction and newspapers and web sites sympathetic to the Tsvangirai faction such as the Zimbabwean newspaper.
For example Eddie Cross’ website documents all his newsletters written this year which repeatedly make the promise that there would be a winter of discontent. In March he wrote “I expect real action this time and there is, for the first time, going to be a confrontation” (just after the March congress); “we are about to hit this egg hard” (mid April); and continuing with “Lets not despair – the finish line is in sight….. It has taken longer than any of us expected and it has been much tougher than we anticipated, but we are nearly there” (end of July); and talking about moving “towards democratic resistance strategies designed to secure a negotiated settlement of the political crisis and to chart the way forward” (beginning of August).
The Zimbabwean’s front page articles these days have featured positive coverage of Tsvangirai and his faction. By the end of August, in the absence of any concrete fulfilment of these pledges, the faction obviously felt the need to reassure its supporters that it was still committed to mass action, and The Zimbabwean obliged by reporting those speeches. For two consecutive weeks at the end of August, we are regaled with such front page headlines:
“Agreement on mass action”
“Prepare to be arrested – Tsvangirai”
And the current front cover of The Zimbabwean is titled “Government jitters as MDC demo looms” (a misleading headline given the fact that the protests anticipated to go ahead on Wednesday this week have been organised by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU)).
The sloganeering of recent months also seems to have had a personal political motive – namely that of building up Morgan Tsvangirai, and to encourage people to “Morgan’s side” in the split of the MDC into two factions. He has put himself forward as the saviour of the country – the one prepared to lead his people in peaceful mass action against a despotic regime. In other words in the competition to portray the Tsvangirai faction as the “main MDC”, or even the only MDC, the promise of mass action has been deliberately used to create the notion that only Morgan Tsvangirai can deliver Zimbabweans from their plight. Accordingly the question must be asked – “were these promises just ill thought through expressions of genuine desires or were they a cynical and deceitful ploy to bolster support for Morgan Tsvangirai without any real intention of carrying out the promises?” Only time will tell what the truth is. But clearly having made the promise Morgan Tsvangirai must deliver or else many will undoubtedly believe that there was never any real intent to organise a “Winter of Discontent”.
The concerns that there was no real intention to organise a winter of discontent were greatly increased in late June when Morgan Tsvangirai’s spokesman William Bango told the Zimbabwe Independent newspaper that the use of the term “Winter of Discontent” was “metaphorical” and that not much store should be placed in mass action being organised in the winter of 2006. That is simply not good enough for two reasons: firstly from the various statements made by Morgan Tsvangirai and his lieutenants it was made clear that the action would be soon and “short and sharp”; secondly if one does use phrases such as “winter of discontent” especially in autumn (as they were) in a metaphorical way then one has an obligation to tell people explicitly that the phrase is used metaphorically, otherwise hopes will be unnecessarily raised only to be dashed.
However, whatever the case now that spring is here, we can and must now legitimately ask: Where is this winter of discontent? Why hasn’t it happened?
Lest the response be that there was a march to Parliament by Morgan Tsvangirai and his “liberation team” on the 1st September we must say that whilst that is welcome that does not amount to a winter of discontent. The truth is that there has been no winter of discontent – there has been no mass action of any form organised this now past winter.
Numerous are the reasons why mass action hasn’t taken off; some of these rest with the people, some with the leadership.
From the people’s side, grinding poverty has taken its toll: people are weakened from malnutrition, many eating only one meal a day, and are using all their remaining energy in trying to scrape together the wherewithal to feed, clothe and educate their families. AIDS has also increased the burden on the poor, who are largely unable to afford anti-retroviral drugs or the good nutrition necessary to stay the onslaught of the disease; the age-group most decimated by AIDS is precisely that group most needed to maintain productivity for the country and to support their families by employment in the formal sector. These are also the ones most likely to take to the streets in protest.
There is also the issue of leadership who, time and again, have failed to harness and direct the anger of the people. Morgan Tsvangirai and his party have consistently raised expectations, only to let Zimbabweans down by failing to deliver.
Interestingly, in his book “Degrees in Violence”, David Blair chronicles a similar failure by Tsvangirai back in 2000, recalling that Tsvangirai had promised in public, 16 times, that mass action would be launched in order to have ousted Mugabe by Christmas 2000. Yet, says the author, “Nothing happened. Absolutely nothing. To coin a phrase, Tsvangirai missed this historic opportunity and betrayed the people”. He continues:
“Yet by raising expectations only for them to be dashed, Tsvangirai damaged his credibility. Why did he make pledges which he had no intention of keeping? ….I will never know. I am forced to the conclusion that he didn’t mean a word of it and spoke only for effect. In other words, Tsvangirai was in the business of cheap posturing, while his country fell apart”.
