A new chapter in Zimbabwe's political history

From the Convention of the Democratic party in Denver to another convention; this time of three political parties (ZANU-PF, MDC Tsvangirai and MDC Mutambara) at the packed International Conference Center in Harare, Zimbabwe, where on Monday 15 september, they signed an agreement for an all-inclusive government to end the Zimbabwean political crisis.

From Denver to Harare

After 18 months of arduous political negotiations (starting in March 2007) facilitated by SADC in a political environment of violent repression and economic collapse in Zimbabwe, the deal was finally reached by the end of last week. The invitation to attend the signing ceremony from NIMD partner the Zimbabwe Institute (ZI), which has assisted the facilitation from the very start, came at very short notice. The only way to reach Harare on time was booking a flight Sunday night with Air Zimbabwe from London Gatwick directly to Harare which was scheduled to bring me into Harare at 07.30 on Monday morning. Early enough to refresh myself after a night flight and to make my way to the ceremony at 10.00.

However, the flight arrived late from Harare and would not touch down until 09.20 this morning. As it transpired, the outbound flight from Harare has to make a stop-over these days in Lusaka, Zambia, for refueling since there is no kerosene available at Harare airport as a consequence of the economic collapse. Unfortunately for me, the airline had not announced this in its schedule (although I could have known), causing considerable stress upon arrival to make it on time for the ceremony. Mid-flight I had taken precaution to take care of the refreshing part by changing my easy flying wear for the formal suit and tie for the momentous occasion. The friendly crew on board advised me to use the toilet as dressing room which took considerable acrobatic skill to move around it. Ever tried to use an airline toilet filled with a clothing bag for changing cloth?

Formally dressed up for the occasion I stormed out of the airport (losing US$ 10 dollar in the process to the immigration official who sold me a visa but did not have change) anxious to meet my host for transporting met to the venue. Nobody to be seen however and to discover that my mobile did not have any network connection in Harare I was not able to reach anybody to tell them that I had arrived at the airport. Two friendly ladies were kind enough to volunteer using their mobiles, only to find out that theirs had no connection either. By 09.40 however, my ZI contact showed up at the terminal, herself fully stressed because of the delay caused by the traffic blockages because of the motorcades of the arriving SADC presidents on their way to the signing ceremony.

Fortunately, the airport is not far from the city of Harare and we after a fast drive we made it to the venue at about 10.00, that is at the fence around the venue. Hundreds of enthusiastic Zimbabweans had assembled for the gate to the venue trying to force their way in, while the security forces had closed all gates to keep people out. No way to pass through with the car. The only possible way from me to get through was to jump out of the car and to navigate my way on foot through the gate-crashing crowd towards the gate and somehow convincing the security to allow me, at that stage without any official registration, in. As it turned out, the people let met pass and somehow my formal dress convinced the security people that I must have been an invited guest from abroad. Anyhow, by the time I had reached the gate, the force of crowd now behind me pushed me through the security cordon trying to stop anybody from entering.

The ceremony

Within the security zone but outside the conference center itself, hundreds of enthusiastic (ZANU (PF) and MDC supporters were chanting and dancing welcoming the guests. Entering the conference building, the auditorium was already packed in anticipation of the ceremony. I was relieved to discover that it had not started and that I had made the long voyage ‘just in time'. The opposing wings of the auditorium were filled with on one side everybody who is something within (ZANU (PF) and the other side the two MDC formations. In between the corps diplomatique (including the Dutch ambassador Jos Weterings) and hundreds of journalists. In de middle around the high table for Thabo Mbeki and the three party leaders, the negotiation teams of the three parties, the South African facilitation team (I was particularly pleased to meet Rev Frank Chikane again who I came to know quite well when he was an eminent member of the United Democratic Front (UDF) in the struggle against apartheid and now director of the cabinet of president Mbeki) and the SADC Heads of State and Government present. The balconies were filled with supporters of the three parties.

The entry of the three leaders was announced one by one to cheers from the supporters present. It felt having come to witness a boxing match. When Mutumbara entered the hall it was received by boos, Tsvangirai entered amidst a huge cheer from one side of the hall and Mugabe from the other side. For a visitor it was immediately clear how the alliances were divided amongst those present. The ceremony started off with the signing of the 33-page agreement of which the details were to be revealed at the ceremony but which eventually did not happen with the exception of Thabo Mbeki reading the preamble. Upon departure later in the day I was promised to find the text in the e-mail upon arrival back in The Netherlands.

