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Obstacles to dialogue
John Makumbe, The Zimbabwean
May 31, 2007

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/viewinfo.cfm?linkcategoryid=6&linkid=11&id=4618

The SADC initiative for the resolution of the Zimbabwe crisis faces numerous hurdles that could derail the whole process if they are not effectively dealt with speedily. It is obvious that although so far all the parties seem to be co-operating with Thabo Mbeki's team of negotiators, there is little enthusiasm about the dialogue process. In fact, there is considerable scepticism about the whole exercise.

One major obstacle is that the process is currently shrouded in secrecy, with only some selected members of Zanu (PF) and MDC being privy to the goings on in that regard. This secrecy is assumed to ensure the success of the talks between the two major players. It is my considered view that this expectation is quite unsound and dangerous.

Political parties on their own cannot adequately represent the interests of society as a whole. The exclusion of civil society and the churches, business, women, youth and professionals creates the usual risk that what the two political parties may agree on may be found to be grossly inadequate, if not unacceptable to the generality of the people of Zimbabwe.

The second obstacle is the continuing repression that Zanu (PF) and the state's coercive apparatus are waging against the MDC, the churches and civil society. The beatings, illegal arrests, abductions, torture and murders just have to stop if the dialogue process is to be given a chance to succeed. For example, the MDC headquarters at Harvest House was raided again last Saturday and several members of that party were arrested and detained for no specific reason.

These arrests and illegal detentions are going on throughout the country on a daily basis. We all know that the primary objective of the dictatorial Mugabe regime is to weaken the MDC so that it will not be effective in the Mbeki led dialogue process. The folly of this sort of thinking is astounding. The truth of the matter is that rather than weaken the MDC, these illegal acts are merely strengthening that party and making it even more popular with all progressive forces both inside and outside the country.

It is amazing how dictators never learn from past experiences. The announcement that local government elections will be held throughout the country next January is yet another obstacle to the success of the dialogue process. For Zanu (PF) to plan to hold local government elections in January is essentially to assume that the status quo will still be obtaining with regard to the legal framework or the Constitution of Zimbabwe.

The need for a new and democratic constitution for this country will obviously be one of the crucial points of negotiation in the dialogue process. Zanu (PF) is desperate to establish the political temperature before the synchronised parliamentary and presidential elections 2008. With the economy disintegrating at a rate faster than a Chinese tractor, Zanu (PF) fears that by January 2008 that party will be so unpopular that even some of its own staunchest supporters will vote against it. But to schedule the local government elections for January is clearly to indicate that Zanu (PF) has no intention of making the dialogue process succeed. MDC beware.

A further obstacle is that, although Thabo Mbeki has insisted that there should not be any preconditions to the dialogue process, Mugabe is demanding that the MDC should recognise him as the legitimate president of Zimbabwe. This stupid precondition should be rejected from the outset. To recognise Mugabe as president of Zimbabwe is to legitimise the illegitimate. It is akin to validating the stolen 2002 presidential election, and the MDC should desist from such action.

Sadly, Thabo Mbeki himself recognises the dictator as the legitimate head of the Zimbabwe state. The MDC must, nonetheless maintain their position, that Mugabe is an impostor who lost the election in 2002 but claimed that he had won it. The truth has to remain in place.

These obstacles to the dialogue process are, however, not insurmountable. Every effort need to be made to ensure that the dialogue process succeeds, against all odds.

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