You would be forgiven for thinking that Zimbabwe’s struggle for self-determination has not ended. In a speech on Wednesday to mark the 27th anniversary of independence, Robert Mugabe stuck to his usual ritual of blaming British Prime Minister Tony Blair for the shattered dream of self-rule.
According to Zimbabwe’s president, the former colonial power is at fault for the state of the nation. Zimbabweans are poorer now than they were at independence in 1980 — and they are still politically oppressed. The president’s solution to this political and economic crisis is for Zimbabweans to unite behind him to fight against British and European Union sanctions.
Mugabe is not alone in his conviction that Western policies have not helped Zimbabwe. Many African leaders are sensitive to the loud Western condemnation of Mugabe — and their calls for Africa to “do something” — as an intrusion. The pace of Africa’s democratisation, they insist, is a matter of national sovereignty.
Protests about Zimbabwe’s governance crisis have provoked resistance. The strongest expression yet of African dissension came last month, when Southern African Development Community (SADC) leaders called on the EU to drop its travel bans and asset freezes against Mugabe’s regime. After all, as President Thabo Mbeki and others have pointed out, the chorus of Western disapproval has done nothing to encourage reform within Zimbabwe.
In this series of supplements in the Mail & Guardian, writers from across the globe consider the diverse aims of foreign powers with an interest in Zimbabwe.
Tawanda Mutasah, a Zimbabwean lawyer, places a spotlight on Africa’s reactions. The response so far has fallen dismally short of the unambiguous stance on individual rights emphasised by the African Union. Mutasah argues that the current crisis calls for bolder action, guided by African treaty law.
Beyond Africa — and the international “standards” proclaimed by multilateral organisations — the question of a new strategy for foreign powers is vexed. Doing nothing is no help. But history offers no easy lessons. Journalist Michael Holman, a veteran observer of volatile regimes, considers the precedents for outside intervention in Africa’s crises. Those who call for a military solution in Zimbabwe will be discouraged by his advice.
China’s ambitions in Africa are keenly disputed at home and abroad. Lindsey Hilsum, a foreign correspondent with a great deal of experience in Zimbabwe, reports from Beijing on her latest impressions of Zimbabwe‒China relations.
Britain appears determined to maintain its pressure on Mugabe. Zimbabwe’s president has often complained that the Conservative party under Margaret Thatcher was an honest antagonist, while the current Labour government in Britain is not to be trusted.
William Hague is Britain’s shadow foreign minister and a former Conservative party leader. From his vantage point on the opposition benches in Westminster, he explains why the United Kingdom — and most Western partners — is not likely to change tack on Zimbabwe. At least, not yet.
In Mugabe’s account, the differences between Western policy and the rest of the world owe much to a Western impulse to punish him for restoring African land to Africans. A large part of this issue is thus devoted to the land and settlement question.
Diana Mitchell considers the tense relationship, before and after independence, between the commercial farmers and Zimbabwe’s white liberals. Did the farmers deserve to be driven off the land or are they merely paying the price for the intransigence of Ian Douglas Smith, leader of Zimbabwe’s last minority regime.
Elsewhere, Sam Moyo and Peter Kagwanja offer an up-to-date perspective on the state of land ownership today and the issues that will need attention in future.
Resolving such problems would be easier if Zimbabwe’s rulers could agree on an example to follow. Geoff Hill, author of What Happens After Mugabe?, argues that Rwanda and Somalia have made sound progress in recovering from genocide and civil war. Neither situation is much like Zimbabwe, but their successes argue powerfully for a fresh start in Harare.
Gugulethu Moyo is a Zimbabwean lawyer who works on Southern African issues for the International Bar Association