Mutumbara: 'are we ready?'

Following the signing, Arthur Mutumbara, or ‘the Prof' as he was referred to, and designated depute prime minister in the new government, was the first to address the gathering. In a animated speech he emphasized the agreement a victory for Africans finding solutions for African problems, a theme Mugabe would hammer in his speech as well. He emphasized that today's ceremony is only the beginning of hard work ahead, that the agreement is the framework to resolve the crises and that hard and painful decisions will need to be taken by the new government to transform the economy. Leadership is making unpopular decisions popular; are we ready he, asked? The country has gone through a traumatic experience and national healing is needed, are we ready he asked again? With the formation of an all-inclusive government, he noted that there will no longer be an opposition party nor a ruling-party in Zimbabwe. Half jokingly, half seriously, he called on Zimbabweans to form an opposition party as check for the new inclusive government.

Tsvangirai: 'a new way of governing'

Tsvangirai, the new Prime Minister designate, delivered an energetic speech in which he emphasized the hope of a new beginning over the despair in which Zimbabweans live. He called on the people of Zimbabwe to join the agreement for the ‘rebirth' of Zimbabwe. There were two options he mentioned to choose from; either working together with (ZANU (PF) or continuing the political impasse and leading Zimbabwe in the abyss of a failed state. Without raising false illusions that the agreement would solve the current problems anytime soon, he expected the inclusive government to introduce ‘a new way of governing in Zimbabwe'. He was gracious and reconciliatory towards Mugabe and ZANU (PF) but in the passing did not fail to qualify ZANU (PF) as the party of liberation whereas MDC was the party of the people.

Mugabe: a man of the past

Mugabe was the next to take the floor and without a prepared text went on and on lecturing the audience about the past history, reminding everyone that Zimbabwe was a sovereign state suggesting that it was still under attack of the British and US imperialists. Yet, he acknowledged that the crises in Zimbabwe could not have been resolved without SADC and the AU coming to the rescue of Zimbabwe. He mentioned in passing, that ‘democracy in Africa is a difficult proposition' as an apparent explanation and justification for the Zimbabwean crises. He declared that ZANU (PF) is committed to the deal, but did not sound half as genuine as the previous two speakers about the need for a new way of governing Zimbabwe. When he finished his introduction it failed to meet much applause. Somehow, he missed the opportunity in front of all the people present and the live-broadcasts around the world, to use this important occasion to once more try to reassert himself as the historic Zimbabwe leader he once was.

Of the three speakers, Mugabe positioned himself as the man of the past, whereas Tsvangirai and Mutumbare represented the future. It became even painful when at the end of the ceremony the participants started to shout Khama, Khama, Khama, the name of the new president of Botswana present at the ceremony. He had refused to recognize Mugabe as president of Zimbabwe following the unfree and unfair presidential election of June 2008 and even refused to attend the last SADC meeting with Mugabe present. With this principled position, president Khama evidently gained popularity amongst the people in Zimbabwe.

Meeting old friends and the new Prime Minister

Following the speeches the government of Zimbabwe offered a lunch for invited guests at which I found myself seated between a former MDC member of parliament who had been beaten to near death in the political violence only a year ago and the leader of the infamous war veterans. The topic of a good humored discussion around the table quickly became that this was now reconciliation in practice.

At another table I run into a good personal friend from a distance past when she courageously struggled against the (ZANU (PF) repression in Matabeleland in the early 80s but became subsequently submerged within (ZANU (PF) politics as one of Mugabe's ministers. I would love to hear her personal account on how she ended up on that side of the political divide and what her perspectives are on the new political ‘rebirth' of Zimbabwe. Unfortunately, time is not on our side today for such an in-depth conversation which will have to await another day. We exchange contact numbers.

The lunch offered me an opportunity for brief encounters with Tsvangirai and the negotiators of (ZANU (PF) and both the MDC formations. In addition I met with the interim President of Zambia following the death last month of president Mwanawa, Rupia Banda, who invited me to visit him on a next mission to Zambia, President Thabo Mbeki and President Guebuza who last week was nominated by Frelimo to stand for a second term in the Mozambican general elections in 2009.

