The Herald (Harare)
6 September 2008
(Page 2 of 3)
"The British bishop will be mandated to return the Zimbabwean Church back (sic) to correct hands, the English Church with proper British ethos."
It is only MDC- T president Morgan Tsvangirai who is mentioned by name in the letter to Christine as deserving imperialist support in Zimbabwe. Several other persons (including one MDC-T Member of Parliament who is a prominent lawyer) are also mentioned. Former Selous Scouts agents remaining in Zimbabwe are also mentioned as among the forces, which will help Morgan Tsvangirai, consolidate power.
Some readers could argue that the Musodza letter to Christine is fake. This would make sense if we were relying on just that leaked letter to reach our conclusions.
But there are other indicators. Apart from the anti-Sadc Zimbabwe postures and activities of the Botswana English Church and the military regime of Ian Khama, there has been Morgan Tsvangirai's prolonged stay in Botswana after the March 29 harmonised elections as well as his campaign to reverse the result of the June 27 poll from Botswana.
Most recently there are disturbing allegations that at least seven MDC Mutambara MPs-elect were lured to Botswana just before their swearing-in and lured with foreign currency in order to make them vote with MDC-T.
The same media reports also reports also allege that the same seven MPs, after their swearing-in and on the eve of the opening of the Seventh Parliament of Zimbabwe, decided to abandon the accommodation officially booked for them by Parliament officials.
They joined MDC-T MPs at the Meikles Hotel where they continued to consult on ways to achieve regime change, contrary to the idea of an all-inclusive government led by President Mugabe.
Then during President Robert Mugabe's official speech opening that Seventh Parliament of Zimbabwe, about 20 or more opposition MPs disrupted Parliament on camera. It is alleged by legal experts that disruption of Parliament was clearly in violation of Section 21(schedule) of the Privileges, Immunities and Powers of Parliament Act, Chapter 2:08.
The fact that neither the opposition nor individual members have apologised for what happened at the opening of the Seventh Parliament is consistent with role of the opposition required by the UK, the US and the EU, but totally inconsistent with the expectations and aspirations of the majority of the people of Zimbabwe who want an inclusive government focused on reversing the damage caused by unilateral and illegal sanctions invited by the same opposition in 2000-2001.
It is therefore important at this stage in the history of the Anglo-Saxon onslaught on Zimbabwe for the media to alert the majority of the people of Zimbabwe to the dangers which the opposition continues to pose for this country.
l First, from its beginning in 1999, the opposition and its "civil society" NGOs have allowed the Anglo-Saxon powers to parade the same opposition as part and parcel of the illegal regime change apparatus and as an internal proxy of the white West. When the leader of the Mutambara faction of this opposition recently allowed a belated interview to tell the same white powers to leave Zimbabweans to solve their own problems, that was exactly when seven MPs from that faction allegedly deserted the faction and rejoined the intransigent MDC-T.
l Since late 2007, Zanu-PF and the Government of Zimbabwe have been urging the opposition to join them in denouncing and resisting the illegal, unilateral and racist sanctions invited upon the country by the same opposition back in 2000. The opposition continues to refuse to join Zanu-PF and the Government in this urgent effort.
Instead, a large number of officials and supporters of that opposition continued to lie about the reality of economic sanctions, choosing to define them as just travel bans. Morgan Tsvangirai, Learnmore Jongwe, Nelson Chamisa, Obert Gutu, Douglas Mwonzora, Rashweat Mukundu and scores of others have misled the people into believing that the sanctions were just travel bans meant to keep President Mugabe and a few of his "cronies" from travelling. The unashamed denials were made on television, although other footage already existed on ZTV and BBC, in which Morgan Tsvangirai and Fidelis Mhashu had openly begged the world, and especially South Africa, to cut off the flow of petrol, diesel, electricity, finance, trade and everything else of consequence going to or coming out of Zimbabwe.
It was only after the British Labour government, the US Republican administration, and the EU began to target and threaten specific multinational companies over Zimbabwe in July and August 2008 that Tapiwa Mashakada of MDC-T finally admitted on ZTV that the sanctions were real economic measures targeting the whole economy and the people and not just travel bans on a few individuals. Yet, even after that, the opposition has remained silent on the issue of sanctions here, while its supporters abroad openly celebrate the effects of those same sanctions on the entire population of Zimbabwe.
l In late 2002, NGOs supporting the MDC showed their support for Anglo-Saxon efforts to divide and destroy Zimbabwean society. They published a big document called "Is Zimbabwe on the Brink of Genocide?" They proceeded to answer their own question, indicating which alleged "tribe" was going to set up and massacre which other "tribe" using what issues and what means.
