|
Back to Index
This article participates on the following special index pages:
Talks, dialogue, negotiations and GNU - Post June 2008 "elections" - Index of articles
Rock-paper-scissors
in Zimbabwe's deal
Christian
Science Monitor
September 16,
2008
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0916/p08s03-comv.html
As a power-sharing
deal in
Zimbabwe was inked Monday, supporters of strongman Robert Mugabe
raised their fists in salute. Opposition followers waved open hands.
The two gestures - one defiant and one hopeful - hint at the tension
underlying this unlikely political marriage in a country where democracy
in Africa has been on trial.
As with Kenya's new unity
government formed earlier this year, the most welcome aspect of
Zimbabwe's grand coalition is an end to political violence. The
brutality was triggered by March elections that resulted in massive
government interference in a June runoff.
Beyond a return to calm,
it's impossible to know whether this team of enemies can find the
trust and will to restore one of Africa's most troubled nations
to the jewel it once was.
The deal defies the will
of voters since it leaves significant power in the hands of Mr.
Mugabe, the octogenarian autocrat who has ruled and ruined this
once humming commercial and agricultural engine in southern Africa.
Mugabe, at the helm of
Zimbabwe for nearly three decades, will stay on as president and
head a cabinet of 31 ministers - with the balance of power slightly
tipped to the divided opposition. Morgan Tsvangirai, who heads the
opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), becomes prime minister,
handling the country's mountain-sized problems. He'll also lead
a sort of über council to oversee Mugabe's cabinet. Whether
this cumbersome tandem of ministers will pull together or pull apart
remains to be seen.
But the real power, the
security forces, favors Mugabe. He retains control over the Army
and intelligence services which set upon Mugabe opponents in the
wake of a first round of elections March 29.
This halvsies
agreement rides roughshod over voters in that election, which Mugabe
and his ZANU-PF party lost at both the parliamentary and presidential
levels. Indeed, Mugabe has been losing the confidence of Zimbabweans
for years. Millions of them have voted with their feet, fleeing
the world's worst inflation (now over 11 million percent per year),
unemployment of over 80 percent, and widespread hunger. The UN forecasts
that about 45 percent of the remaining population will soon suffer
"food insecurity."
Disappointing agreements
are often the nature of political compromise. Mugabe obviously still
retains influence through his status as his country's liberator
from white rule, and through the support of African leaders such
as South African President Thabo Mbeki, who negotiated this deal.
Mr. Mbeki deserves credit for bringing the two sides together, but
one wonders what might have emerged had he handled Zimbabwe's dictator
with anything rougher than kid gloves.
Yet Tsvangirai and the
MDC are not without leverage. Their real participation in the new
government is the key to the end of Western sanctions and the start
of massive economic and humanitarian aid vital to Zimbabwe's rebirth.
Zimbabwe brings to mind
the children's hand game, rock-paper-scissors. Much smashing and
cutting have preceded this week's deal. One hopes that the open
hands of democracy will wrap around the fist of authoritarianism,
so that its brutal force is felt no more.
Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.
TOP
|
