Morgan Tsvangirai Interview: How can the Commonwealth help Zimbabwe?
Posted by AlexT - 04/08/09 at 01:08 pmTRANSCRIPT:
Zimbabwe is emerging from a serious political conflict and an economic meltdown. In those circumstances, Zimbabwe has received wide-ranging humanitarian support in the past and we thank the international community for that. But we need to move to a stage where transitional support is targeted ensuring the transition moves on and is consolidated. My appeal is for transitional support in the key areas that will strengthen the capacity of the new state in the new political dispensation these include education, health, water and agriculture for food self-sufficiency. These are, I admit, insatiable needs, but we have to limit ourselves to the committed resources.
How can the Commonwealth help Zimbabwe? Should we be doing more? And is progress possible with Mugabe as President? Discuss below.
Category : Democracy & Good Governance, Human Rights, Peace & Conflict, The Commonwealth's Relevance
Tags: Mugabe, Tsvangirai, Zimbabwe
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August 5th, 2009 at 7:46 am
Thanks Alex,
After watching the youtube, i tried find some more update news on Zimbabwe and finally I found some recent positive news (not fully though) on BBC website about the Zimbabwe issue.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8175668.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8176049.stm
It seems that Zimbabwe is moving forward with a positive changing attitude on the part of the ‘unity’government, but there is still long way to go. the word ‘forgiveness’ is too easy to say to anyone, but the real forgivenss which should be delivered from the both sides: mental and physical, is a harsh reality to give effect of this word as the immense losses in terms of mental, economical and physical, sufferings, pains and the loss of beloved one remain longer lasting elements which may not be even healed in their (victimes) life time. However giving this harsh reality,it is also undeniable that there should be a proper and apropriate policy to reconciliate and unite those people both the victims and the perpetrators as it is one of the fundamental principles to rebuild a nation.In this regards,
Cth can help Zimbabwe by assisting with the experts on peacebuilding process to advice, monitor and overall supervisation of the reconciliation process. Cth can urge world leaders (such as Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, Kofi Anan to name few) who has worldwide reputation in terms of peacebuilding process.
In regards to restore proper justice
Cth should exercise it’s power (if it has any) to enforce Zimbabwe to bring the liable persons who caused the gross violations of human rights by killing innocent civilians and political activists (due to political rivalry)and who are liable for sirious crimes such as rape, abduction etc, into the trial and those liable persons should be punished under the existing Zibabwe laws and of couse adhering to the international laws. this is important not only because of the reason to punish the perpetrators, but also it can be a punitive example for other countries as well to provent from the possible harms if they inted to do so. In this regards, Cth should extend its support by providing Zimbabwe with necessary and adequate funding,legal experts on warcrime, adequate human resouces (if needed). I think Cth has really big responsibilites to maintain law and order not only itself, but also all other member countries.
August 5th, 2009 at 7:51 am
sorry i missed few words in my last sentence of the 2nd para. it should be read “Cth can urge world leaders (such as Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, Kofi Annan to name few)who have worldwide reputation in terms of peacebuilding proces to be a part of this reconcialiation process”. thanks
August 5th, 2009 at 10:52 am
Absolutely. Another way the Commonwelath could help would be sending Commonwealth volunteers to Zimbabwe to help rebuild infrastructure and homes which have been destroyed.
There must also be some form of trial system for those who have genuinely commited crimes, especially during the election process. One of the greatest obstacles to reconciliation is that justice is not being seen to be done.
If the Commonwealth can liase with the Zimbabwean legal system or send further Judges or lawyers in suport thereof, this would be the optimal response.
Zimbabwe’s situation demonstrated the weakness in the Commonwealth’s lack of ‘hard power’ (eg Military power). Thousands had to die because the Commonwealth could not haveintervened even had they so wished. But the peace process… now that’s another matter. Mong Marma is right. The bestway to show the Commonwealth’s commitment to multilateralism is to bring in the African leaders famed for their experience in the field.
The Commonwealth must be careful not to use the term ‘War Crimes’. Historically, in order to be tried for war crimes, individuals like Mugabe have to have lost a war. Mugabe has only lost an election. Let’s not get the Zimbabwean people riled up too quickly.
Alternatively, the Commonwealth could totally reverse the trend and drag Mugabe up for a War Crimes Tribunal in Capetown or Gabarone. Now that would be interesting.
But maybe not wise.
August 6th, 2009 at 4:51 am
thats right. I agree with what RFLowings said about “the weakness in the Cth’s lack of ‘hard power (eg military power)”. But my question is even if the Cth is given this hard power to intervene in any of its member countris as a result of interanl or ethnic conflicts, can the Cth guarantee that peace & security will be restored by taking this hard action? And how will the military be formed? Can the Cth assure that the military (if it’s formed) will be recruited from each of its member countries proportionately and it won’t be influenced by some developed countries who are wealthy and mighty in terms of economic and military power? i think this issue needs to be resolved by engaging all stakeholders, public and other concerned agencies in the forms of dialogue, seminar or whatever form suits.