The real danger of raising the expectations of people, by promising mass action and “winters of discontent”, is that if one does not fulfill one’s promises the resultant dashing of expectations actually disempowers people and strengthens the regime. Failed promises disillusion the people because they lose faith in their leaders. Conversely despotic regimes are greatly encouraged when publicly announced plans of mass action do not materialize. All in all it is better to say nothing at all than to announce plans to engage the regime that one has no real intention of fulfilling.
To be fair to Tsvangirai and his team, there are very real obstacles which stand in the way of successful implementation of mass action, such as extremely limited media coverage of the opposition; oppressive legislation such as POSA (Public Order and Security Act) and AIPPA (Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act) all designed to hamper dissemination of information to the masses; and an apathetic and complicit South Africa who, for reasons best known to themselves, have consistently failed to denounce the Mugabe regime or to support the alternatives.
Equally, there are risks involved in mass action and street protests. No one who has lived in Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwe for any length of time is unaware of them. The regime has the full force of the police, army, CIO and youth militia at its disposal (all funded by the taxpayer, we would point out). It has not hesitated in the past to bring them out to violently suppress any public dissent; it will not hesitate in the future.
However, the fact remains that Tsvangirai has promised, time and again, yet failed to deliver.
What is it, then, that is needed to rectify the situation? What is needed to successfully implement peaceful mass action and depose the ZANU PF regime?
Firstly, competent and brave leadership is required, a leadership that can channel the anger and frustration of the people into pressure on Mugabe to step down. The MDC lost their moment (once again) after the stolen March 2005 General Elections, when an angry populace was ready to go onto the streets, waiting only for a leadership brave enough to stand in front of the crowd and lead. Tsvangirai and those in leadership with him have described themselves as “the Liberation team” but they have still much to prove in this regard and quite frankly that term is presumptuous at this stage – they still have much to do before they deserve that appellation. Whilst the leadership shown last Friday is welcome, a 400 meter dash to Parliament, catching the Police by surprise, must be seen for what it is – a tentative start. It will take determined leadership that is consistently and repeatedly prepared to go out in the face of riot police and the army for the people of Zimbabwe to be truly inspired.
Secondly, the mass action needs to be planned and executed by a team which is secretive and confidential, not infiltrated by the CIO and Zanu PF cadres, and which can competently strategize so as to present a plan to the people with perfect timing, just before the event. The so-called “final push” of June 2003 failed in this respect: at this stage, the MDC was already infiltrated, and so much media hype was generated by the party that the Mugabe regime went into full swing to help ensure that the week-long mass stayaways were only half-hearted at most.
Next, the organisers of mass action need to be absolutely committed to the principle of using democratic and non-violent means, unlike Tsvangirai’s infamous (and possibly unmeant) declaration in September 2002 that “What we say to Mugabe is ‘Please go peacefully. If you don’t want to go peacefully, we will remove you violently’.” For so long as people fear that there are agent provocateurs helping organize mass action (who may well incite violence in the course of any mass action) peace loving Zimbabweans will remain hesitant about joining a programme of mass action en masse.
Financial resources are also needed, as is consensus with other organisations, such as the National Constitutional Assembly (the NCA), trade unions, churches, WOZA (Women of Zimbabwe Arise) and the like. It also requires consensus between the two factions of the opposition MDC. It is simply farcical to think that either faction can organise a national programme of mass action without the involvement of the other. Zimbabwe is much bigger than either Harare or Bulawayo.
Very few leaders appear present in Zimbabwe today, who can meet these prerequisites.
In fact, the only groups who have successfully organised mass action and street protests, are the churches, WOZA and the NCA.
The churches in Bulawayo peacefully marched on Good Friday of 2005, and again in mid 2006 to commemorate the suffering caused by Operation Murambatsvina. WOZA women regularly organize events such as handing out roses on Valentine’s Day, marches from Bulawayo to Harare, or demonstrations outside the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe; their bravery frequently leads to arrests, police brutality, and being locked up in police cells – yet they do it again and again. And the NCA equally has shown itself relatively fearless in confronting the regime by street demonstrations and marches.
