An attempt to heal the rift within the ranks of Zimbabwe’s opposition failed on Tuesday when the Movement for Democratic Change’s (MDC) leader rejected an olive branch offered by the head of a breakaway faction.
Arthur Mutambara, leader of an MDC faction that broke away from veteran opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai in late 2005, said in a New Year’s message to supporters that it was time for the two sides to bury their differences if they wanted to challenge President Robert Mugabe’s grip on power.
”The two MDC formations have neither monopoly of political wisdom, nor the immutable right to represent the people of Zimbabwe,” Mutambara said in a statement, ”Setting The Agenda for 2007”.
”In 2007 they must quickly resolve and achieve a framework of effective cooperation, and if they do not accomplish this as a matter of urgency, people of Zimbabwe must reject them completely and develop other alternatives.”
However, Mutambara’s call for reconciliation was quickly shot down by Tsvangirai’s camp.
”Mutambara is part of the problem in this country, yet he talks of unity,” said Tsvangirai faction spokesperson Nelson Chamisa. ”His call for unity is flawed and misplaced.”
Once posing the most serious challenge to Mugabe’s 27-year stranglehold on power, the MDC is a now a shadow of its former self as a result of the feuding.
Mutambara and several other senior MDC figures split from Tsvangirai in November 2005 to protest a decision to boycott elections to the upper House of Parliament. Twenty-one of the party’s 41 MPs have remained loyal to Tsvangirai while the others are now supporters of Mutambara.
The main beneficiary of the fall-out has been 82-year-old Mugabe, who remains unchallenged despite the prevailing economic crisis that has seen inflation soar to beyond 1 000% and unemployment touch the 80% mark.
Mugabe is now even pushing to extend his rule until 2010 after gaining provisional approval at his ruling Zanu-PF’s congress last month to delay presidential elections for two years.
Mutambara said the MDC should be ashamed of how it had lost its focus and had to not only end its bickering but reach out to new supporters.
”Shame on us. In 2007 things have to be drastically different. We have to quickly put the opposition house in order,” he said.
”Even if the reunification of the two MDC formations is achieved, it is not enough to dislodge Zanu-PF. We have to grow the democratic forces beyond the traditional MDC support base.
”This should be done by attracting reform-minded people with Zanu-PF and other political parties who are not currently active in politics.”
In the late 1990s, Tsvangirai, then leader of the main labour union, led mass protests that threatened to bring the country to its knees.
But his influence has since waned and he has been conspicuous by his absence from more recent anti-government strikes, which have instead been largely led by unionists.
Although both factions took part in talks last month to discuss how to prevent Mugabe extending his tenure, Mutambara did not appear alongside Tsvangirai during a press conference at the end of their discussions.
Chamisa said that it would be wrong for observers to dwell on the state of the opposition.
”The crisis of this country is not a crisis of opposition politics. The crisis is because of the leadership in the country,” he said. — Sapa-AFP