zimfinalpush
Zimbabwe's road to dictatorship
02.APR.07
As the Zanu PF Central Committee makes landmark decisions to strengthen the dictatorship, it is perhaps timely to assess the state of affairs in Zimbabwe. In sharp contrast to media opinion, the country is at a 'turning point', not a 'tipping point'.
For those who have never visited Zimbabwe, or who travelled Zimbabwe during better times, the country that is supposed to represent the aspirations of the black people is now a hollow shell of its former colonial self.
A trip to Highfield and Mbare townships in Harare, Zimbabwe's capital, where the liberation struggle started, you will quickly notice that they have become a security bivouac. The shopping centres that once served the black Zimbabwean communities, the beautiful streets built during pre-Mugabe times, the parks that housed beautiful birds and play centres for kids, are largely gone. They have been replaced by dangerous potholes, menacing CIO SUVs, fearsome squad cars, and security "men in black" armed to the teeth, some speaking the local language, others barely uttering a word in local vernacular or English.
If you listen to the Zimbabwe state broadcaster, you will quickly hear the fading voice of Robert Mugabe uttering an over-rehearsed familiar speech punctuated by, and dotted with, words like: 'unholy men' [Tony Blair and George Bush] , 'imperialists', 'sell-outs'. These are reminiscent of the period when Africa was fighting colonialism. Yet Mugabe still uses these words to fight his latest 'struggle'. The difference this time is that this struggle is not against Ian Smith, it's against his own people, the people who voted him into power in 1980, and anyone else who threatens his dictatorship.
Zimbabwean people, in 1980, celebrated what they termed 'freedom'. Little did they know that a shrewd and vicious Mugabe, who was celebrating with them, had a different agenda which would manifest itself in a few years time.
By suggesting that Tony Blair and George W. Bush are 'unholy man' Mugabe is implying that he is the 'holy' one. Fascists, imperialists, and colonialists throughout history have tried to invoke God's name in justifying their ambitions. The Mugabe regime is no different and hopefully it will meet the same fate as its fascist and imperial antecedents. The tell-tale signs are already there.
Police sirens constantly wail in the nation's capital and its 'black' neighbourhoods. A Zanu PF 'friend' of ours has reported that Zimbabwe Republic Police have been instructed to turn on their sirens for no reason, and roam the streets of Highfield and Mbare townships, with their ammunition in clear view - a psychological deterrent to would-be activists. Add the sirens to the arbitrary arrest and harassment of civilians and you realise you no longer live in the capital of a country you fought hard for, but some bizarre Twilight Zone version of the capital city of Zimbabwe in its death throes after some sort of nuclear cataclysm. And like in the TV series Twilight Zone, the events in Zimbabwe often end with an eerie or unexpected twist, for example the illegal detention, harassment, and denial of food to Mrs Merjury Zenda, an 65 year old woman held at Harare Central Police station. She was denied food for four days. Or the brutal murder of Gift Tandare.
Neighbouring South Africa now appears more and more like a drop-in centre for the destitute. It represents a land that is still largely free -- and is rapidly becoming home to a growing number of Zimbabwean émigrés, but is under increased political pressure from the dictators in Zimbabwe to adopt totalitarian ways. Mbeki is already exhibiting these tendencies in his own party and country.
Zimbabwe's poor people, increasing in numbers, have been forcibly moved away from places and shacks where they once found refuge. The 'ghost city' of Harare has been emptied of many of its homeless and poor "residents," while other townships around the country are now largely devoid of the homeless. Where have they gone? It is a question that is often asked around Zimbabwe these days, but many fear the answer they might receive.
The state-controlled The Herald newspaper has become nothing more than a version of the old Soviet-era paper 'Pravda' - a leading newspaper of the Soviet Union and an official organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party between 1918 and 1991. In fact, The Herald's nickname should be "Zanu PF Pravda". Rather than investigate the latest state brutality and the brutal murder of MDC activist, Gift Tandare, The Herald continues to sycophantically treat the Mugabe regime as a legitimate, run-of-the-mill administration-publishing puff pieces on Mugabe's pathetic speeches of defiance and his ludicrous birthday pictures.
The Herald acts as a virtual public relations agent for the dictatorship, with Mugabe's spin-doctor's secret column taking precedence over any other column in the daily. Writing as 'Nathaniel Manheru', spin-doctor George Charamba, is now beginning to sound as pathetic as his role model – President Mugabe.
Instead of concentrating on the myriad scandals that envelop the Mugabe regime, The Herald and Zimbabwe Television (ZTV) broadcasters conduct propaganda-oriented interviews with the dictatorial political leadership. Reporters allow the geriatric leader to spit venom on his own people and sound ridiculous on national television. As journalists they sound more pathetic than Mugabe.
Creating enemies you need
It's the oldest trick in the book, dating back to Roman times; creating the enemies you need.
Governments routinely rely on hoaxes to sell their agendas to an otherwise reluctant public. The Romans accepted the Emperors and the Germans accepted Hitler not because they wanted to, but because the carefully crafted illusions of threat appeared to leave no other choice. Mugabe as crafty as he is, is beginning to rely on hoaxes to sell his agenda.