The International Crisis Group’s August 2006 report, “Zimbabwe: An Opposition Strategy”, draws a number of these themes together (it is well worth reading a full copy of this report on their website - http://www.crisisgroup.org/). It calls on the international community, long frustrated at its inability to influence the crisis, to assist, especially by tightening targeted sanctions. It also calls on South Africa, Zimbabwe’s nearest neighbour and regional powerhouse, to offer mediation services.
The way forward, as the International Crisis Group sees it, is:
“A decentralised campaign of non-violent resistance, at many places around the country and focused on bread and butter demands, could have more promise because it would be harder to infiltrate and disrupt and might force the government to decide between starting a process of piecemeal concessions or relying on less trusted men as the security forces were stretched. Ultimately, stalemate in Zimbabwe is most likely to be broken by domestic resistance of one kind or another. With conditions becoming so dire, no one can discount a spontaneous revolt like the 1998 food riots. But it is incumbent on the MDC and civil society to try to manage the birth of a new dynamic that would also energise the international community.”
Now is the time for our leaders to show themselves to be brave men and women of action. Promises made should be fulfilled. Those who are unable or unwilling to deliver on their promises should step down to make way for others who can. For the sake of the people of Zimbabwe, we need leaders who can work to dislodge this dictatorship using all the non-violent and democratic means at their disposal.
We can but hope that the failed promise of a winter of discontent may yet, as Shakespeare wrote, be made “a glorious summer”. We look forward to that day when we all meet on the streets to say “Enough is enough; Zvakwana; Sokwanele!”
Sokwanele Addendum: At the time of mailing this article, the ZCTU has plans to go ahead with mass action on Wednesday this week. And where is the MDC?
VOA News (8 Sept 2006) reports:
“While a number of civil society organizations have promised to join forces with the ZCTU, questions have arisen as to the intentions of the Movement for Democratic Change faction led by Morgan Tsvangirai, a former trade unionist himself. MDC sources said the party does not want to openly join the protests, as this might give the government an excuse to crack down on the broad opposition.”
The Zimbabwe Independent published an article this week titled “MDC not joining ZCTU protests”:
The Morgan Tsvangirai faction of the Movement for Democratic Change will not join the mass action planned by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) because the workers’ programme is different from the opposition party’s aspirations, it has been learnt. [...] The ZCTU says it will stage protests to demand better wages for workers while the MDC wants an end to the national crisis. MDC spokesperson, Nelson Chamisa, however said the programme the workers were embarking on was different to that of the MDC. Chamisa told the Zimbabwe Independent that the planned demonstrations by the workers were in response to problems afflicting workers in Zimbabwe while the MDC was responding to a national crisis. When questioned on why the two groups could not join hands and stage a combined demonstration, Chamisa said the workers had a right to express themselves without being influenced by politicians. “We respect the response taken by the workers but the planned stayaway by the workers is not the same programme that the MDC would embark on. The workers should express themselves without interference from politicians even though the reasons for the demonstrations are similar,” Chamisa said.
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Amnesty International has released a report today slamming the Zimbabwean government for its failure to address the mass human rights violations inflicted on a civilian population under Operation Murambatsvina. Operation Garikai was touted by the Zimbabwean government as the ‘real’ reason behind Operation Murambatsvina: “Operation Murambatsvina was not conceived as an end in itself but as a precursor to Operation Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle whose object is to provide decent and affordable accommodation”, it said.
The report once again calls attention to the illegality of Operation Murambatsvina under international law, emphasising that what happened was a gross violation of human rights. The government’s so-called attempt to improve accommodation - Operation Garikai - is a dismal failure. Amnesty point out that out of the 92 460 homes destroyed by the government, only 3 325 have been replaced under Garikai. And of those 3 325 houses Amnesty notes that “government officials have made it clear that at least 20% of the housing will go to civil servants, police officers and soldiers - rather than those whose homes were demolished”.
For example, in Masvingo, where City Council officials confirmed that very few houses were destroyed during Operation Murambatsvina, approximately 100 Operation Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle houses have been built. City officials claimed at least 70 of these houses went to civil servants while the remaining 30 were allocated to people on the Council’s housing waiting list, who were not victims of Operation Murambatsvina.
Kolawole Olaniyan, Amnesty International’s Africa Programme Director, is unflinching in his criticism of Mugabe’s government: “The Zimbabwean government has attempted to cover up mass human rights violations with a public relations exercise“.
The report opens with two quotes:
“Please ask [President] Mugabe what it is they want from us. What is the dirt they want to clear out – is it us?”
