SANCTIONS MUST REMAIN IN PLACE FOR NOW

TANONOKA JOSEPH WHANDE

I am only a humble citizen of Zimbabwe . And, like every Zimbabwean, I do worry so much about what is happening.

The worry comes from not really accepting that what is happening is real. The worry is influenced by the realisation that the devil we have always known is becoming more and more like us. Yet this devil has neither changed nor does he show signs of a willingness to change.

The fear is that we are us; we cannot run away from ourselves, even though we notice some anomalies amongst ourselves.

We are stuck with each other.

“The sense of optimism is alive,” said journalist Jan Raath, “but after the repeated violent destruction of expectations of the past decade people have also learnt to recognise the fragility of their hope.”

She adds that it is like walking into a pool of delicious, cool water while knowing that broken glass lies on the bottom.

And I do appreciate the slow changes and improvements going on but I am not at all sold on this. Not just yet.

Yes, true, we should give them more time to settle but the bad things that are being done tend to overwhelm the good ones.

This government still fails to find common ground and remains dangerously polarised among party lines.

One half of the government continues to invade farms while the other half criticises that, showing, in the process, that the MDC has no power or authority yet.

One half of this government continues to raid, abduct and incarcerate supporters of the other half. They refuse to release them, showing in the process that the MDC remains powerless to protect people yet it is in government.

No, the call to lift sanctions only benefits ZANU-PF, which tenaciously clings to power and continues to refuse relinquishing control. Lifting of sanctions will tilt the scales way more in ZANU-PF’s farvour and further curtail the work the MDC is trying to do.

Why should sanctions be lifted? So that Mr Tsvangirai can go on foreign trips accompanied by Mugabe, his insatiable wife and a million hangers on to milk away whatever little assistance the world wants to give to the people of Zimbabwe ?

I find it distasteful when the MDC is forced to defend ZANU-PF or Mugabe, something that ZANU-PF and Mugabe do not do for the MDC.

Sanctions must stay. Repressive laws are still in effect.

Suddenly, all MDC people have diplomatic passports yet for a long time Tsvangirai, along with a host of other citizens, could not get passports. But now passports are made available to the MDC so they go around the world to legitimise Mugabe and asking for money that ZANU-PF is waiting for.

This is beginning to look like a set up to me and, as usual, the so-called ordinary Zimbabwean will come out the loser.

After the signing of the GPA, MDC members and civil society activists were abducted, tortured and imprisoned. All, including those on bail, still face trumped-up charges. At least seven are still missing since their abduction in October last year, a full month after the signing of the GPA. The media still remains shackled; sanctions must stay.

The MDC must be regretting that they did not push hard enough for a new constitution at those endless, notorious and, apparently, fateful talks. Now they are forced to operate under the same constitution and conditions that claimed the lives of so many people, of so many newspapers; thank you Jonathan Moyo.

There are those who wish to repeat the mistakes of the 1980s by placing this new inclusive government above criticism. They argue that it should be given a chance to succeed. Those who incessantly criticize it are dismissed as unhelpful doomsayers.

Shortcomings of the inclusive government must be ignored, they say. Naïve optimism must prevail. Let bygones be bygones. Mugabe has turned a new leaf. He now only wants what is best for Zimbabwe . All the international community must do is give money to this government and all will be well.

Those who doubt this are anti-Zimbabwe.

I doubt all this and I am not anti-Zimbabwe. I am just afraid of dealing with cheats in ZANU-PF.

I have been abused long enough to read the danger signs.

Instead of embracing this arrangement for their own good, ZANU-PF tries to sabotage it. Instead of appreciating the few positive signs of life struggling to come back to normal, ZANU-PF is messing things up at every opportunity they get.

Instead of working together in this government of national unity, they spend a lot of time issuing conflicting statements, reprimanding and criticising each other, leaving us wondering what unity there is to speak of since each group is pulling in a different direction.

They censure each other over policy they should agree upon in cabinet meetings leaving the people to support, not an issue being reviewed but a political party.

The heart of the matter is that the targeted sanctions must remain in force, especially now that the MDC is still unable to protect the people and the nation from ZANU-PF.

While we must appreciate the little changes slowly coming into view, we demand a more rapid move in normalising the political situation. It must not always be about money.

It must also have something to do with our judiciary, our media laws, our human and political rights.

It must also have to do with unshackling the people from ZANU-PF imposed slavery. We demand a new constitution right away and for this government to let people be free.

Setting people free does not require funds from outside.

We must never lose sight of the fact that this is an imperfect government born from an imperfect agreement and that nothing beats fresh elections and a new democratic constitution.

We must scream for that as much as we are screaming for money so that in case this government of national unity fails, as Mr Biti warned yesterday, people will have protection to pick up the pieces and struggle along to put their lives back on track.

The road is still long for this government and the one to come after it, not to mention for the long-suffering masses who keep being betrayed and abused.

Send me your comments on tano@swradioafrica.com

I am Tanonoka Joseph Whande and that, my fellow Zimbabweans, is the way it is today, Thursday March 26, 2009 .