The talks, which resumed Sunday after a short break are
geared toward finding a lasting solution to resolving Zimbabwe’s political
and economic crisis. But some Zimbabweans are expressing pessimism, about
previous negotiations with President Robert Mugabe’s ruling ZANUPF party,
claiming they have not alleviated the suffering of ordinary people.
They add that what Zimbabweans want is a change in leadership and a
transitional government, which would lead to a free and fair vote under a
new constitution. Glen Mpani is the regional coordinator for the
transitional justice program of the Center for the Study of Violence and
Reconciliation in Cape Town South Africa. He tells reporter Peter Clottey
that Zimbabweans are not overly enthusiastic about the talks.
“Zimbabweans are looking at the current talks with cautious optimism. They
are very weary of the likely outcome from these negotiations. As you are
aware, in 1987, there were negotiations between the ZANU-PF and ZAPU
(Zimbabwe African People’s Union) and the negotiations came up with a unity
agreement that basically failed to address the core issues. Basically, the
agreement led to the annihilation of the opposition in Matabeleland,” Mpani
pointed out.
He said Zimbabweans are worried history would repeat itself in future
elections.
“Zimbabweans are quite weary that for the MDC to go and negotiate with the
ZANU-PF, such a scenario like the previous talks might come out of those
negotiations. The second thing is that Zimbabweans are quite cognizant that
whatever negotiations take place, their will or their decision in March 29
is non negotiable, which means that the decision that they made that the MDC
is the government they would want to be in place needs to be respected in
any negotiation process,” he said.
Mpani said some Zimbabweans feel disappointed by the international
community.
“The fact that the SADC (Southern African Development Community) and the AU
(African Union) are monitoring the peace process does not give Zimbabweans
confidence, based on the fact that the two bodies have had their credibility
eroded to a large extent. The AU’s acceptance of Robert Mugabe to go to the
AU summit after the African Union and PAN African parliament and SADC had
all declared that the election in June were not an expression of the free
will of the people of Zimbabwe was an indictment on the AU. It was a sign
that the AU body is complicit with Mugabe in terms of subverting the will of
the people of Zimbabwe,” Mpani pointed out.
He said Zimbabweans feel particularly let down by the African Union and
SADC.
“So, there is some hesitance on the part of Zimbabweans to say there is no
guarantee that the AU will protect their vote. More importantly, that it was
exacerbated by the resolutions that came out advocating for a government of
national unity,” he said.
Mpani said Zimbabweans overwhelmingly want a change in leadership that would
lead to a free and fair election, conducted according to international
standards.
“What Zimbabweans want with the ongoing talks is a negotiated settlement
that brings back democracy, a Zimbabwe that is able to allow the recovery of
the economy within the country. And thirdly and more importantly is, they
want the process to guarantee them that if they are to go for an election
again, they can get the leadership that they deserve, which means that these
negotiations, one should deal with institutional reform deal with the
de-politicization of the army, the police, and the militia. These
negotiations should deal with the overhaul of the constitution and more
importantly lead to a process where we have got a framework which can come
up with formulating a base and a foundation that can lead to an election,”
Mpani pointed out.
VOA
Post published in: Opinions