“We have not been given an option of anywhere to go. It has merely been expected of us that we should ‘disappear,’ a feat we are by no means capable of. As far as I know, nobody in these areas of those affected by Operation Murambatsvina has benefited from the Operation Garikai housing delivery programme. Thus we have absolutely nowhere to go.”
It is real voices like these that drive home the effect of Murambatsvina on ordinary lives. Here are a few more real experiences, selected at random from the report:
A widow in Bulawayo whose rental accommodation was destroyed described how she now lives in a bathroom along with her son in a house shared by three family groups. In Victoria Falls Amnesty International found a man living in a room intended to be a toilet. His rental accommodation - a backyard cottage(4) - had also been destroyed during Operation Murambatsvina.
A woman living with HIV/AIDS who lost her rental accommodation during Operation Murambatsvina was found living under plastic at the back of her parents’ home, as the family refused to allow her or her four children into the main house due to her evident illness.
“We were told by [a government official] that we would not benefit from the new housing because we could not afford it. We said we could pay but then they asked for bank account details and pay slips, and we do not have these things. We are decent people. We never used to beg or scrape for food. We used to look after ourselves, not survive on handouts. Amnesty should tell our story because we have been told by [the official] that we are hidden people.”
At Hopley, which has an estimated population of 2,000 households, less than 150 individual household ecological toilets were reported to be completed one year after the camp opened, with plans to construct a further 1,400. The site is also served by approximately 150 communal toilets. The city employee to whom Amnesty International spoke, who had visited Hopley camp, stated: “people still defecate in the bush. There are some [pit latrines] but a 150sq meter stand is too small for a [pit latrine] to be hygienically there.”
The majority of those affected by the government’s indiscriminate clampdown on the informal sector were poor women. One organisation providing credit to micro-businesses, including many of those engaged in street vending and trading, described the impact: “Our business has totally changed. We do not work with the poorest anymore. They are gone. 85 per cent of our clients were poor women, and they have been driven out of business by Operation Murambatsvina.”
“I was selling in a public place before Operation Murambatsvina but I was arrested. Now you have to find a corner where they can’t find you. If police get you they take all your goods and you have to pay a fine…When the police come I run away. I hide my goods and run. If I carried my goods I could not run fast enough. I run away because I can’t afford the fine.”
Please visit the links in this post to read the full reports on the Amnesty site.
An aquaintence of mine lives in a rural area some 40 kilometres north east of the city of Bulawayo. Many of our young men are recruited into the army at Llewellen Barracks which is close to Bulawayo.
Over these past few months I have been told that many young men have left the army and have returned home because the pay is not good and some of them do not like doing what they are doing.
Last week this guy’s son, who is aged 20, was gathered together with his friends by the Army who came looking for young men. Most of the young boys refused to join the army saying that did not want to bring shame to their families. They said that it is not their army but the army of ZANU. There were some others who took the jobs because of the money but their families were upset.
The people here see the army as part of the snake and if you are part of the snake you are joined to the head.
I often find myself shaking my head in disbelief at things I read about Zimbabwe. Even though the reality is true and experienced, it still never fails to amaze me at the absurdity of laws and sheer arrogance of ruling party officials in our country.
Yesterday I saw this:
The Anglican Bishop of Harare has cancelled church services on Sunday to mark the occasion of his wedding anniversary and instructed clergy and congregations to contribute gifts and food to his party. Bishop Nolbert Kunonga, a vocal supporter of President Robert Mugabe, will lead the day-long celebration of his 33rd anniversary. (Daily Telegraph)
There, in a nutshell, are the man’s principles: ‘We will not worship God this Sunday because more important things have cropped up, like my wedding anniversary party, which I want you poor starving people to give me free food and gifts‘.
And then it got worse:
“Police in Zimbabwe’s second biggest city of Bulawayo have barred a Pentecostal church from conducting services at a police station because it has whites within its congregation” (ZimOnline)
Will they be painting signs next, I wonder? ‘No whites allowed’?
The day before yesterday it was this:
President Robert Mugabe has told top officials of his ruling Zanu PF party that a decision whether to hold a presidential election due in 2008 will depend on how well central bank governor Gideon Gono was able to stabilise Zimbabwe’s sickly economy (ZimOnline)
Paraphrased: ‘We will only have an election if we know we can win it, otherwise we won’t have an election‘. I wonder if this means that Mugabe has realised that holding unwinnable elections and using rigging as a tool for success has backfired in the eyes of the international community. Is this the next stage? Do away with the costly and logistical inconvenience of faking an election altogether?
