Love and forgiveness? So why are we still in pain?

The Organ is set up and works from the presidents office. It is led by John Nkomo and Sekai Holland, ministers of state in the presidents office, and Gibson Sibanda, formerly a minister, but now a consultant. None of the members of the body sit in the cabinet members but its policy and decisions go to cabinet via the president.
All three members of the organ and President Mugabe, Prime Minister Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime Minister Mutambara addressed the gathering at the start of national healing process. The audience consisted mostly of ministers, officials, political party members, and war veterans, with a few diplomats, members of civil society and the press also attending.
The speeches were redolent of love, forgiveness and goodwill. There was talk of the cleansing of our land, Zimbabwe, from the curse of conflict and bloodshed; that we should be focusing on forgiveness, stability and prosperity, facilitating a free society enabling growth and development and allowing for a new legitimate and unified nation; that we seek no revenge; we seek no retribution in our country.
Nkomo said that the three-day period of prayers was meant to dedicate our country to God and seek his guidance as we create a new Zimbabwe where we live together, tolerant of each other.
Mutambara advocated rehabilitation, restoration of those individuals and communities who have been victimised by ourselves as a society and as a country. President Mugabes speech centred on the notion of forgiveness and he spoke of promoting the values and practice of tolerance, respect, non-violence and dialogue as a sustainable means of resolving political differences. He also emphasised that it is the bond of unity and the creation of a great oneness that this process seeks to
establish as being the basis on which we can resist external interference in order to protect ourselves from those external institutions and interests, which always look for opportunities to divide and tear us apart as a people.
[xhead]Ongoing violence
There was however very little mention of justice, truth and reparations as a prerequisite of healing. Nor was there any mention of personal responsibility for the violence of the past or personal commitment to ensure party followers ceased present or future violence.
The exception was in Prime Minister Tsvangirais speech, in which he warned against just talking about healing and not really facing up to what had happened and the violence, which is still going on.
He mentioned a young woman who had just been admitted to hospital suffering from injuries after a brutal assault because of her political affiliation. He mentioned the need for justice, truth and restitution as precursors to healing. He also mourned that
Zimbabwe has suffered so many phases of trauma, upheaval and conflict that
there must be agreement on defining the scope of the healing process, highlighting that we must look back resolutely to the pre-independence era, the post independence Matabeleland massacres and the more recent political violence that has torn at the fabric of our society.
While the Organ of National Healing, Reconciliation and Integration professes to be founded upon the birth of a new mindset, pursuing peace, equality and freedom, the question is whether peace can really be achieved without justice.
It is at this point that Mugabes and Tsvangirais interpretations of the initiative of national healing seem to lack common ground.
[xhead]No room for cover-up
Tsvangirai spoke out against a culture of impunity and of the necessity of justice: There can be no truth without justice. And no justice without truth. National healing cannot occur without justice and justice must be done, as well as be seen to be done.
In addition to the three principles of truth, justice and forgiveness, we must openly discuss the issue of reparations.
He stressed that there was no room for a cover-up of past wrongsThese three days of dedication must herald the beginning of a genuine, open and frank process that includes and incorporates the concept of transitional justice, truth and accepting responsibility for the hurt and pain inflicted upon so many Zimbabweans.
It is indisputable that achieving justice hinges on obtaining a level of truth, confronting the problems of the past, upholding the rule of law and respecting the rights of every Zimbabwean. Indeed, Tsvangirai said, without doing so as a nation we cannot hope to promote equality, national healing, cohesion and unity.
It remains to be seen whether Tsvangirais interpretation or the Presidents will be dominate in the work of the Organ.
The Youth Forum maintains that transitional justice should precede national healing. As long as perpetrators of violence remain free the process of national healing will not be taken seriously.
It considers both perpetrators and victims as victims, since they were all abused by politicians and thus both need rehabilitation.
The Forum emphasises that the perpetrators must show their remorse by telling the truth concerning who assigned them the diabolic roles they carried out. It insists that those who initiated violence should then be tried before the courts and obtain the deserved judgments.
Prior to the national dedication, the Civil Society Monitoring Mechanism (Cluster on National Healing), comprising some of the leading NGOs in the country, had made its position clear, distancing itself from the official process of national healing.
They declared that it would not support the governments initiative for fear of legitimising a dangerously flawed process.
[xhead]Publicity stunts
Their statement emphasised that any attempt at national healing, reconciliation and integration in the current socio-political context of ongoing state-sponsored politically motivated violence, continued human rights abuses, selective and targeted prosecutions and a biased state-controlled media, will not achieve the desired goal of holistic and sustainable peace and development.
A statement from Restoration of Human Rights (ROHR) affirms that peace can never be wished into existence by mere words and public relations stunts as the Organ on National healing, Reconciliation and Integration would have the nation believe.
The stark reality is that peace will remain elusive in Zimbabwe as long as the political parties are only prepared to condemn violence, yet leave institutions and infrastructures of violence in position for further instructions.
For peace to prevail in any given nation, the state should be totally transformed into a safe house for every individual. The powers of the state to carry extra-legal mandates such as militia and para-militia activities against its people should end.
Without taking concrete steps towards restoring the rule of law, disbanding militia campsthe call for observing three days to celebrate Zimbabwes newfound peace and unity remains what it really is a bluff!
And we give the final word to a journalist who was at the event: The Harare event, a prayer meeting for peace to promote national healing, took place in the Rainbow Towers, the Zimbabwean capitals most prominent luxury hotel, and guests enjoyed a sumptuous buffet of beef cooked in various ways, chicken, and imported vegetables, along with highly decorated desserts. Most Zimbabweans, though, remain deeply impoverished five months after the coalition was formed.