Shame on them. Only six out of the 15 regional presidents attended Sunday’s summit. They have ducked and dived on the Zimbabwe issue for so long now – and on Sunday hammered the final nail into the coffin of the power-sharing deal they were so proud of in September.
Those present were brow-beaten once again by Robert Mugabe – who cheated the MDC and Morgan Tsvangirai of its rightful victory at the March elections and who should not now be dictating the pace of change.
The power-sharing agreement was imperfect from the beginning – but the absolute refusal of Zanu (PF) to share meaningful power and the decision by SADC on Sunday to pressure the MDC to renounce its demand for control of the police has rendered it dead as a dodo.
It would be disastrous for Tsvangirai and the MDC to accept the cabinet posts being offered by Mugabe as he contemptuously casts aside the agreement and proceeds to form his own government.
The position taken by the new South African president, Kgalema Motlanthe, is particularly disappointing. The people of Zimbabwe were prepared to give him a chance. But we should have seen the writing on the wall when we realised that he was the same guy who, back in 2002, headed the SA observer mission that pronounced that year’s flagrantly flawed elections free and fair. Some members of his mission publicly disassociated themselves from it, embarrassed at his pronouncements in the face of incontrovertible evidence of massive vote rigging, violence, intimidation.
His actions on Sunday proved him to be as partisan and frightened of Mugabe as his predecessor, Thabo Mbeki.
In his eagerness to be rescued from political oblivion, Arthur Mutambara, has signed his political death warrant by siding with Mugabe once again – against the people of Zimbabwe. It appears the short term gratification of riding in a brand new Mercedes Benz has clouded his perspective.
Tsvangirai should now accept that the agreement has died – and should act decisively to bury it.
The only solution to our problems is a fresh general election, supervised by the democratic community of nations.
The MDC needs to make a clean break in order to signal to the world that the agreement has failed. Let Mugabe and Mutambara continue. But show them clearly that their new government will not bring the desperately needed international recognition, food, aid or investment.
Mugabe has done exactly what Ian Smith did in 1978. He refused to negotiate with the real representatives of the people, the Patriotic Front, and insisted on doing a deal with Abel Muzorewa. We all know what happened to that power-sharing deal.
We’ve said it before. We say it again: The Will of the people will ultimately prevail. We shall overcome.
Word for today
Post published in: Football