Today I am struck yet again at the far reaching invasiveness of the proposed snooping bill:
The Bill … seeks to permit the chief of military intelligence, head of state secret service and the Commissioner of the Zimbabwe Republic Police to intercept internet and cellphone communications between private individuals and organisations in the country. The Commissioner General of the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) will also be empowered to intercept communications under the Bill that is before Parliament. State agents will also have powers to open mail sent by ordinary post as well as through licensed courier service providers, under the proposed new law.
Nothing new in all that, although all still shocking. It was this that really irked me today:
Citizens and organisations will be barred from challenging interception of their communications at the courts but could appeal to the Minster of Transport and Communications, who in the first place grants authority for private mail or communication to be intercepted. (ZimOnline)
So the privacy and rights of individuals resides in the hands of one partisan individual. Taking it to court probably wouldn’t help anyway, because the courts have been corrupted and destroyed, but it is interesting that the pretence of courts are being abandoned (along with elections).
And then finally there was this:
In a bid to win back the support of the international community, Zimbabwe’s government has relented on its land policy and is to remove settlers from occupied farms owned by foreign companies (IRIN)
Let me get this straight….. The whole premise of the land invasions was to ostensibly take land away from colonialists/foreign invaders of Zimbabwe/land thieves/enemies of the state (all whom are conveniently identifiable because they are white), and to give it to the REAL Zimbabweans, the landless black majority. Except, it seems, you can carry on farming if you are a non-Zimbabwean and foreign and not a poor person but a company…..? Or if you are wealthy and loyal to Zanu-PF. Spot the discrepancy.
How can anyone, reading these sort of snippets day in and day out, fail to see it all for what it really is; a desperate failed political party, struggling to hang onto power in the face of a population who have had enough of them? How can anyone possibly buy into any of this party’s claptrap anymore?
The rules change, the language shifts, the decisions falter, but the objective always remains the same: ‘Do what needs to be done to stay in power … it doesn’t matter what the cost or what it takes. Just do it’. And they’ve gone so far and done so much that they’re past caring about appearances anymore. Unrepentant, undignified fools, all of them.
My domestic worker went out to her rural home last week. She said it was so good to be out of town and be with the family again – she hadn’t managed to make it out there for Christmas or Easter, but really needed to see her parents.
She even enjoys getting back to cooking on the wood fires.
They are gradually extending the reach of ZESA, so the villages on the road are able to link up to the grid. Her family is hoping to be connected as soon as they can get the materials together – that’s the cheapest way to do it – you buy the materials (the wires and cables and things) yourself and then when you have them all, you get ZESA to come and connect you up.
They know they’ll then have to pay monthly bills, but they say that’s quite cheap out of town, and it will at least make life a bit easier for them now that they are getting so much older and frailer.
I wonder if electricity in the rural areas will mean access to the internet at some point … or will Mugabe pull back before then?
We are a family of Zimbabweans and traveled to South Africa recently. We had occasion to go to a musical theatre where some of the songs were chosen by the audience with a dedication.
Our choice was “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” by Elton John. It was dedicated to “The People of Zimbabwe who are suffering under the tyrannical rule of Robert Mugabe’s ZANU PF”. This was announced over the public address system. It was to register our protest!!
In reality there we were in South Africa where there is freedom, freedom of expression, association and democratic space for politics and yet we came from a country that is denied these basic human rights. As a family we felt obligated to do something for our compatriots and our beloved home, Zimbabwe.
If only to get the message through to just a few South Africans in a public arena! We felt that something had been achieved in the this almost silent struggle against an evil and despotic regime.
I salute the women of WOZA (Women of Zimbabwe Arise)! Surely they are the heroes of this country. Fearlessly they stand up for the rights of all Zimbabweans, not just women, and in the process they get arrested, spend time in police cells and are subjected to police brutality. And it’s great to hear of the new offshoot “Men of Zimbabwe Arise” or MOZA – bravo to you all!
Some good news:
Harare - A court in Zimbabwe has dismissed charges against 63 women protestors arrested six months ago for staging a demonstration against biting economic hardships, a statement said on Tuesday.
Rights group Women of Zimbabwe Arise (Woza) said it had won a significant victory after a magistrate ruled the 63 not guilty of charges of breaching the peace or making a public nuisance when they held a Valentines Day march in the capital.
Read the background on this here.
Where are the rest of us? Are we content just to sit on the sidelines and watch? Join them in their non-violent protests!