Mbeki's ‘quiet diplomacy'

The agreement should have been one of the ‘finest hours' for President Thabo Mbeki following all the criticism about the time it has taken to reach this agreement by his ‘quiet diplomacy'. And in some way it was this morning in Harare, Mbeki receiving praise from all speakers for the persistent and patient role he has played in brokering this agreement. Yet, at home in South Africa, the knives are out for him with all media headlining Jacob Zuma's reference to the President as a ‘dead snake' on which people should waste no more energy to clobber it. The success of the agreement has come too late to have any positive impact on Mbeki's political fortunes at home. It is ironic that whereas Thabo Mbeki's days are numbered as President he helped broker an agreement that extended Mugabe's 28 years in office for an indefinite period of time. As Mugabe stated in an interview a few days ago, he ‘has no place to go' but to stay where he is.

Impunity for the use of violence continues unabatedly

Talking to a number of diplomats at the occasion, there appeared to be quite a bit of skepticism among them about the agreement, although everyone was reserving opinion until the details of the agreement can be studied. Yes, the agreement sends the wrong signal that by using political violence and staging manifest unfair elections - all observers came unanimously to the conclusion that the outcome of the June presidential election did not represent the will of the Zimbabwean people, an unusual clear and negative verdict by election observers selected by the ZANU-PF government itself - you can still hold on to power, that the will of the Zimbabwean people is not supreme when it comes to forming a government. That impunity for the use of violence continues unabatedly. It fuels the proposition of Mugabe that democracy is problematic in Africa, and suggests as if an African has lesser democratic aspirations than other citizens of this world. But was liberation, independence not meant to bring democracy? Is the mantra ‘African solutions for African problems' not used to undermine the legitimate rights of the African people?

A necessary agreement

And yes, despite these important reservations, the agreement is necessary to provide a perspective for an end to the suffering of the Zimbabwean people, to end the violence and to create a new space to turn-around the economic crises, to restore the cohesiveness of the Zimbabwean society and to engage in a nation-wide dialogue over the future democratic political dispensation in a new constitution. This is without doubt one of the most important provisions in the agreement, a clear roadmap for a new constitution within 18 months. In discussions with the leadership of ZI today, support for this aspect of the agreement will become one of the major activities in the next two years benefiting from the experiences of on-going NIMD supported constitutional review processes in amongst others Zambia and Kenya.

Another important provision in the agreement is the amendment of the current constitution by way of a new article 19 in that constitution, introducing a number of immediate changes in the power relations. Also, responsibility for the security services will be divided. Tsvangirai will be responsible for home affairs and prisons, while defense will remain with Mugabe. The precise division of ministries will be subject for negotiations that will continue from tomorrow. The current 50 minister cabinet will be down-sized to 31 the post to be divided over 3 parties in a 15 (ZANU-PF), 13 MDC-T en 3 MDC-M split, reflecting the number of MPs each party has in the combined houses of parliament. It means that many hopefuls in the three parties will be left out of the new cabinet.

Good company

On my return flight tonight, I had the distinct pleasure to be seated next to the new AU Commission President, Jean Ping, who was also in attendance today as one the guarantors, together with SADC and the UN, for the implementation of the agreement. It was a welcome opportunity to introduce the work of NIMD to him. He invited NIMD to come and visit the AU Commission and give a briefing over the NIMD supported programmes in Africa. Perhaps this is an invitation that can be taken up in cooperation with one or more of the NIMD partners on the African continent.

A new chapter, however fragile it may be

Upon reflection of the events of the day while flying out of Harare under one of the brightest and most spectacular full color red sunsets that I have seen since a long time, I am left with the feeling that I was fortunate indeed to witness the opening of a new chapter in the political history of Zimbabwe. This chapter is still fragile (details of the agreement will still need to be hammered out in the days and weeks to come) and the road to be traveled long and bumpy, without doubt. But I found a sense of pragmatism to engage each other and to find solutions to navigate away from the abyss towards a brighter future. That same engagement and pragmatism (without losing sight of necessary linkages to the bigger picture the agreement is intended to serve) is now required from the international community to respond to this new political reality, starting immediately with addressing the acute food and health crises in Zimbabwe.