The South African president, Thabo Mbeki, who has mediated during months of on-again off-again fraught negotiations, made the official announcement last night after four days of talks in Harare. "It's made in Zimbabwe, it's made by Zimbabweans, the rest of the world needs to respect that the people of Zimbabwe have taken a decision about their own country," he said. (1)Which is bullshit. The people of Zimbabwe, harried by thugs, mislead and starved, have had nothing to say about this. It doesn't reflect their will, but the desire for power on the part of Mugabe and Tsangirai - an urge strong enough to induce them to split the baubles of office between them. After all, there is still plenty to go around, as long as none of it is shared with the long sufferring people of Zimbabwe.
A power sharing deal that leaves Mugabe in place has nothing to do with democracy, and probably marks the end of Tsvangirai as a force for reform in Zimbabwe. To borrow the title of John Pilger's book on the disappointments of post Apartheifd SOuth Africa, maybe it will be freedom next time.
1 - "Zimbabwe rivals agree power-sharing deal," by Basildon Peta in The Independent, 12th of September, 2008. (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/zimbabwe-rivals-agree-powersharing-deal-927087.html)
No comments:
Post a Comment