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(TALKZIMBABWE) MDC-T always treated Sadc with contempt

COMMENT - " Tsvangirai proved time and again that he has no regard for African leaders. Tsvangirai was once quoted saying Sadc lacked the “courage and decency to look Robert Mugabe in the eyes and tell him his position was wrong”. " This is pure projection, coming from a party that does not have the courage to admit that there are economic sanctions against Zimbabwe, let alone that they created them. Once they understand that the misery visited on the Zimbabwean people comes from the MDC and their allies the US and UK, they of course become unelectable. Because unlike in South Africa, the Zimbabwean people have never called for economic sanctions against Zimbabwe - and when the ANC did, they never hid it from anyone. The MDC can't own up to it's own actions, because it has no ideological support in Zimbabwe.

MDC-T always treated Sadc with contempt
Susan Chipanga - Opinion
Tue, 24 Nov 2009 23:46:00 +0000

I HAVE never been a clairvoyant but the outcome of the Sadc troika meeting in Maputo has always been predictable. The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) was always going to use the fora to end their injudicious boycott so as to save face. The boycott had been a foolhardy maneuver which according to rumours was reached by a chosen “few” just like the party’s constitutional amendment that saw the party’s president term being extended to accommodate the incumbent.

Ending the boycott without achieving the intended purpose to arm twist Zanu PF in giving in to their demands was always going to be a tricky situation as the party’s propensity to put itself in a precarious position has always been its pastime.

What shocked most people was, the party in its masquerade had the audacity to talk of respect and honour of the Sadc leaders as the main reason of ending the boycott.

Morgan Tsvangirai , on the 8th of November 2009, at Chibuku stadium in Chitungwiza where his party was celebrating its 10th anniversary told his supporters that he had ended the boycott out of respect for Sadc leader specially Jacob Zuma of South Africa.

The impudence of the whole statement is that it is the same leaders that MDC-T in its own assumed eminence had treated with contempt, heaping them with scorn and disparaging remarks for presumably supporting the Zanu PF government.

The MDC-T has been not been at pains to hide their contempt of regional bodies and their leaders in solving the Zimbabwean political impasse. Their preferred scenario would have been international intervention by western imperialists who make the bulk of the supporters. These have been viewed by the party as having greater appreciation of the Zimbabwean situation than Africans themselves.

That the Global Political Agreement (GPA) was brokered under Sadc will ever remain a mystery as MDC-T has always been skeptical of the regional body’s proficiency to solve the Zimbabwean crisis.

Thus, on a number of occasions MDC-T called into question Sadc’s ability to solve the political impasse on what it perceived was the body’s support of President Robert Mugabe.

The MDC-T has always felt that the leaders of regional bodies like AU, Sadc are in on it with President Mugabe because of their historical ties enshrined in the liberation struggle and would never be partial blockers of peace in Zimbabwe.

Due to this misconstrued view, during the negotiated settlement, Tsvangirai proved time and again that he has no regard for African leaders. Tsvangirai was once quoted saying Sadc lacked the “courage and decency to look Robert Mugabe in the eyes and tell him his position was wrong”.

The MDC-T disdain even went further to an attack on the mediator Thabo Mbeki, the former president of South Africa who should be commended for his resilience and composure. It was even evident to Mbeki that he was trying to negotiate a settlement with one party who had no regard for him or his ability as the party had in the past vehemently slammed his “quiet diplomacy”.

Mbeki was told in no uncertain terms by MDC-To recuse himself as he was not any honest broker. In an infamous letter written to Mbeki, the party spelt out that it had no confidence in Mbeki’s neutrality because he had the tenacity to announce to the world that there was “no crisis” in Zimbabwe after the delay in releasing the 2008 general and presidential election results.

Mbeki, irked by MDC-T lack of respect for him as mediator, was forced to censure the party’s excesses which came to a head when Tsvangirai called Sadc leaders cowards.

The man who was known for his “quiet diplomacy” was forced to give MDC-T a few home truths when he was quoted as saying “because leaders in our region did not agree with you on some matter that served on the agenda of the Sadc Extraordinary Summit meeting, you have denounced them publicly as cowards”.

