OUTSIDE LOOKING IN – A letter from the diaspora

Gone were the threats and promises of blood and violence against his perceived enemies; instead, all was sweetness and light. For the sake of our children and posterity I want to urge all of you to note that the process of reconciliation is national. It does not seek to ferret out supposed criminals for punishment but rather calls on all of us to avoid the deadly snare of political conflict.

It was all very noble-sounding, all in keeping with the spirit of national healing and reconciliation. Or was it? Justice surely requires more than a blanket amnesty to enable the victims of violence to come to terms with what has happened to them and to be able to move on with their lives. But, rather than instruct the police to do their job without fear or favour and arrest all perpetrators of violence, regardless of their political persuasion, Mugabe has, in effect, declared an amnesty for his thugs and bully-boys who are still terrorising the rural population. No one is going to be arrested for politically motivated violence. he declared. No doubt he felt completely confident in making that statement since he can be absolutely sure that none of his blatantly partisan police force will be ferreting out supposed criminals even when there is overwhelming evidence of criminal behaviour. It is not the first time Robert Mugabe has used his presidential powers to declare an amnesty for criminals, just in time to ensure he wins another election. Who was it said that no man is above the law?

A day or so after Mugabe made this speech in the presence of the Prime Minister, other top MDC officials and many ordinary MDC supporters in the crowd who have personally experienced politically motivated violence, the War Veterans leader Jabulani Sibanda was on record threatening that he could squash Morgan Tsvangirai like a fly, Just because a fly sits on the drivers seat, he said, that doesnt prove the fly is driving the bus. Sibanda is in the middle of a tour of terror in Masvingo Province intended to put the fear of God into any poor innocent villager who was thinking of expressing a contrary view during the Constitutional Outreach programme. Where else would Sibanda get away with such an overt threat, secure in the knowledge that no policeman would dare charge him with what was clearly criminal intent against no less a personage than the Prime Minister of the country?

Heroes Day is always followed by Defence Forces Day and it is Mugabes chance to address his army. He is the Commander in Chief and his address this year urged the troops to jealously guard its independence, sovereignty and natural resources. By those natural resources he was of course referring to the diamonds which the army is allegedly guarding not against the hated foreigners Mugabe warned them about but against desperately poor Zimbabweans who have yet to benefit from the fabulous wealth on their land. The first legal sale of diamonds took place this week in the presence of the Prime Minister. As always, on delicate occasions, Mugabe was strategically out of the country- this time on a trip to China – leaving Morgan Tsvangirai to officiate at the sale. Only a small portion of Zimbabwes huge diamond reserves was up for sale but we are told that buyers from all over the world were there. 71 million dollars was raised from the sale of 900.00 carats of diamonds and, said Morgan Tsvangirai, We are working out the modalities of how the money is to benefit the people of Zimbabwe.

Meanwhile the Constitutional Outreach Programme has been deferred because, so we are told, there is no money for fuel to enable the teams to reach the more remote places. The whole process of consulting the people on a new constitution has been utterly chaotic from the start but that was exactly what Zanu PF wanted it to be. Genuine consultation with the people was never on their agenda in the run-up to the next election, whenever that is to be. Despite the evidence on the ground to the contrary, South Africas President Zuma will apparently tell the SADC Summit next week that Zimbabwe is on the correct path. Note that Zuma doesnt stipulate exactly where that path is leading but Zimbabweans have a pretty shrewd idea that its more of the same. South Africa, of course backed the diamond sales and a Foreign Ministry official is quoted as saying at a news conference held in Pretoria, This is a legitimate process and Zimbabwe is beginning to use its natural resources to improve the lives of its people. Anyone who was hoping for some tough talking on the Zimbabwe question in Namibia next week is headed for disappointment. With the connivance of South Africa and most other African nations, Robert Mugabe remains in power and his honey-soaked words are just that: meaningless words which thinly disguise his true intention to remain in State House till the end of his days. With the example of Charles Taylor and blood diamonds so much in the news lately, perhaps Robert Mugabe would be wise to watch his words, honeyed or otherwise. The world is listening.

Yours in the (continuing) struggle PH aka Pauline Henson.