The MDC formations for their part helped the efforts of their NGO supporters by claiming that genocide was indeed an ongoing process in Zimbabwe, targeted against the opposition. How the MDC formations could be defined as a tribe or race subject to genocide remains beyond comprehension.
l During the opening of the Seventh Parliament, those members of the opposition disrupting the proceedings clearly shouted that President Robert Mugabe and Government had no right to honour Kirsty Coventry as a sports heroine of national and international stature who won gold and silver medals for Zimbabwe at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. It was in this part of their disruption of Parliament that the 20 or more MPs displayed the binary logic which the MDC-T has adopted from the rightwing who sponsored and founded the party.
The MPs shouted that, because Kirsty Coventry was of Caucasian ancestry, she could not and should not be hailed on behalf of the people by President Robert Mugabe and his Government. They went further to say that Kirsty Coventry belonged to them, to the opposition by virtue of her being of Caucasian ancestry.
This display of racist dualism has been an integral part of opposition thinking in Zimbabwe especially since 1999.
As a project sponsored by Anglo-Saxon powers, the MDC has adopted as one of its responsibilities the duty to erase the history of the African liberation movement by equating it with that of Nazism, fascism, apartheid and even UDI. The techniques used include what Naomi Klein calls recasting and conflating or conflation.
In recasting, the African land reclamation movement which seeks to enable the dispossessed African majority to reclaim their land which was once stolen by white settlers is presented as reverse racism which leaves no room for whites who are reconciled to Zimbabwe. But, in fact, this movement merely requires all Zimbabwean citizens of all racial origins to accept that the State now controls land on behalf of all
The people and that all those who have reconciled themselves with the new Zimbabwe are entitled to queue for land on an equal basis and they shall be resettled. The sponsors of the MDC formations want the opposition to portray the land reclamation movement a racist war by Africans and against all the people of Caucasian descent.
This recasting erases the fact that Guy Clutton-Brock, a Caucasian Briton from Wales, was among the first Zimbabwean heroes to be buried at the National Heroes Acre. This recasting erases the fact that former East Germany, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria and former Soviet republics, together with China, were among the most faithful supporters of the African liberation movements of Southern Africa. This recasting seeks to erase the historical fact that it was President Mugabe who as Prime Minister in 1980 invited all Zimbabweans of all races to join the liberation movement in a process of national healing and reconciliation.
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Of course the 2008 elections were unfair, the country had been under a economic deadlock for years by the West.
Tsvangirai didn't contest the run-off because he was likely to lose and withdrawing from the run-off was his only way to allow him to pretend he won. You obviously don't know anything about Zimbabwe otherwise you'd know that Tsvangirai was still on the ballot, as obligated by the constitution. Tsvangirai won that other 20%.
China and Russia weren't manipulated, YOU have been manipulated. And are you seriously going to bring up Georgia? This isn't about Russian intervention, this is about Western intervention.
It's just so sad to sit here powerless to what my government is doing to Zimbabwe...
You see to so easily forget that the 80% that Mugabe won in the run off, a gain of some 37% was purely due to the violence, murder and intimidation of opposition supporters, and the forced votes of so many. If you for one moment even consider the 80% a true reflection of the peoples will as accurate, this simply shows how stupid, idiotic, irrational and brainwashed you are.
Why do you support and condone a man who has so blatantly beaten, murdered, raped and tortured your fello Zimbabweans to keep power?
This post was deleted because it contravenes AllAfrica's commenting guidelines.
As I said "If you for one moment even consider the 80% a true reflection of the peoples will as accurate, this simply shows how stupid, idiotic, irrational and brainwashed you are".
Tsvangarai pulled out 4 days before the run off 'election' saving countless lives at the hands of Mugabe thugs. A true leader of the people.
You're not suggesting that Mugabe, the butcher of Harare, responsible for tens of thousands of deaths of Zimbabweans is a better leader of the people are you? Dear oh dear.
Tsvangirai pulled out to "save lives"? Is that right? Then his recent call for new elections means... what?
He's literally asking for the same kind of violence once more because he couldn't finish the job (and by finish the job I mean create a justification for a Western invasion) in the run-off. The guy is completely contradictory in everything he does. A good leader would have signed the generous deal presented by Mbeki and patiently await the next election after the economic crisis has subsided. The problem is, Tsvangirai NEEDS to economic crisis because that's his entire campaign strategy.
