Mugabe shouldn’t be blamed for Zim situation, says Simuchoba
Mugabe shouldn’t be blamed for Zim situation, says SimuchobaBy Inonge Noyoo and Masuzyo Chakwe
Monday July 14, 2008 [04:06]
LUSAKA lawyer Sibanze Simuchoba has said President Robert Mugabe should not be blamed for the situation in Zimbabwe. And retired politician Mark Chona urged people asking for external intervention in the Zimbabwe crisis to do so with caution, saying such intervention could result in war. During the Newsmakers Forum organised by the Press Freedom Committee of The Post on Saturday, Simuchoba said western powers were to blame for the crisis in Zimbabwe and not President Mugabe.
Simuchoba said he was of the view that Zimbabwe's problems emanated from the land redistribution programme.
He said ever since the Pioneer Column appeared in Zimbabwe in about 1890, it robbed the indigenous Zimbabweans of their land and livestock. Simuchoba said the people of Zimbabwe were killed like pests and others were driven to the mountains and infertile lands without empathy. He said the white Zimbabwean farmers were the descendants of the Pioneer Column.
Simuchoba said President Mugabe did the right thing to grab land and give it back to the indigenous people, saying the only mistake he made was to wait for 20 years in respect of the Lancaster Agreement. He said President Mugabe was simply a victim of a sabotaged economy.
"I am asking the western powers to leave him alone. If he fails, let the people of Zimbabwe remove him themselves. The western countries have no business in Zimbabwe," he said. "It is not a matter of laughing at Mugabe that he was a failure because it's the western powers who are behind the failing of the country. They ran that economy so they know where to touch."
Simuchoba said Tsvangirai's thinking was humiliating and deprecating.
He said he considered President Mugabe the legitimately elected President of Zimbabwe and that South African President Thabo Mbeki was a very effective mediator.
At this point, some members of the audience protested against Simuchoba's line of thought and accused him of not being serious. Some members of the audience were visibly upset by his remarks and suggested that he leave the floor. However, Simuchoba continued with the discussion after the moderator calmed the audience.
"You cannot wish away Mugabe because some of us still love him," Simuchoba said.
And contributing to the debate, Chona advised against military intervention into Zimbabwe, citing the US intervention into Iraq as a move that had worsened problems in that country.
Chona said everywhere else in the world, whenever America intervened, there was trouble and that things normalised as soon as they moved out. He advised Tsvangirai not to consult anybody else but President Mugabe because outsiders would not resolve Zimbabwe's issues. But Dr Chongwe challenged President Mugabe to initiate a process of restoring his country.
He said Zambia and the international community were concerned that the June 27 election fell short of the requirements to which President Mugabe committed himself and his government to uphold. Dr Chongwe said to condemn the Zimbabwean elections was not to demonise President Mugabe.
He said though it was usually argued that the debacle in Zimbabwe started from land dispossession by white settlers in the past, there was need to remember that in 2000 there was a referendum on how the government intended to redistribute land in that country.
Dr Chongwe said President Mugabe was a surgeon who had operated on his country and the operation was a success but the patient died. He said perhaps it was time to look to other Africans than liberation leaders for Africa's heroes. Dr Chongwe hoped the South African government would realise that it had some responsibility to make sure that the weapons of war Zimbabwe had received were not used against neighbouring countries.
Dr Chongwe said one could only assume that Zimbabwe was looking further afield for its potential enemies.
Dr Chongwe said Zambia wanted Zimbabwe to return to being an orderly state where the police and the army protected its citizens and residents.
And veteran politician Akashambatwa Mbikushita-Lewanika said the characteristics in Zimbabwe were no different from Zambia. Aka said all African countries had the genes that had caused Zimbabwe’s heart attack. He asked how non-violent other countries' politics were, how accommodating they were and how future-oriented they were. Aka said what President Mugabe was doing was the culture of 'Wamuyayaya' (perpetual rule), something Zambia experienced at one time.
He said what was happening in Zimbabwe was a confirmation of failure of leadership, saying a person could not be a good parent by holding on to his children.
