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Government of National Unity? Ignore the lessons of history at your peril
Catherine Makoni
July 18, 2008

We often like to say that history holds important lessons for us, but as it turns out we are seldom willing to learn. In recent years one of the most horrific periods in Africa's history was the genocide in Rwanda. With the true horror of those hundred days having been revealed, the world, its collective conscience stricken with remorse and guilt, swore-"never again". How soon we forget. A few years on and the world is once again confronted with the extermination of hundreds of thousands of people in another part of Africa-Darfur. It is being called upon to act and act decisively. As before, there is still haggling over whether what is happening in Darfur is genocide. There is not end to the excuses that have been used in the years since the conflict first came to light. The world is doing it again.

The point of this paper is not to talk about Darfur or Rwanda, but to talk about learning from the lessons that history holds for us in Zimbabwe. The report of the Legal Resources Foundation and the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace should be mandatory reading for every Zimbabwean. It details what has been euphemistically described as the "Matabeleland Disturbances". But "disturbances" doesn't begin to cover the deaths of over 20 000 people. A disturbance is when a dog barks in the night, waking you up form your sleep. It's annoying, but hardly fatal. It could even be when two neighbours exchange words over the cutting down of a tree on a common border. At worst, in these days of accommodation shortages, it might your landlord telling you he now wants his rentals paid in hard currency resulting in an argument. It's nasty, it's uncomfortable, it's inconvenient (when you get evicted) but it is rarely life threatening. It is not a "disturbance" when 62 people are lined up and shot-execution style as happened at Cwele River in Lupane. It is not a disturbance when a government to flush out less than 200 so-called dissidents, brings nearly 400 000 people to the brink of starvation by banning all food relief activities and imposing a strict curfew on the movement of food supplies. All this in the third successive year of a severe drought where people had no food apart from drought relief from donors and what they could buy in stores.

A comparison of the events of those years to the events of the weeks leading up to the June 27th election shows some startling similarities. It is clear that the ruling party has drawn numerous lessons from history. I will highlight just a few. Banning of independent media? That's nothing new. During the period 1983-1987, journalists were banned from certain areas of Matabeleland and the Midlands. No news on the crisis was getting out to the rest of the country except government. For a lot of us in the country, we swallowed hook, line and sinker the propaganda that we were fed, that the government was fighting a legitimate war against some dissidents bent on destabilising the country, never realising that at the same time, the government was also waging a brutal war against its own unarmed people.

The ban on food relief and other humanitarian activities as was done by the Minister of Labour and Social Welfare, before the run off? That too is nothing new. In January 1984, the deployment of the Fifth Brigade coincided with a strict curfew being imposed on stores in Mat South and a ban on all food relief activity. Food is a useful tool to ensure compliance, especially when people have few or no options.

What about disappearances and kidnappings? During the run up to the run off, there were increased incidents of kidnappings. This too is nothing new. At one time it was the modus operandi of choice of the Fifth Brigade. The CCJP report notes that throughout the conflict, "there were cases of people who disappeared. These became more common from mid-1983 onwards, and were at their worst during 1985. This was an election year, and in early 1985, possibly hundreds of people were detained under mysterious circumstances in the middle of the night. Some of these were later released, but others have never been seen again to this day. These people are believed to have been taken mainly by CIO and PISI." It is clear that kidnapping, torture and murder were lessons well learnt by those responsible for crafting the re-election strategy of the ruling party. This strategy has been employed consistently in all the election periods from 1985 to date. When there is fear of being kidnapped and murdered, you learn not to participate in anything that might put you at risk.

How about the militia/ war vets/youth brigade? Well, no prizes for guessing that this too was a lesson well learnt from the ruling party's history. CCJP reports that "from late 1984, there was an increase in violence in urban centres as well as in rural areas. This was related to the upcoming election (1985), and was once more aimed at ZAPU supporters rather than at dissidents. The ZANU-PF Youth Brigades were responsible for much of this violence . . . .ZANU-PF Youth were modelled on the Chinese Red Guard, and were groups of young men who forced people to attend ZANU-PF rallies, buy ZANU-PF cards, and who beat anyone who stood in their way. Between June 1984 and August 1985, they caused extensive damage . . . .This left around 4000 homeless, hundreds injured and scores of people dead." Sounds chillingly similar to what we saw happen in the period leading up to the June 27th run off. How many people were frog marched to attend "re-education" and reorientation camps? How many people were forced to buy party cards and how many still were forced to wear or display ZANU PF regalia?

What about the torture methods that were employed? Nothing new there in terms of the underlying thinking behind the torture. The point has been made about the Gukurahundi that "all the techniques were calculated to maximise terror, pain, grief and humiliation. The soldiers [ read CIO, youth militia, war vets, hit squads] . . . .set out to injure and mutilate human beings, to kill them, but to do so in such evil cruel ways that the scars would be indelibly etched in memories for generations to come. . . . .intended to leave this civilian population with fear for the rest of their lives, for the horror to be so great that they would pass the fear down to subsequent generations. This is how he believed he would manage discontent in the region, and hold onto power indefinitely." I would argue that this was the same thinking that informed the horrific acts of torture that were inflicted on people suspected of being MDC sympathisers after March 29, 2008 including gouging out the eyes, cutting off the hands, burning people alive, cutting out people's tongues and genitals and burning people's hands.

On December 22 1987, PF ZAPU and ZANU PF signed a unity agreement which signalled the end of the violence. ZAPU and ZANU merged and the formation became known as ZANU PF. Given the almost one sided violence that had preceded the agreement, it appears to me that ZAPU was bludgeoned into submission and so a government of national unity was forged. That Unity Accord created a one-party state and that one party? ZANU PF. It therefore marked the end of ZAPU as an opposition party. Therein lies the first pitfall. A GNU does not mean we all start belonging to one political party. There can be unity in diversity. We must put an end to political intolerance which believes that unless you belong to my party, you do not have a right to live.

