Passive Resistance

by Al Dunsmuir

Editor of Albo's World

G21 Staff Writer

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The Zimbabwean problem must be pretty bad. On Friday the 28th April, the British Government announced, after talks with Zimbabwean delegates, that the ball was in their court; the British Government could compromise no more. When the old colonial rulers, legally and morally committed to help land reform, and always willing to compromise as any Northern Irish political Party can testify, says enough is enough, then you know the other side is being a bit stubborn. And there is no one more stubborn than President Mugabe.

Al Dunsmuir

The British Government is not being unreasonable. In 1980 it said it would fund land redistribution provided certain conditions were met first. These included that democracy and a rule of law existed in Zimbabwe, and that land went to those who needed or deserved it, and not to cronies of the President. Now, more than ever, that remains a necessity. However hard the Zimbabwean Ministers try, the British will not budge from these pre-conditions and nor should they. Mugabe may step up his propaganda campaign against the British, but the fact remains, the ball is now in his court. Africa must find a solution to Africa's problem.

This may not be good news for the principle opposition Party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), and its supporters, black and white, who receive the brunt of the ruling Zanu-PF Party's oppression. Without Western help or pressure they may feel that there is nothing to stop Mugabe's so far successful campaign of terror, or even no way of preventing Mugabe calling a National State of Emergency, and effectively cancelling all elections and remaining in power for as long as he likes.

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To prevent the latter occurring, the MDC and its support must above all ensure one thing: that in the face of the mass of intimidation they receive, they do not resort to the violence that their opponents are revelling in. To do so would instantly legitimise a severe clampdown by the Zimbabwean authorities in order to protect all citizens from, as Vladimir Putin would say, organised terrorists. It would also lose sympathy from the outside world who currently perceive the problem as one sided. Three of Zimbabwe's neighbouring countries Governments, Mozambique, Namibia and South Africa currently recognise the fact that the remnants of colonial rule need to be shaken off, but Mugabe's lawlessness is no way to do it. The MDC need to keep these three Governments as close to them as possible.

If the MDC were to resort to Mugabe's tactics, something quite plausible as its trade unionist leader Mr. Tsvangirai has hinted at, "we shall take this violence to their doorstep", then the results would be catastrophic.

The economic growth of the other three nations is closely linked to Zimbabwe, which means they are now relying on MDC supporters for their own well being. With 70% inflation, 50% unemployment, fuel shortages and an annual tobacco fair that yielded only a fraction of its normal returns, the possibility of the economic situation actually deteriorating further must be very depressing for Africa's southern nations. The three countries could then even decide that the quickest solution would be for Mugabe's supporters to take the land in order to re-start the economy, and all sympathy for the MDC would be dropped. And that would be just from outside nations.

In urban areas of Zimbabwe the MDC are well supported because of the rational, non-violent, and as the name suggests, democratic alternative to Mugabe that they offer. A move towards violence would leave urban Zimbabweans having to choose between the lesser of two evils. Like outside nations, they could feel that the quickest path to a peaceful restoration of their nation would be via Mugabe. Quite simply, provided the MDC and its support remain unified and non-violent, they have Mugabe's image exactly as they want it: as an ogre.

One person who helps the MDC in this regard is Mugabe himself. Over the past couple of hundred years several political leaders have been allocated sound bites that seemed to sum up the most critical aspects of their leadership. Often the words were used to reflect and/or drum up popular support. Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy and Thomas Jefferson are all prime examples. Winston Churchill is remembered for his "we will fight them on the beaches" speech and understandably not for later comments about Britain's role in Europe and the Commonwealth. Yet when rulers have not been particularly good the sound bite is regularly an ambiguous attempt to shy away from their responsibilities. When Reagan forgot, Bush Senior made his pledge to lip-readers and if Clinton is remembered in years to come for a talk on economic reform, it would have to be after current perceptions on the rights and wrongs of pot and cigar smoking are forgotten. Even Hitler never publicly called for Jews to be killed. In fact most of Hitler's famous and radical comments came before 1933, the year he became Fuhrer. Perhaps if Hitler had said as leader, "read my lips, kill all Jews", a few more people might have thought, "hang on, that's racist".

This is where Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe comes in, not only does he have extremist intentions, but he has the clear sound bite, "white farmers are an enemy of the State", to show everyone in eight short words, that he is dangerous. Yet Mugabe does not even have the ideological commitment to racial supremacy that Hitler had; his thinking is extremely basic: blacks are more likely to vote for him so make the whites scapegoats.

Opponents of Mugabe in Zimbabwe must not rely wholeheartedly on his mistakes to achieve power however. As a potential dictator he can do what he likes. He also has the ability to drum up popular support to keep him where he wants despite his errors. Mugabe's opponents must do their best to create an image of the three groups that Mugabe attacks that contradicts his assertions. They are the British, the white farmers and the MDC and its black supporters.

The opponents of Mugabe will probably work with the British Government to ensure that it is not seen as the colonial master; because any heavy handed or bossy approach is likely to unify black Zimbabweans behind Mugabe. There are still two problems with the British though.

1. Why should the British taxpayer pay for the actions that people before them, that have nothing to do with them, made?
2. Will President Mugabe use any MDC- British collaboration as a propaganda exercise to drum up more anti- British, and for that matter, anti-MDC paranoid feeling?

The MDC know that they have a role to play to ensure that this racist does not become victorious in his insatiable quest for more power. Some sectors of the British press have suggested recently that Africa has always been black and will always remain so, meaning that to prevent Mugabe's reforms is equivocal to denying a cultural group its basic rights. But this is as bad as saying Europe or North America is white and always should be. There is no place on this planet where a corrupt, extremist, megalomaniac racist should feel that his leadership is in some way legitimate. The sound bites of all leaders are memories, parts of history. The MDC know it is only a matter of time before Mugabe goes that way as well. His only hope is that they end their passive resistance.