Abayomi Azikiwe, PANW editor, looks on while former Green Party presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney read the latest issue of Workers World newspaper during a visit to Detroit on Aug. 30, 2008. McKinney was endorsed by Workers World newspaper in July.
Originally uploaded by Pan-African News Wire File Photos
By Golden Guvamatanga
Courtesy of the Zimbabwe Herald
MDC-T have got President Mugabe’s political maturity, astuteness and intellectual prowess — which scaled new heights recently — to thank when he partially saved them from the political embarrassment of admitting they could not get the sanctions they called for to be lifted.
The President, in his typical exhibition of political wisdom, told Reuters on the sidelines of the recently held United Nations General Assembly that he was giving the Obama administration time to reflect on the sanctions regime they inherited from the war monger Bush.
By stating this position, President Mugabe was also giving MDC-T a window period to search their consciences on the role they played in getting sanctions imposed.
It is understandable that Obama’s hands are tied because sanctions can only be lifted by Congress, which is a process and not an event.
President Mugabe also said the same in his annual independence interview with ZBC on 17 April, 2009, when he said we should be patient with MDC-T over sanctions.
It is understandably difficult for MDC-T to go back and lobby for the lifting of the illegal embargo.
As Zimbabweans, we all believe MDC-T wants the sanctions — which PM Tsvangirai prefers to call restrictive measures — to go quickly but things are not that easy.
However, there are people in MDC-T who in recent weeks have been trying to run away from their shadows by either denying the existence of sanctions or by denying their imposition.
But President Mugabe gave both them and the US a chance to redeem themselves and it is hoped that this is an opportunity they will not spurn.
This is moreso for Obama who has just won the Nobel Peace Prize.
Under normal circumstances the sanctions removal lobby should be MDC-T’s sole responsibility because we all know what role they played in their imposition.
MDC-T, ably supported by their friends in the West has been at pains in trying to deny the existence of sanctions by calling them "restrictive measures".
They have literally been stepping over each other, going on the defensive, apparently trying to suppress the shame that comes with exposure where one’s past deeds return to haunt them.
Despite these spirited denials, which smack of political immaturity and dishonesty, the hard-hitting fact and stark reality of this whole sanctions issue is that they are real and they are causing untold suffering to the people of Zimbabwe.
Denying their existence does not minimise the suffering they cause.
A brief history will help readers understand why this country, tiny and innocent as it is, is burdened with the heavy load of such punitive measures as sanctions.
This is the story.
Upon the realisation that the West could not take over power through the MDC-T as they had thought, they decided — with MDC-T’s complicity — to put the country under sanctions.
MDC-T set foot on almost every city in Europe and the United States calling for their imposition so that the people of Zimbabwe would turn against President Mugabe, which would result in his removal from power.
They blindly thought that the sanctions would swiftly result in their lightning ascendancy to power.
Those with political foresight warned the agitated Americans and the West from punishing the innocent souls of Zimbabwe.
One such person is US legislator Cynthia McKinney who said in 2001: "Those who knew did not want to admit the truth and those who didn’t know should have known — that land was stolen from its indigenous people through the British South Africa Company and that any "titles" to it were illegal and invalid.
"Whatever the reason for this silence, the answer to this question is the unspoken but real reason for why the USA Congress is now squeezing an economically devastated African state under the hypocritical guise of providing a ‘transition’ to democracy."
McKinney went on: "I have not heard anyone proposing a United States Democracy Act following last year’s presidential electorate debacle. (That saw George Bush elected US president by a Republican judge despite losing the popular vote to Al Gore by over 400 000 votes).
"And if a foreign country were to pass legislation calling for the United States Democracy Act which provided funding for the United States opposition parties under the fig leaf of ‘voter education’, this body and this country would not stand for it.
"When we get right down to it, this legislation (ZDERA) is nothing more than a formal declaration of the USA’s complicity in a programme to maintain white skin privilege.
"We can call it an ‘incentive Bill’ but that does not change its essential sanctions nature. It is racist and against the interests of the masses of Zimbabwe. In the long run ZDERA will work against the USA having a mutually beneficial relationship with Africa."
What should be known to the readers also is that the imposition of the sanctions against Zimbabwe was as a result of the West’s anger over the Fast-Track Land Reform Programme that President Mugabe initiated in 2000.
The West was never going to accept reality that this country had its owners and they would not be stopped by anyone in asserting this fact.
Further to this, the US would stop at nothing at nipping this self-assertion in the bud — at whatever cost.
This was confirmed by the former US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Chester Crocker, who in September 2001 called for the annihilation of the Zimbabwe economy by imploring the US Senate to "separate the Zimbabwe people from Robert Mugabe, we are to make the economy scream. And I hope you senators have stomach for it".
Having looked at the history of sanctions it is now of paramount importance to look at the impact of the sanctions against the country.
