So this is Sovereignty?
I recall how President Mugabe and ZANU-PF invoked national sovereignty at every rally and in every campaign message and managed to retrieve the phrase from relative obscurity to national prominence. Virtually the entire nation had heard about sovereignty, albeit, without necessarily knowing what it meant. Sovereignty was indeed ZANU-PF’s mantra. It was the magic word that would instantly send supporters into frenzy. ZANU-PF repeatedly warned the electorate to use their votes to defend Zimbabwe’s sovereignty and make sure that ‘Zimbabwe will never be a colony again.’
By sovereignty President Mugabe and ZANU-PF probably meant the right to be left to do as they please with Zimbabwe without the international community being able to say or do anything. On a number of occasions President Mugabe publicly declared something along these lines, “Blair, keep your England and l will keep my Zimbabwe.” And recently, President Mugabe (at some function during the worst cholera crisis in Zimbabwe’s history) simply and matter-of-factly declared, “Zimbabwe is mine…”
Now it appears all this talk about national sovereignty was disingenuous; meant only to hoodwink the (quite often) gullible electorate. At present all talk about sovereignty has suddenly become irrelevant and has been replaced by pleas for international assistance to fund Zimbabwe’s economic recovery program. A country that elevates and celebrates sovereignty now has to rely on international aid to pay its security forces and diplomatic missions (along with everything else). Government coffers are empty and l am reliably informed that Zimbabwe’s diplomats and diplomatic staff have not been paid a cent in ages! Money to pay the diplomats, soldiers, police, prison officers and CIO is expected to come from international aid! The so-called defenders of Zimbabwe’s sovereignty will get their salaries from international donors. At least ZANU-PF has finally realized that people do not eat sovereignty. Or maybe this is a new form of national sovereignty?
The security forces must now realize that in a globalised world, there is no such thing as absolute sovereignty where a country can do as it pleases without some action from the international community. They must also realize that, since the international community is paying their salaries, they have a legitimate reason to expect the forces to conduct themselves in a professional manner. Zimbabwe has a responsibility to act responsibly and the international community expects each State to do its duty. Without a serious commitment to a respect for human rights by Zimbabwe, the international community runs the risk of being accomplices in human rights abuses in Zimbabwe when they pay those who perpetrate a reign of terror.
And finally, to the Honourable Prime Minister, Morgan Richard Tsvangirai, please do not prematurely declare that Zimbabwe has reformed before there is evidence in hand. I hope your attitude to ZANU-PF is not in any way being influenced by the saying: “if you can’t beat them, join them.” The struggle for democracy, freedom and human rights did not end with the consummation of the inclusive government, it is just beginning. And so the struggle continues unabated.