Personally, I'm not against new elections, on the condition that the sanctions be lifted months in advance giving Zimbabwe enough time to recover. I'm confident the right person will be elected.
I think you'll find that Tsvangarai would like elections in a controlled peaceful environment where people can vote freely without the fear that vote may cost their life. If he wanted to promote a "western invasion" then he would have stayed in for the run off. But seriously, you must be pretty deluded to even consider the west invading Zimbabwe.
Under these free and fair conditions, its pretty clear that Tsvangarai would win an election.
You really are stupid though. Why do you think its ok for Mugabe and his thugs to unleash waves of violence on the people of Zimbabwe?
And have you seen the deal presented by Mbeki? No, you havent, so stop making stupid assumptions that its generous. In reality, Mugabe shouldnt even be there in the first place, this is something the whole world knows.
Another thing, how can you expect the west to lift sanctions and trade with you and to respect you when your government beats and murders its own people to keep power. By doing so would only condone this barbaric behavior.
Tsvangirai hasn't done anything to prove to me that he has the interests of Zimbabwe at heart, so no I will not have faith in what he says wants. Everything he has done since the first election has been meant to cause instability as he and his party regularly broke Zimbabwe laws to try to appear to the Western media as the victim. Why change now?
"Under these free and fair conditions, its pretty clear that Tsvangarai would win an election."
^-- Purely your opinion.
"You really are stupid though. Why do you think its ok for Mugabe and his thugs to unleash waves of violence on the people of Zimbabwe?"
^--- Stop putting words into my mouth.
"And have you seen the deal presented by Mbeki? No, you havent, so stop making stupid assumptions that its generous. In reality, Mugabe shouldnt even be there in the first place, this is something the whole world knows."
^--- Nope, but any deal would be generous considering that Tsvangirai lost the election.
"Another thing, how can you expect the west to lift sanctions and trade with you and to respect you when your government beats and murders its own people to keep power. By doing so would only condone this barbaric behavior."
^--- Huh? I live in the West. And lets be serious, the West is in absolutely no place to judge foreign governments since we have the worst track record of all.
See all comments (138).
Some questions for Cde George:
"First, the US State Department again rejected the sovereign mandate of Zimbabwe's voters in the 2005 parliamentary elections which all the participating observers declared free and fair." - George, you have overlooked to mention that neither SADC's nor the AU's observer missions found the 2008 presidential run to be free and fair. Any reason for that small oversight?
"Second, Bernard Kouchner for the European Union presidency; Gordon Brown for the British Labour government; and Condoleezza Rice and Jendayi Fraser for the US government -- all stated in June 2008 that the only government of Zimbabwe they were willing to recognise was one led by Tsvangirai" - could that be because the results of the only election in 2008 that was declared to be free and fair showed Tsvangirai to have out polled Mugabe?
"Third, the same leaders sought to force Zimbabwe to cancel the presidential run-off, even though it was required by our Constitution. They wanted to force the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission and the voters to revert to the indecisive election results that gave the opposition a slight edge over the liberation movement, Zanu-PF." - wrong, Western consensus generally was that it was disappointing that Tsvangirai did not contest the run off.
"Fourth, when 80 percent of the presidential run-off vote went to President Mugabe, the same white powers denounced the result and demanded the installation of Tsvangirai of the MDC as President of Zimbabwe."- if Mugabe won 80% of the vote in a single candidate election, who got the rest? A ghost candidate for the ghost names on the electoral roll?
"Fifth, they successfully recruited at least three leaders in Sadc to agitate for the position of the UK, US and EU -- that is to urge Sadc and the AU not to recognise President Robert Mugabe as the legitimately elected head of state of Zimbabwe. It took the firm resolutions of AU and Sadc summits to silence those three heads of state." - they don't sound silenced to me, unless Cde George you are including Levy. In any event; 'at least 3'SADC countries - perhaps you could expand on that?
"Sixth, and finally, the UK and US manipulated the G8 and the UN Security Council to invoke Chapter Seven of the UN Charter against Zimbabwe in order to obtain UN permission for a military invasion of Zimbabwe which the US and the UK had been contemplating since the days of their Iraq invasion in 2003." - I am sure that China and Russia are surprised to learn that they have been manipulated. By the way; The Herald has somehow missed the chance to critizise Russia for interferring in the internal affairs of a sovereign country, namely Georgia. No doubt you will get around to that when time permits, or do your principles of non-interferrence only extend West?