Magaisa

t – for example Zimbabwe has an ambassador in London who I am sure is in regular contact with the foreign Office and other members of the British government, while Britain has a very able and highly respected ambassador here in Harare. Their jobs as ambassadors are to relay messages to their governments from their hosts. If our ambassador to London can’t be trusted to handle such a simple thing as passing messages to Tony Blair, then I think it is a waste of foreign currency to pay him and his staff to sit in London, twiddling their thumbs with nothing to do except read The Zimbabwean and watch the Zimbabwe Vigil supporters dancing outside their offices every Saturday afternoon. In any case, the British have already said on several occasions that they don’t need a mediator (munyayi). What can Mkapa bring to the table where everybody else has failed? What magic wand does he possess that is going to make a difference this time? Mugabe himself has refused to talk to the MDC. He continues to denounce Tony Blair at every opportunity and yet says he wants to build bridges with Britain.
In fact, I hope he’s not intending to invite the British to come and re-colonise us. Why should they be involved in negotiating these things on our behalf. We are a sovereign state aren’t we? We need to solve our problems internally and then ask the international community to come and help us achieve our goals.
He has refused previous mediation efforts by even his own best man Joachim Chissano and UN secretary general Kofi Annan. And Thabo Mbeki has thrown in the towel after five years of fruitless attempts at quiet diplomacy, which did not help anybody – not even Mugabe.
He repeatedly rejects the resolutions of the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights – always on a technicality, never on the substance.
Surely he must realise that there is something seriously wrong – now that even his fellow despots in the African club of dictators are distancing themselves from him as evidenced at the recent SADC summit in Maseru. By all reports he cut a lonely figure there and left early in a rage. The UN, of course, understands that he is a basket case but doesn’t seem to be able to do anything about it.
Backed into a corner, Mugabe has done what he does best – he has resorted to insulting his fellow African leaders, calling them cowards for not standing up to the West. He always plays the anti-imperialist card – and let’s face it, so far, it has never let him down. Even Tony Blair has been cowed into ineffective silence and activity by Mugabe’s vociferous anti-imperialist rhetoric. I know that those close to Mugabe are terrified to tell him any home truths to his face because they are terrified of his response.
But I, Magaisa, am not terrified. I will openly tell Mugabe: what is needed in our country is the restoration of democracy and the rule of law, a new constitution leading to fresh elections, respect for human rights and the abolition of POSA and AIPPA. That’s it. Then we are on the road to recovery. I don’t see what Mkapa or Blair or anybody else can add to this. It’s so simple. Mugabe must talk to Zimbabweans – not to the British.