Aka said there was need for leaders to be dispensable.
He observed that the ingredients that lead to a leaderless country were present in Zambia. Aka called for the need to examine Zambia's party politics and its health. He said Zambia had also taught Zimbabwe bad lessons, adding that there was need for other countries to look in the mirror as they looked at issues surrounding that country.
"As we look at Zimbabwe, let us also look in the mirror ...the truth is that deep down in our genes, our motivation and our behaviour we are indistinguishable," he said. Aka said there was no alternative to negotiations whether the two parties liked each other, as they had to accommodate each other. He condemned the violence in Zimbabwe, saying no liberation should be based on the victimisation of Africans. Aka said it was a shame for South Africans to beat Zimbabweans just as it was a shame for Zimbabweans to beat their fellow Zimbabweans.
And Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia (EFZ) executive director Bishop Paul Mususu said President Mugabe had the key to all the problems in Zimbabwe. Bishop Mususu said as commander in chief, President Mugabe should stop the violence whether by his own party or from the opposition.
"He must plan the way out of the economic malaise the country is going through. He should learn to listen to advice. The question of regime change doesn't arise if one prepares a successor. He should be more concerned about what this is doing to his own people not just MDC or the West," he said.
Bishop Mususu proposed that SADC and the African Union should suspend Zimbabwe from the two bodies to send a message to President Mugabe that he was doing something wrong. Bishop Mususu said Zimbabwe had collapsed to levels beyond description.
"Many factors have led to this state of affairs which we may not all agree with. The land redistribution has been contended to be the main cause for the economic malaise facing that country although political leaders blame it on sanctions. Whatever reasons may be advanced, one thing is sure that Zimbabwe is in a terrible crisis. It is my considered view that the crisis cannot be left to Zimbabwe alone. They need help from all of us," he said.
Bishop Mususu said Zimbabwe was now a humanitarian crisis and required outside intervention.
"Notwithstanding the sovereignty of any given country when its citizens are suffering and crying for help, it becomes our responsibility to assist them. How many lives should be lost in Zimbabwe before we acknowledge there is a problem?" Bishop Mususu asked.
He also said President Mbeki had failed as a mediator and suggested the Namibian or Mozambican presidents as possible replacements.
And Centre for Policy Dialogue executive director Dr Neo Simutanyi said there were only four options to resolve the Zimbabwe crisis. Dr Simutanyi said negotiation were needed as there was no way President Mugabe could manage to govern without the involvement of the opposition forces in that country. e suggested a power-sharing arrangement with a government of national unity going along the lines of President Mbeki's proposals. Dr Simutanyi also suggested President Mugabe's retirement.
"His departure from the political scene will open up opportunity for political renewal and economic regeneration. But the problem is more complex than that. The economy remains the main enemy of Robert Mugabe and the Zanu-PF. As one of my respondents told me, "Mugabe may rig the election but cannot rig the economic. The economy will get him out of power," he said
Dr Simutanyi said a viable solution to the Zimbabwe political crisis was to negotiate an exit strategy for President Mugabe and members of his entourage, which would guarantee their safety and amnesty against prosecution for transgressions committed while in office.
Dr Simutanyi said the western governments would need to tone down on their rhetoric against President Mugabe and allow Zimbabweans and credible African leaders to find a solution.
Labels: COLOUR REVOLUTIONS, MUGABE, NEOCOLONIALISM
posted by MrK @ 3:53 AM
1 Comments:
COMMENT - Neoliberals on parade. First of all, there was landredistribution, not a 'land grab'. The land grab happened in 1890. Secondly, most white Zimbabweans are not descendents of the 'Pioneer Column', but if migrants who went to Zimbabwe after WWII - 1945, not 1890. Third, there is the bishop. If anything, he should be calling for sanctions to be lifted and restorations paid to Zimbabwe, not that Robert Mugabe personally " must plan the way out of the economic malaise the country is going through." The obvious answer, if the west's intentions are good, to lift sanctions against Zimbabwe. However, they want to put the MDC in power at all costs instead. All costs, including the destruction of the Zimbabwean economy.
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