Pitfall two; a government of national unity as defined by the ruling party is one in which the ruling party calls the shots. It is a method of co-opting members of the opposition and thereby compromising them. Offer them a few cabinet posts and neutralise them. There goes the opposition. Yet if there is one thing Zimbabwe needs, it is a viable opposition. Even if, dare l say it, the identities of the parties were reversed?

The third lesson lies in the popularly acknowledged meaning of the word "peace", being not the absence of war, but the presence of justice. The CCJP report notes that "many people say that true national unity was not achieved, that only a few leaders have benefited, and not the ordinary people who suffered through these years. People have said that true unity cannot take place until the Government is prepared to admit what happened and to discuss it openly." A great disservice was done to the long term recovery of Zimbabwe and Zimbabweans in the interest of short term, short sighted "peace". The peace that was achieved was never going to be sustainable because no one ever bothered to ensure that conditions were created that would ensure that the 5 year "moment of madness" would never happen again. Amnesty was granted in 1988 to all and sundry including those people who were guilty of gross violations of human rights. At the time of writing, the authors of the report made the important point that "it is important that those responsible for human rights violations be removed from positions which may enable them to violate human rights again in the future.." That was never done, indeed those who were responsible for human rights violations then are the same people who have been implicated in human rights violations now. So we have come full circle now. Will the proposed GNU put an end to impunity? There can be no lasting peace unless the State terror machinery is dismantled. Mr Welshman Ncube must surely understand demands for reform of the judiciary. I want the court to be a forum for enforcing my constitutionally guaranteed rights as a citizen of this country not a partisan forum used to hand out extra-judicially determined judgments. That is not what you taught me Professor; back when you used to teach Constitutional Law. Ms Priscilla Misihairambwi-Mushonga, must get me when l say I want every woman to feel they can go the police and get protection and not expect the police to be the perpetrators of violence. Isn't that what we used to fight for madam? Back in the days when you used to fight for women's human rights? Now Mr. Mangoma, I have not heard you speak but would like to think you are man who is measured in his speech. The public broadcaster should never be an instrument of hatred, spewing racist, tribalist and xenophobic hate language in the partisan service of a few individuals.

Now l am sure there are those in the MDC (both formations), for whom being an MP is their means of earning a living. Now a nice, plum token cabinet post would be very welcome right about now, thank you. So who cares about a little detail such as the 105 people who died as a result of holding different political views? I mean 20 000 people have died before and there has been no justice for them either has there? This proposed political settlement had better not be aimed at benefiting a few people high in the MDC party structures. This is why l am all for having the negotiated settlement be a transitional arrangement that is time-bound. At the end of that period, not more than 12 -18 months, we should have conditions for free and fair elections. In the fullest sense.

The authors of the CCJP report make the important point that "unity is a good thing to aim for, to try and truly bring together people from different regions of the country. This is for the sake of all our children who may otherwise face violence in the future. Such unity only seems likely if all Zimbabweans face up to what happened . . . .and take steps to prevent government soldiers (read to also mean JOC, CIO, militias, war vets and youth brigades) from ever torturing civilians again in Zimbabwe." The violence we have experienced in the years since 1987 has been a result of the failure at that time, to take steps to prevent the use of those institutions of the State to inflict torture on unarmed civilians, all in the service of a few individuals. ZAPU failed to demand a reform of State Institutions. Perhaps that was because once they got a taste of power and all the perks that came with it, calls for democracy soon became an irritating inconvenience. Perhaps that is why we have people who were once at the receiving end of persecution for their political beliefs, now being worse perpetrators. The MDC (both formations) should not make that mistake again. We should reign in those who would make deals motivated by self interest.

A reform of institutions should ensure a return of the culture of accountability and an end to impunity. Mr Tendai Biti, this can start with scrapping all laws that have been used to perpetuate abuse of people's human rights and freedoms. Please make sure that the violence preceding the June 29 election farce is properly investigated and the perpetrators punished. Give victims of violence a voice. Amnesties and Presidential pardons have been abused in this country and this has bred a culture of impunity. I will again reiterate the demands made by CCJP and Legal Resources Foundation all those years ago. Those found guilty of human rights abuses should never be put/or remain in positions where they can again at some future point murder, rape and plunder. Ever. That mistake was made once. It should not be made again.

A simple and yet profound statement is made by the authors of the Gukurahundi report who state that "This story is not just about the past, but about how the past affects the present. There are many problems that remain in communities as a result of what happened..." Mr. Arthur Mutambara, it is a false peace that does not acknowledge that there are many whose loved ones disappeared and have not been seen since and whose souls cry out everyday for closure and healing. It is a false peace that ignores the demands for recompense of those who have been mutilated and who now must live with disability. It is a false peace which ignores the cries of a four year old child whose mother was murdered in front of his very eyes. We want a society which upholds the sanctity of life, not leaders who refer to fellow human beings as "tsvina" (dirt) (as in Operation Murambatsvina) or "hundi" (chaff) (as in Gukurahundi)

Finally, Mr Tsvangirai "peace is not an absence of war; it is a virtue, a state of mind, a disposition for benevolence (kindness, compassion), confidence (belief or trust in somebody to act in a proper, trustworthy or reliable manner), justice (fairness especially in the way people are treated)" Baruch Spinoza (Definitions added). Don't make all those people who voted for you and who died in pursuit of democratic ideals regret ever placing their trust in you.

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