Faces lit up and people scurried to shake hands or just get close to Zimbabwe’s opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, when he went for an unexpected walkabout in Harare’s Budiro township.
The scruffy vegetable market was briefly transformed. ‘Mr President, you are our true leader,’ said a beaming vendor. Others chanted: ‘We are hungry, we are hungry.’ Tsvangirai responded, ‘I know, I understand. We are going through hard times.’
This week will be especially tough for Tsvangirai, who goes on trial tomorrow for his alleged involvement in an assasination attempt on Zimbawe’s tyrannical leader, Robert Mugabe.
In an exclusive interview with The Observer, Tsvangirai declared this weekend that his country was now facing a ‘torture emergency’. ‘The UN should send its special rapporteur; the Commonwealth should investigate. This is a universal appeal to all international bodies, government and human rights organisations to investigate what is going on here. In the name of human rights, it must stop.’
Tsvangirai bitterly attacked France and Portugal for inviting Mugabe to summits in their capitals in defiance of European Union sanctions, charging that they will be ‘toasting with goblets of the blood of innocent women and children’.
In the marketplace on Friday, the support for Tsvangirai was tangible, even from a young man who came up in a T-shirt emblazoned with the emblem of Zanu-PF, Mugabe’s ruling party. ‘What’s this?’ said Tsvangirai in a jocular tone. ‘It’s just a T-shirt,’ said the man, shaking hands and smiling. ‘I have to have something to wear.’
Some told Tsvangirai how brave he was to stand up to Mugabe. Others said: ‘Where have you been? We need you!’
Within a few minutes Tsvangirai got back in his truck and was off to visit other markets as well as the endless queues — fuel queues, bus queues and food queues — that define Zimbabwe today.
They were lightning visits, designed to avoid Zimbabwe’s police, who have used draconian security laws to disperse meetings that Tsvangirai was scheduled to address.
After keeping a relatively low profile since the March presidential elections, which he narrowly lost to Mugabe amid widespread charges of state violence and voting fraud, Tsvangirai is reinvigorated and taking the offensive against the government.
Tsvangirai is enthusiastically received wherever he goes and the whistle-stop walkabouts are marked by cheers, joking and a lack of the menace and thuggish threats that are the hallmarks of Mugabe’s Zanu-PF. It has been many years since Mugabe has ventured out to meet the public.
Tsvangirai (51) appeared relaxed and cheerful, but he has many challenges to face, not least tomorrow. He has dismissed the charges as ‘trumped-up allegations, part of a campaign of spurious charges against our party’s leaders to try to derail us. We are confident these charges will not hold up in court’.
In the past few weeks, 10 supporters of Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) have been arrested, including three MPs and a lawyer. They allege that they were tortured by police, including beatings, clubbing and electric shocks to the genitals. Their charges are supported by independent medical examinations.
In January, Zimbabwe was rocked by the news that two of Mugabe’s top deputies allegedly approached Tsvangirai to see if he would join in a transitional government if they could convince Mugabe to take early retirement. The news established Tsvangirai as a key player in any negotiations to resolve Zimbabwe’s ongoing crisis.
‘Anyone who wants to find a solution must come to the MDC because we have the allegiance of the people,’ Tsvangirai said.
‘Mugabe may have the power and the position, but he is totally lacking in democratic legitimacy. People are looking to the MDC because it stands up for democracy and speaks up for the issues that affect everyone. Zanu-PF knows the time for testing the waters is fast running out. Negotiations to resolve the economic crisis must take place now, or very soon.
‘The economic realities are very evident. The government is insolvent and the situation is totally unsustainable. When people are going hungry, we are clearly at the wall. The peoples’ suffering must stop. That is the key.’
Mugabe’s government estimates that eight million of the country’s 12-million people are threatened with starvation. ‘The government alone cannot deal with the magnitude of the food shortages, yet it wants to control food for political reasons,’ Tsvangirai said. ‘There is evidence that food is being steered away from the areas of MDC support. Buhera [Tsvangirai’s home area] and Binga have been starved of any food from the state Grain Marketing Board.
‘It is only because of the intervention of international non-governmental organisations that there has not been serious loss of life. And the fuel shortage makes things worse. There is no diesel to transport food.’
South Africa and Nigeria both sent Cabinet Ministers to Zimbabwe in January who publicly supported Mugabe and did not meet Tsvangirai or any other MDC member. Tsvangirai denounced South Africa and Nigeria for supporting Mugabe rather than mediating between all sides. ‘We in the MDC recognise the role of South Africa in helping to point the way forward for us. South Africa has the historical precedent of always being part of the solution for this country. Our concern is over the strategy the Mbeki government has employed. We question whether it can serve as an honest broker.
‘We believe they have compromised themselves by openly supporting Zanu-PF. This support started with the March elections, but it is now more robust. The Labour Minister visited here and loudly supported Zanu-PF, the Foreign Minister, too. And at the ACP meeting, South Africa supported Mugabe. So it is natural for us to distrust them.’
Tsvangirai spelled out what he believes is necessary to return the troubled country to democracy. ‘The first thing is that Mugabe has got to go. Mugabe’s arrogance and defiance is becoming a national liability,’ he said.
‘Let’s recognise that Zanu-PF, although it is part of the problem, is also part of the solution. It must be involved in the transitional authority that we are proposing. The elections must be conducted according to the standards of the Southern African Development Community [SADC — the group of 15 southern African nations].’
African countries have developed their own standards for democratic elections and these must be adhered to, Tsvangirai said. ‘To allow democracy to function freely is the only way out.
‘We recognise that Mbeki needs a solution to Zimbabwe’s crisis, too. If there is anything we can do to bridge the gap of misunderstanding with South Africa, then we will try it. But they must deal with us honestly and fairly.
‘South Africa has gone through a commendable process of changing governments using national healing and reconciliation, fully democratic elections, the creation of a legitimate constitution that gives power to the people. We can learn from all those steps.’
The next few months are crucial, he said. ‘There are many events that are coming up: the Commonwealth decision in March whether to expel Zimbabwe or maintain its suspension; Nigerian president Obasanjo will visit here in February; EU heads of state will meet with their ACP partners soon; the UN is to consider Zimbabwe. What the international community should say is ”We want to help”.
‘The international community should not think this is just between two political parties; they must help the whole nation. To do that they must consult with all the civic organisations in the space between the parties. All stakeholders should be consulted; only then can we move forward together.’ – Guardian Unlimited Â