Section 4(c) of ZDERA states: "The Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct the United States executive director to each international financial institution to oppose and vote against:
a) "Any extension by the respective institution of any loan, credit or guarantee to the Government of Zimbabwe", or
b) "Any cancellation or reduction of indebtness owed by the Government of Zimbabwe to the United States or any international financial institution."
Through the enactment of the sanctions the country was put under the spotlight for the wrong reasons through the gross misrepresentation of facts on the ground by the Western media.
Zimbabwe was portrayed by BBC, CNN, Sky and other television stations as a war zone.
Zimbabweans were said to be eating rats by the Western media.
Successive droughts did not help our cause either but everything was blamed on President Mugabe.
In August 2008 a serious cholera outbreak hit the country and again it was blamed on President Mugabe.
Travel warnings hit the tourism industry.
Zimbabwe was shunned by potential investors, which affected our economy.
People like Prime Minister Tsvangirai, Finance Minister Tendai Biti, MDC-T spokesperson Nelson Chamisa, Tichaona Sibanda of the "genocide in Zimbabwe" fame and clown priest John Sentamu among others almost became permanent features of the BBC.
They were said to be presenting the "real" Zimbabwean situation through statements that only made the situation worse.
Companies shut down, workers were laid off and hospitals ran out of drugs.
And in the midst of all this President Mugabe and loyal nationalists like Dr Gideon Gono soldiered on.
The Americans even hypocritically offered Dr Gono’s a job at the World Bank!
The visible effects of the sanctions came to the attention of the progressive forces of the world who collectively sought to lobby for their removal.
At regional, continental and gatherings, the debilitating effects the sanctions were acknowledged, but some people still insist they are "targeted" or "restrictive measures".
It is important to take stock of possible reasons of why MDC-T and the West are not in a hurry to have sanctions removed.
Firstly, it could be because they have realised — like many people in the world — that they were wrong from the word go and are embarrassed to backtrack.
Biti appeared to have realised the gravity of their error when in a May 4 interview with SW Radio he said: "The World Bank has right now billions and billions of dollars that we have to access, but we can’t access those dollars unless we have dealt with and normalised our relations with IMF."
We cannot normalise relations with IMF because ZDERA ensures that Americans block any co-operation.
When Tsvangirai went to take the West to solicit funding for the inclusive Government, he was told of "reforms" and "benchmarks".
Now the "reforms" and "benchmarks" have morphed into "outstanding issues".
Secondly, MDC-T and the West refuse to accept that what are in place are sanctions and not "restrictive measures".
In essence, they are telling us that the sanctions are here to stay because they will only deal with "restrictive measures".
On September 10, 2009, the recently tax duty-freed Western propaganda tool called The Zimbabwean published an interview held by another propaganda tool — SW Radio — in which Violet Gonda talked to a Geoffrey van Orden, who is a member of the European Parliament.
Van Orden shamelessly and hypocritically claimed that Zimbabwe was not under sanctions.
He said: "Well first of all, let us be clear there aren’t any sanctions on Zimbabwe right? And there never have been. The sanctions, the restrictive (note restrictive measures) are against a small number of leading elements in the regime in Zimbabwe . . ."
On September 4, 2009, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Gorden Moyo denied the existence of sanctions, calling them "restrictive measures".
Then came the revelation.
On September 15, 2009, ZBC TV’s programme Melting Pot then accorded Zimbabweans an opportunity to hear it for themselves as MDC-T Senator Obert Gutu and MDC’s Gabriel Chaibva talked about sanctions among other issues.
The debate nearly degenerated into a pub brawl as Chaibva threatened to expose the real authors of ZDERA.
He said the people were in MDC-T and are occupying top positions both in the party and in the inclusive Government.
These are probably the same people being paid US$7 000 salaries by the World Bank for working in the PM’s Office.
What is important here is the fact that some of the people who called for the imposition of sanctions are pretending to be representing the interests of the majority when they are actually perpetuating their suffering.
Now, in light of these points what can be done to make sure that Zimbabwe is freed from sanctions?
There are two options.
First is to shun the West’s interference in our domestic affairs like what President Mugabe highlighted in his address at the just-ended 64th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in the United States.
Regrettably, while countries in Sadc have made great sacrifices and given Zimbabwe financial and other support at a time when they too are reeling from the effects of the global economic crisis, the West has refused to remove them.
Indeed, some of them are working strenuously to divide the parties in the inclusive Government (like what the World Bank is doing through their parallel government initiative).
President Mugabe went on to give them a stern warning when he said: "If they will not assist the inclusive Government in rehabilitating our economy, could they please stop their filthy clandestine divisive antics."
Need I say more when the President has spoken so clearly?
President Mugabe has eased MDC-T’s task by giving them and the West time to review their actions.
Zimbabweans have to push for MDC-T to engage the West to remove sanctions.
We hope they take President Mugabe’s message seriously and use this opportunity wisely.
The same way they asked for sanctions is the same way they should ask for them to go.
We continue to pray for our nation so that we may all see the light.
Long live Zimbabwe!
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