A few days before the Central Committee meeting entrenching Zimbabwe into a de facto dictatorship, his police chief, Wayne Bvudzijena charged the opposition with attempted murder in connection with nine petrol bombings; illegal possession of a firearm and possession of explosives without a license.
Zanu PF is beginning to use hoaxes to create the illusion that We The People have no choice if we are to be defended from 'MDC thugs', but to go the direction the government wishes us to go. How about the death of Gift Tandare? Let's talk about that first before we talk about 'attempted murder' charges.
The Herald editor reminds me of an interesting story.
In 1898, Joseph Pulitzer's New York World and William Randolph Hearst's New York Journal were arguing for American intervention in Cuba. Hearst is reported to have dispatched a photographer to Cuba to photograph the coming war with Spain. When the photographer asked just what war that might be, Hearst is reported to have replied, "You take the photographs, and I will provide the war". Hearst was true to his word, as his newspaper published stories of great atrocities being committed against the Cuban people, most of which turned out to be complete fabrications.
The media has a capacity to transform people's minds and values and the threat posed by the MDC on the Mugabe regime has been over-exaggerated by the state media. 'MDC terrorists' are said to pose a serious threat to the government.
On closer examination, these "domestic terrorists", who according to Mugabe have necessitated changes in legislation, are not what they are made out to be. What threat would the MDC pose on the Mugabe regime? Afterall, his army has been strengthened by Angolan 'ninjas' and 'Dad's Army' has come on-board. The war veterans have been drafted into the Zimbabwe Republic Army. His dreaded youth militia is in full force in the country.
So, here we are today. Like the Germans under a newly elected Hitler, we are being warned that a dangerous enemy threatens us, implacable, omnipresent, and invulnerable. Already Mugabe has told us that "extraordinary measures" (i.e. torture, extra-judicial killings) are fully justified under 'these dangerous circumstances' we are purported to be facing from the MDC.
As was the case in Germany, the government continues to plead with the public for an expansion of its power and authority, to "deal with the crisis" – the MDC crisis.
Endorsement by the Central Committee
The recent endorsement of Mugabe's candidature for the 2008 presidential elections is a turning point in the political history of Zimbabwe. It strengthens the dictatorship and by extending the number of seats in the two Houses of Parliament, Mugabe has secured his leadership for a long time to come. The Central Committee proved its creativity in holding on to power. The Senate will be 100% appointed, rather tahn elected, and some ministers without portfolio appointed as MPs directly by the President. Mugabe will have a majority in the House by default.
Zanu PF no longer needs the mandate of the people to rule Zimbabwe. Elected members of parliament are no longer important in decision-making as the Central Committee is now acting as a parliament. The extension of constituencies and number of MPs sitting in parliament, should be the prerogative of the sitting parliament.
In a recent article, I wrote, "It would be presumptuous to suggest that Mugabe is now folding -- the events look really bad, but this man has a way of dodging the most difficult of situations."
I also said, "The Zanu PF party is very large, basically Stalinist in organisation and has successfully held power for a long time, over 26 years. You don't get to do that by populating the party apparatus with idiots. Instead, you populate it with thugs. Beyond that, the thugs are organised in a manner designed to maintain a tight grip on power."
The Central Committee thugs went to work yesterday, March 30 2007, and crafted other ways to maintain the dictatorship.
I still hold the assumption that chnaces are zero that Mugabe is folding and the country hasn't reached a 'tipping point' yet.
The latest decisions made by the Zanu PF Central Committee are proof that there's long been an undercurrent of authoritarianism in Zimbabwean politics. Many members of the Central Committee seem morally outraged by anybody who can count higher than two. This 'League of Old Gentlemen' seems to think that being anti-torture makes one unpatriotic or that it's un-Zimbabwean to oppose state terror and state violence including extrajudicial killings. Many of them take grim pleasure in identifying the enemy as someone who supports democracy and lives in the West, making the problem a problem of 'Western imperialism'—just how they like it.
There are many ways to characterize such views, but patriotic isn't one of them. There's nothing patriotic about a lynch mob.
We are almost there
Zimbabweans, we are almost there, although Mugabe is not folding. He will self-destruct. He will find it hard to hold on to a system that self-crumbles. Most Zimbabweans are more pragmatic than ideological. They want a government that works. By any reasonable measure, one-party Zanu PF government has been a disaster. On almost every issue, from education the economy Mugabe has substituted dogma for reality, party loyalty for competence.
The results range from comical to catastrophic. We should realise that Mugabe will lead the country to total collapse. We are in a lot of trouble.
What remains unclear is how many Zimbabweans can see through Mugabe's lies about the crisis in the country. Zimbabweans should realise that it is legitimate to question just how real the crisis is, and how much is the result of political machinations by his ruling Zanu PF party.
Is terrorism inside Zimbabwe really from the opposition MDC, or is it a stage managed production, designed to cause Zimbabweans to believe they have no choice but to accept the totalitarian rule of the Zanu PF 'Fuhrer'?
Once lost, the Germans never got their Republic back. In this case, the nation had to totally collapse before freedom was restored to the people. Should we wait for Zimbabwe to totally collapse before freedom is restored to the people?
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