I echo with RFLowings that Cht must be careful not to use the term ‘war crimes’.
August 6th, 2009 at 12:03 pm
Mong Marma and RFLowings, thanks for posting, you both mention some really interesting points; in particular about ?hard power? which is the use of coercion (and/or payment) to get others to confirm to your views. However, rather than the lack of hard power being one of the Commonwealth?s weaknesses I would suggest that the soft power at the Commonwealth?s disposal is one of its key strengths for a number of reasons.
To begin with, hard power is abundant and can, unfortunately, be used by anyone with the resources, regardless of their values. As such dictatorships as well as democracies can use hard power as a ?stick? by which to make others conform. Therefore, possessing hard power in itself says nothing about the Commonwealth?s values, or indeed its commitment to those values.
Secondly, by appealing to shared values the soft power approach is more likely to lead to lasting long term benefits. With hard power there are no guarantees that when out of the spotlight the offending party will not continue as before. If in doubt ask the Allied Forces in Afghanistan who are trying to buy the cooperation of warlords and tradition leaders!
Finally, the Commonwealth is not, and should never be, in direct competition with the United Nations. The Commonwealth?s role and value in a world littered overlapping regional bodies should be unique and as such, there is no need for the Commonwealth to ever have to consider having a military force. To put it simply, the UN does this already; there is no need to reinvent the wheel.
Let me know what you think and keep posting!
August 11th, 2009 at 11:48 am
What we are suggesting is already being done by other agencies. The UN, USAID, DFID, Red Cross, WFP, UN Volunteers, SADCC, African Union, Neighbors and friends of Zimbabwe are all doing the same thing, giving aid and debating reconciliation or hard power.
The nature of the commonwealth is different. It is a people organization an organization that was established to promote democracy and good governance, respect for human rights and the rule of law, as well as sustainable environmental, economic and social development. This can be achieved though working with the people, changing the focus from state to individual and community.
The first mistake that was made was to suspend Zimbabwe. The suspension was meaningless and only led to more suffering. I suggest that the Commonwealth employs solutions, policies and interventions that go beyond state sovereignty. Every other organization believes that the respect for the state and its powers should be paramount. But what happens when the state is run by dictators? Do you still respect the state and ignore the people? It is not possible that one can pledge to respect the sovereignty of a state and also focus on being a people organization.
When the people of Zimbabwe were dying in thousands due to lack of clean water, simple solutions could have solved the problem. But the government had other priorities or was unable to. and the reason no one could help was we respect the state and its borders and as much as people are dying we can not afford to get into Zimbabwe as we have foreign policy pledges that demand we stay out when we are not welcome. So the state wins and the people loose.
What the Commonwealth should do in Zimbabwe and in all other places is to build the capacity of the people to rise above those challenges and threats that they face and will face in the future. Empower the people to stand up and demand accountability. Create forums for discussion, debate and foster dialogue. Create active citizens. Have programs that help people get rid of the fear within them, foster inter state trade and open borders for economic benefits. Empower the people with numerous abilities to develop. Promote respect for diversity. Develop early warning and early response systems based on a human security agenda. Create peace building programs at community level that encourage tolerance, brotherhood and togetherness.
August 11th, 2009 at 1:27 pm
very true.
August 11th, 2009 at 1:43 pm
I lived in Rwanda through the genocide and i discovered that no one cares. If Zimbabwe needs help. They should find a way of finding it from within. Commonwealth, UN…. all they can do is talk make statements, threaten sanctions, and be present while you are stable then leave as fast as they can when you need help. How helpful!
Your suggestions are ideal but wait lets see if the commonwealth can open up its borders for free trade in this lifetime? African countries need to close out to the west and do what they can do best. Am really not a believer in international organizations. Africa for them is another business opportunity. I mean they have all been here all through our conflicts. what have they done? They came, divided us, took all they wanted and then threw at us democracy knowing how close to impossible it was and left us to fight each other. And now you ask how they can help???? Do they want to? Really?
Mrangira, good suggestions but to the wrong body.
August 14th, 2009 at 2:15 am
there are many ways to criticise Cth. But we cant blame the Cth solely for its failure, if we do so we have to target first the countries that do not want to comply with the Cth principles and values. In this modern world, it’s too hard to survive for a country without the help from other countries and if the surviving country is run by dictator or miliarty then it is not too hard to presume that human rights in the country in question are grossly violated by those people who are in power because they won’t tolerate any opposition of their policies to maintain their power as long as they wish.
There are many things that need to be done in zimbabwe to restore peace, harmony and security and these things can be only be achieved by mutual trust and cooperation within the ‘unity government’ and by properly complying with the international principles. Cth has a big role here to play as murangira has already mentioned. the more Zimbabwe keep itself far from the international community, the more the situations will get complicated as there is still long way to go to build trust and respect between the two political parties. Regard should also be given to the all people in Zimbabwe…what do they want? do they want to be included in the Cth? or Will they be able to achieve peace and harmony without the help of international communities (un, Cth etc)?
