Government Up Close
In our African culture, there is certain decorum expected of a visitor.
It is quite unseemly for example, for one to get to someone's home and start re-arranging the furniture or dictating how the host should prepare meals.
This is why there is an African proverb that says, "A guest who breaks the rules will soon face the broom".
But before someone says, African proverbs are too brutish and reflective of an aggressive disposition towards guests who run their mouths, let us also look at this Native American saying that says, "A bad guest is like a wild animal, they will soon be hunted out."
The above two sayings are cautioning that guests who fail to respect their hosts may face negative consequences.
It is, therefore, of paramount importance for guests not to take the hospitality of their hosts for granted.
In Zimbabwe we host many embassies and we show them nothing, but our warmth and hospitality. We believe that we are one of the most hospitable countries in the world, with friendly and hard-working people.
We have just been unlucky in that some of the people we have hosted in the diplomatic community have proved to be bad guests.
They have thrown out the principle of non-interference and are not only meddling in our internal affairs, but even have the audacity of uttering provocative and disparaging remarks in a way calculated to ignite cause political tensions in our country.
This is despite the fact that one cardinal principle of international law is that sovereign states should not interfere or intervene in each other's internal affairs.
This is a basic principle but one which is key to international order and one which is compliant with the UN Charter.
Should we agree that this is the position, then how come diplomats from some countries in the West have not managed to purge themselves of this tendency of treating countries such as ours as vassal states?
They disrespect our processes, our cultures, our dignity and are contemptuous towards our leadership and show general disdain towards us as Zimbabweans.
One may be forgiven for believing that there is some kind of racial superiority complex at play, but then even their black diplomats behave the same way towards us. One is never clear what informs this contumelious orientation towards African countries.
Just this past week, one recently accredited Ambassador of a foreign country was already at it before her letters of credence had even found their way into the correct filing slot.
We heard derisory remarks around our election, and someone dictating how our processes should run. This is despite the UN Charter's position which advocates for the equal rights and self-determination of peoples being the foundation of building friendly relations between nations.
So how come those countries that prance around as paragons of democracy are so audaciously patronising to us as a people and yet we are supposed to be equal?
How come when it comes to august bodies like the UN, they do not treat us as equals, hence there is no African country which is a permanent member of the UN Security Council?
They pretend that they are interested in our human rights as individuals within our own states but are not interested in our rights as individuals who are collectively united under our own flag? Surely there is glaring duplicity in this.
We all saw this one diplomat haughtily stating that her home country had problems with the way the last elections in Zimbabwe were run. Really?
In their capacity as who? Our elections are held dutifully every five years as our Constitutional dictates.
Zimbabwe does not hold elections to please any other nation, but in accordance with its own laws.
It is the views of Zimbabweans, that citizens are the only ones whose happiness is important and 52.60 percentile of them voted for President Mnangagwa to lead. And how come someone goes to present their credentials to a Head of State whose legitimacy they dare to question?
Are these condescending attitudes not betraying some residual colonial hangover which still inheres in some individuals in the West?
When someone says that because their country was not able to verify Zimbabwe's elections themselves, then there is something wrong with them, where in our Constitution is their country located, or mentioned? And when were they given the superintendence mandate to certify elections held elsewhere in the world. Let us respect each other please!
There are a number of things that happen in other countries that we would not expect our ambassadors posted there to hold press conferences and make unstrained utterances over. If we were to pay back these bad courtesies in like currency, we would question certain strategic use of the law to hinder an opponent which we believe are cases of law fare. But we keep our respectful silence.
Every Ambassador posted to Zimbabwe is here to help improve the relations between our two countries and in the process serve the interests of theirs.
Nobody is posted to this country to solve problems in Zimbabwe as someone recently claimed.
The starting point in helping to solve our problems is to remove all illegal sanctions imposed against Zimbabwe.
When we talk of an interfering envoy, the transgressions range from an intrusive statement at a press conference, or a negative post on social media, or it can be an economic embargo or Unilateral Coercive Measure, all the way to a military invasion.
The non-interference doctrine is based on the principle that each state, regardless of its size or developmental stage is equal before the international law.
There is therefore no justification for the intrusion we see in Zimbabwe's internal affairs which sometimes is well coordinated by a cartel of embassies receiving their leadership from a self-appointed dean of this assemblage.
Let no one ever believe that our foreign affairs dictum that we are a friend to all and an enemy to none makes us fair game to busy-bodies. No, we are still a sovereign nation.
When Zimbabwe declared this dictum, it was recognising that other countries may face their own internal political issues and it is their business, and we should respect their right to find internal solutions to those internal problems.
Let it not be taken as a sign of weakness because we are a nation of proud warriors whose fortitude and resilience has seen us winning our Independence against a well-oiled Rhodesian war machine. But we defied those odds that were stacked against us.
I hate writing anything that makes it appear like I am explaining my Presidents legitimacy because that is not a matter of debate.
This is because after the results of the elections had been announced, nobody went to court to challenge the process or the outcome as per our Constitution.
This means that besides any self-serving rhetoric they may utter, they knew that they could not fault the process nor the outcome.
Now, why would a foreign embassy even dare to try to subvert our own process which no player dared to challenge? We understand that some embassies were stunned by the outcome and the foiling of their regime change agenda which they tried to execute through some pliable observers, for which they are still throwing tantrums to this day.
We see them still trying to drag SADC into their nefarious agenda. They should leave our regional body out of it. It is the same SADC whose chairperson, President João Manuel Lourenço, praised the Zimbabwe elections, saying; "Allow me to congratulate President Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe and His Majesty King Mswati III for the exemplary elections that were recently conducted in your countries. The tranquillity and orderly manner in which they took place constitute a major victory for democracy."
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The very same SADC whose chairmanship President Mnangagwa will assume in less than four weeks.
Ambassadors are supposed to advance the interests of their home country in a foreign land and are responsible for establishing friendly diplomatic relations and trade avenues. The conduct of Zimbabwe's diplomats is always found to be within these parameters. It's not asking for too much to expect the same respect that we accord our hosts.
We have seen the script before and are more than able to neutralise it. Our history is littered with ambassadors of this ilk who thought trying to aggravate the Zimbabwean authorities would put them in a better standing. They left this country with nothing to show for their sojourn in our country besides more grey hair in strange places. We do not brook ill-mannered guests.
This is our country and nobody will be allowed to come and treat us like we do not know what we are doing or behave like they own the air we breathe. The fact that we are a friend to all and an enemy to none does not mean that we will roll over and play dead in the face of ill treatment.
As His Excellency, President Mnangagwa highlighted, flourishing relationships are being forged based on mutual respect, shared values and win-win benefits. Those nations willing to assist and partner us in our on-going development journey are welcome. Zimbabwe will however, never compromise on our hard-won independence, sovereignty and national pride.
There are some great diplomats accredited to our country whose conduct has seen the burgeoning and blossoming of our bilateral relations. These will enjoy our hospitality and warm hearts as well as brotherly and sisterly embraces. But those guests that have chosen to be pests and irritants will have nothing to show for their efforts except the futility of their endeavours.
Nick Mangwana is the Permanent Secretary for Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services
