|
|
|
|
|
Paranoia
There is now little doubt that the present regime in Zimbabwe is
becoming
very anxious about the swelling tide of opposition and criticism that
it is
facing. They have put the army on full alert, cancelled leave, they are
mobilizing their street gangs and thugs in the form of the youth
militia and
are rumored to be printing thousands of T shirts in the MDC colors in
an
effort to discredit the mass action that is now threatened by the MDC
leadership.
As a taste of things to come the township of Budiriro in Harare where a
bi-
Election is programmed has already become a battleground. The CIO is in
there in strength (there are some 17 000 people working for the CIO in
Zimbabwe) and clashes between the restive and angry community and these
Para
military security operatives are becoming more frequent.
Then there is the tirade of abuse by Zanu PF leaders and Ministers
directed
at the MDC - not the break away faction which strangely attracts little
attention, but towards the MDC and its recently elected leadership. We
hear
reports that they are finding it difficult to rebuild the contacts they
lost
in the MDC when the breakaway took place last year. This seems to be
supported by some of the regimes actions, which show a lack of real
inside
knowledge of what is really going on.
We had Mr. Mugabe threatening the leadership of the MDC with death if
they
dared to appose Zanu PF on the streets. Then came statements from
Mutasa and
Chinamasa to the effect that 'what the MDC is planning is illegal,
amounts
to an unconstitutional threat to a democratically elected
administration'.
They have even gone so far as to say that the MDC is planning a coup
against
the legitimate government of Zimbabwe.
Now aside from the fact that the present regime is neither
democratically
elected nor legitimate it maintains its grip on power with the use of
military force and organisation. There is a lot of evidence that since
the
2002 statement by the armed forces that they would not accept an MDC
leader
as State President under any circumstances - in effect a military coup
in
its self, that we are in fact living no longer in a democratic state
but
under a form of a military junta. It astonishes how little real
influence or
authority is exercised by either the Cabinet or Parliament. The
principal
focus of power seems to lie in a shadowy Security Council that seldom
sees
the light of day.
But it must be made clear to all who have an interest in our affairs,
that
what the MDC and civil society in general want as an outcome from the
present campaign (because that is what we are now engaged in) is quite
simple. We want: -
1. The convening, with immediate effect, of an all stakeholders'
conference
to thrash out, on a consensual basis, the way out of the mess we are in
the
form of a new constitution and a negotiated transition to democratic
elections under international and regional supervision.
2. We are demanding that during the transition, the government restores
the
rule of law, freedom of the press and freedom of association. We are
also
demanding that food be brought into free supply and be completely
depoliticised. We are demanding that the State controlled media be
brought
under the control of an independent media commission and be forced to
operate professionally and impartially.
3. We are demanding that every Zimbabwean citizen and permanent
resident be
allowed to vote on the basis of a satisfactory identity document in a
national election for both Parliament and the Presidency. That these
elections be administered by a truly independent authority set up for
this
purpose and that the regional and the international community be
invited,
without restrictions of any kind, to observe the process.
4. Then finally, we are demanding that the administration that emerges
from
this process, be declared the legitimate government of Zimbabwe and
that
that this government then takes power to administer the country and to
control and direct the activities of all the security arms of the
State.
I am no lawyer, but that does not look like an illegal operation to me.
Nor
does it amount to a coup in the traditional African sense of the word.
It
certainly would be a coup if the MDC could achieve such a transition
back to
real democratic and legal values, but by no stretch of imagination
could it
be termed 'an illegal and unconstitutional attempt to overthrow by
violent
means the government of Zimbabwe'.
Therefore why the paranoia? The paranoia about what the MDC is
proposing is
due to the simple fact the regime knows that if such a programme was to
be
followed, Zanu PF would be ousted from power as surely as the sun rose
today
over Zimbabwe. This would mean that the misdemeanors of the present
regime
would be disclosed, the real story of what has gone on behind closed
doors
would become public knowledge and the Courts would be available to
those
whose interests have been damaged during 25 years of bad and corrupt
government.
The gravy train would be derailed and the massive transfers of wealth
from
the majority to a tiny political elite would be stopped and even
reversed.
This is the real reason why the present regime is crying foul. It's got
nothing to do with the alleged illegality of the MDC proposals, nothing
to
do with a 'planned coup'. In any event, all the arms and armed capacity
in
the country is in the hands of the national army and the police as well
as
the Para military forces. The MDC has no such capacity, has never
sought
such capacity and has no intention, under any circumstances, of
following
that route. The only men of violence here are in Zanu PF and its
affiliates.
We have tried the democracy route, it has been blocked off by this
administration and that leaves us with no other choice but the street
and
the power of ordinary people seeking redress and their universal
rights.
Despite what people might be thinking - MDC has never committed itself
to
such a programme since it was born in 1999. This is the first time we
have
backed direct action to force change. We have no alternative - the
regional
community refuses to take action and we simply cannot go on accepting
the
destruction of our country and the rape of its assets.
Eddie Cross
Bulawayo, 7th April 2006
|