August 14th, 2009 at 9:12 pm
Mong, in a number of countries, there is a difference between what the people want and what the government wants. Power does not necessarily belong to the people. Zim is a good example. In that case what does the Commonwealth do?
August 16th, 2009 at 8:24 am
Murangira is right about accountability. This is the fundamental failure of the Commonwealth – to assume that the state is sovereign even when the people are suffering.
The Commonwealth should involve itself as much as possible in the political nation-building but should, as stated, implement solutions tht go beyond borders. Commonwealth mandates for aid and assistance would carry a lot more credibility as coming from an orgaisations where no individual race or economic band has primacy (or stands to benefit).
Especially relevant for the future is the ‘early warning system’ Murangira mentions. The Commonwealth should most certainly implement this for political, but also for environmental situations. All too often a country which could have used Commonwealth assistance is beyond it by the time the problem becomes apparent. The Commonwealth is presently a reactive organisation, and one with slow reactions. It must have a proactive approach to good governance and must watch those it considers most stable. As the recent parliamentary embezzlement scandal in Britain shows, even the most developed and established member states need checking up on.
Suspension was useless for Zimbabwe and should not be used as a weapon in the way it currently is. It serves no purpose except as a wake-up call to those nations stable enough to listen (Fiji a good example).
But Zimbabwe is an excellent example of how the zeal to decolonise and force an ‘equal’ society in the former Empire can be an unhelpful one to dictate policy. At the time of Lancaster House, ZANU-PF were little better than Terrorists, and as the last two years have proved, old haits die hard.
Zimbabwe’s experience runs precisely counter to Karera’s post. To claim that International Organisations are simply an extension of Imperialism is both a simplification of reality and an abdication of responsibility, both of African society and of individual revolutionaries.
Isolationism and regionalism have prolonged bitterness and conflict for thousands of years of human society. Don’t let historical bitterness or traumatic life experiences cloud the reality. The Commonwealth should be, as Murangira states, a force for tolerance, brotherhood, and togetherness. Anything which detracts from that is useless to anyone.
September 6th, 2009 at 3:27 pm
Zimbabwe needs lots of capital injection to get back on its feet again. The potential in that country has been scuppered by the last decade of misrule. The commonwealth should work towards contributing to this cash injection in order to remain relevant in zimbabwe affairs. However, the commonwealth should push African leaders to pressure the current government to restore the total rule of law in the sleeping giant. Despite being of a different race, white zimbabweans are africans. just like th whites i south africa, namibia and kenya. They need to be accepted in the country because they have lots of expertise that would be useful in the rebuilding of the country, especially in the agricultural sector. They should be incorporated into any plan to restore zimbabwe’s past glory and get the country to even greater heights. I don’t think they should be treated the way they are, with these farm invasions. Who can say it is African to batter an elderly person, the way it has happened in some of the invasions?
September 17th, 2009 at 3:46 am
The name of the organisation is the royal commonwealth society. Whose royalty? and what are the British seeking to achieve by this grouping together of their former colonies? It is obvious they want continued control and access to natural resources like agricultural land and minerals, they want markets for their companies.
In normal situations, a member of an organisation who gets punished or expelled needs to reapply for admission. Why is that it is the commonwealth trying to woo Zimbabwe back into the fold? Has Zimbabwe stopped the alleged human rights abuses, is there now the so-called rule of law? We need to mature as Zimbabweans and be able to read through western rhetoric. They will use every trick to win back control of our key national assets. A self respecting nation, like the USA, chose not to be part of the commonwealth. Why should we be part of it? It serves as an extension of British foreign policy.
Some of the contributions from zimbabweans on this site clearly show that there are people ready to surrender to foreigners the role of fomulating national policies and implementing them. Which western country allows such a thing in their affairs? They want to observe/monitor our elections, why can’t we do the same with their elections?
If you want to understand the attitude of the westerners towards africans, look at how africans staying in western countries are treated. Racism is rife, and its hard to believe that the commonwealth works for the good of our people. The so-called assistance is designed to cripple our ability to develop, so that we’re perpetual beggars while they loot our resources.
My advice to fellow Zimbabweans is that they should NEVER look for solutions from outsiders and expect those solutions to serve the interests of the nation. The royal commonwealth society reports to the Queen and she’s there to protect British interests.
Iam pained when I see fellow zimbabeans being paid to work against their country. If a stranger sets your house on fire and you assist him by pouring gasoline over it, even your neighbours can’t assist you with anything!
We need to get over the colonial servitude mentality. We need to be self confident of our capabilities and not look to outsiders for help. Let us take charge of our affairs and work to influence our government to reset national priorities and to harness the resources at our disposal for national development. Only then can we become a respected people in the world. Remember, noone ever succeeded by begging.
September 17th, 2009 at 11:59 am
Lawrence,
You fail to understand that it was the Commonwealth that brought Zimbabwe its independence from white rule… countries like Zambia, Kenya, Jamaica… etc put pressure on Thatcher and the British Govt to have talks.
It’s no longer a tool of empire.