Zimbabweans should have been consulted about the agreement

TANONOKA JOSEPH WHANDE

I am one of the people who is not impressed by the so-called agreement between Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC and the two ZANU-PF factions led by Robert Mugabe, on one hand, and Arthur Mutambara, on the other.

After a cursory look at the agreement, one can understand why they did not want to reveal to the people the contents of the agreement before signing it.

The agreement has more holes than a fishing net.

The deal, hammered out by politicians in the absence of civil society, does not even recognize the March elections, which Tsvangirai won. And it cedes too much power to Mugabe.

A reader wrote to me saying that he fails to understand how anyone, including most of all Tsvangirai and the MDC, can go along with this.

Mugabe lost even a rigged election; he has murdered thousands of Zimbabweans, terrorised millions, destroyed his country's economy; arrogantly, flaunted every and any code of decent human behaviour; plundered and pillaged and destroyed the wealth of his own people, to his personal advantage. How can anyone make "deals" with such a man? And for what purpose?

Tsvangirai told the BBC just yesterday: “Yes, I am anxious…about how this is going to work. The devil is in the implementation of this agreement. This is a political risk that we have taken.”

Tsvangirai said that he was not very comfortable with the agreement then added: “But I must say that I think all of us are committed to see it through.”

Personally for me, I am still trying to be rational and to convince myself that the MDC did the right thing but no matter how liberal I get, I cannot plug the holes and rationalize those signatures.

Needless to say, the long suffering Zimbabweans greeted the news of the agreement with a mixture of doubt, disbelief, joy, cautious optimism and, above all, with fear.

While the people crave for a meaningful settlement, they are even more afraid of the possible consequences of this political union, especially considering the upper hand wielded by the loser.

A lot of anxiety is gripping the populace given the fact that the people were denied the chance to be party to the agreement. Unlike in the 2000 referendum, this time around, the people were not extended the opportunity to give some input or to offer suggestions, here and there.

I hold the opinion that this agreement is a hoax to, once again, cheat the Zimbabwean people and Tsvangirai needs to be careful not to be tricked any further because Mugabe is not done with him yet.
I remain opposed to an arrangement that recognizes and rewards the loser at the expense of the winner and the people.

Short term benefits will obviously look enticing.

Maybe ZANU-PF will kill fewer people than before. Maybe the international community will send in money, itself a danger that the MDC should be very very careful about. More food will come in and people are going to be fed.

And all the while Mugabe and his people are going to be watching?

As Tsvangirai admitted in that BBC interview, he and Mugabe have been opposed to each other for too long and working together is going to be a challenge. True, the devil is in the implementation of the agreement.

I fear that what this agreement will do is to apply a thin coating of cover over festering wounds and blind the nation to the decomposing anger simmering under the surface only to burst open and contaminate the false sense of security that we childishly want to impose on ourselves.

Yes, I am skeptical.

Yes, I am not convinced. Yes, Robert Mugabe and ZANU-PF cannot be trusted because they pillaged and murdered for years and they can still do the same. They have experience in this. And have degrees in violence too!

Signing an agreement is easy; it only requires the principals involved.

Anyone can do it.

But to implement the agreed terms is another matter; people’s participation is required yet the very people who must be the actors in the implementation of the agreed terms are the very ones who have been denied the opportunity to amend, improve, add or remove parts which they felt to be unsuitable for them and the nation.

The masses became spectators as the three groups wrangled over who gets how much power and which party gets how many cabinet posts. The talks were about power sharing and not about what is to be done.

Then there is Thabo Mbeki and his quiet diplomacy.

In some circles, it is being said that the agreement signed in Zimbabwe last week vindicated quiet diplomacy.

That, I am afraid to say, is hogwash.

Mbeki’s quiet diplomacy failed. Mbeki used this quiet diplomacy gimmick to shield Mugabe and, clearly, his interest was in keeping Mugabe in power.

The African Union and governments outside Africa tightened the screws on Mbeki. The situation got worse for him when he found himself SADC Chairman. Results were expected from him yet he had very little room to maneuver because he found himself supervising his own work on behalf of SADC.
So, in turn, he had to push Mugabe because he himself was being pushed harder. In a matter of weeks, the agreement, with all its faults, was signed.

It was not quiet diplomacy; it’s something called pressure.

Mugabe and ZANU-PF have nothing to lose but the MDC and the people have everything to lose.
But I am only an individual and this is only an opinion. What I do now is to hope that something good comes out of this so-called agreement, even if by accident.

The people of Zimbabwe deserve not just a rest but a permanent end to the madness perpetrated on the nation by one man and one political party. If this agreement can save even one life, then it is worthy it only if it does not open the floodgates for more of our citizens to be killed by mindless people who have murdered our nation and now don’t know what to do with the corpse.

The heart of the matter is that Zimbabweans deserve better than this agreement. We, the people, should have been consulted.

Zimbabweans deserve peace and security and this document will stand in the way.

This agreement will delay peace and security and, in the longer run, may re-introduce mayhem but at a higher level.

It is an agreement that should never have been negotiated because we are here dealing with people who have proved themselves to be cruel, untrustworthy, cheaters and abusers of the nation.

Asked if he could trust Robert Mugabe, Tsvangirai said he did not.

“One thing I can say is that he is a man that I can do business with,” said Tsvangirai.
And will you be watching your back, Sir?

“You have to,” Tsvangirai again. “There is no reason why you should lose your guard.”
I am Tanonoka Joseph Whande and that, my fellow Zimbabweans, is the way it is today, Thursday September 18th, 2008.