Mbeki called MDC-T attitude most offensive in terms of African culture and in our sense of dignity as Africans.

On the other hand, those African leaders who have been called a “new breed” like Ian Khama of Botswana and Raila Odinga of Kenya who have no reverence of our African institutions, history and culture were embraced as MDC-T’s bosom buddies.

It comes as no coincidence that it is the same leaders who have been parroting their western handlers pastime mantra “Mugabe must go”. These few misguided voices have had no takers as they are a disgrace to our ubuntu as Africans.

MDC-T’s abhorrence of anything African has always been borne out of “he who can not support himself, can not take his own decision” a quote made by Gamal Adbel Nasser, the second president of Egypt. That is why going for the Sadc troika in Maputo, the MDC-T spokesperson, Nelson Chamisa said “ if the meeting fails to break the deadlock, we hope there will be a full Sadc summit. If that fails then the only option will be free and fair election under international supervision”.

For a longtime, MDC-T has had a fixation with foreign solutions that is why the party lied shamelessly, stage-managed events and written doctored damning reports on the Zimbabwean situation so as to get international attention whilst at the same time portraying its alleged inaptitude of regional bodies.

MDC-T contempt for regional bodies was heightened further when it perceived that these bodies were failing to solve the problem whilst at the same hampering its efforts to have the Zimbabwean crisis heard at international fora especially at the United Nations where it knew its western handlers have the reins.

All this while the party must have been wishing the South African government a thousand deaths when on a number of occasions it came to Zimbabwe’s aid at the UN advocating African problems needs African solutions.

Sadc has always been in support of an African–led solution in Zimbabwe not forgetting that the problems being faced by the country had their origins in our past and soon or later each of these countries was going to face this unpleasant reality. This position did not adhere itself to this Western sponsored party as it preferred a return to this unsavory past to please its neo-imperialist sponsors.

Mbeki, during the negotiations, had to remind MDC-T that as a party they should realize that Zimbabwe was in Sadc and its neighbours were in Sadc, not in North America or Europe.

With regards to MDC-T's uncivil attitude, Mbeki went on to say “it may be that, for whatever reason, you consider our region and continent as being of little consequence to the future of Zimbabwe, believing that others further, away in Western Europe and North America, are greater importance”.

Grudgingly MDC-T entered into talks under Sadc supervision which resulted in the inclusive Government. But, it is the same contempt for regional bodies which would see MDC-T “disengaging” from the inclusive Government so as to force alleged “reluctant” Sadc to solve the outstanding issues in the GPA.

It’s the same scorn that saw MDC-T consulting with Western governments if it should stay or leave the inclusive Government.

It was reported that Tsvangirai met with ambassadors from western governments before the hare-brained boycott and these advised him to disengage from the inclusive Government because Zanu PF was not playing ball.

Only then did Tsvangirai embark on a regional whirlwind tour to drum up support to compel President Mugabe to honour the alleged outstanding GPA issues which on its own is an untold story of lack of respect and disregard for African leaders and their institutions.

If ever MDC-T wants to go far in the game of politics, it has to understand and have respect for African institutions which like Sadc were enshrined on the principles of advancing political struggle during many liberation struggles across the continent and after independence translating these tenets into broader co-operation in pursuit of economic and social and political emancipation.

Institutions like these will never subscribe to any action that spells a return to imperialism in whatever form which notable Africans like Kwame Nkrumah, Julius Nyerere, Samora Machel, Jomo Kenyatta, Nelson Mandela and many more, fought so long and hard to eradicate.

MDC-T has no regard for African bodies and their leaders. This is the very reason that its Ministers like Sekai Holland can get away with denigrating King Mzilikazi Khumalo and its leader Morgan Tsvangirai can call African leaders “cowards” with impunity and on the morrow expect these to aid him, talk of burning bridges you know are essential in your cause.

MDC-T will never become a seasoned political party until it respects and honours African institutions, their history and their leadership or risk being forever labeled a puppet of the West which has the same contempt of our African institutions.

Labels: MDC, NEOCOLONIALISM, SADC

posted by MrK @ 11:47 AM