Last November Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe congratulated Barack Obama after his election as the 44th President of the United States. He assured Mr. Obama that he was ready to engage the US (and the international community).
In his Inaugural Address, President Obama responded: “To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history, but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.”
Mr. Mugabe has given all there is to give. He has already unclenched his dictatorial fist as far as is possible. Last September, he signed a unity pact with Mr. Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the larger of the two factions of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). The deal anoints Mr. Mugabe as President and Mr. Tsvangirai as Prime Minister.
The burden is now on Mr. Obama but he cannot help Zimbabwe without taking the following four steps:
1) Abandon the globally popular but ineffectual regime change/"Mugabe must go!" policy of the Bush era:
This rigid policy illuminated Mr. Mugabe’s violence. It generated unprecedented global sympathy for Zimbabweans. Global leaders and celebrities lined up to condemn the veteran Zimbabwean leader. In Zimbabwe, the stance nourished the friction between Mr. Mugabe and Mr. Tsvangirai. Mr. Mugabe used the regime change agenda to portray Mr. Tsvangirai as a stooge of the West. In the end, the regime change agenda didn’t benefit the struggle for democracy in any tangible way. If cost the opposition the support it needed to beat Mr. Mugabe on the ballot.
2) De-racialize the international position on Zimbabwe:
Many Zimbabweans and Africans are sceptical about the West’s true motivation. They see race as an important factor. Who can blame them? Following scattered incursions by apartheid South Africa-sponsored rebels in southern Zimbabwe in the early 1980s, Mugabe unleashed his ruthless, North Korea-trained 5th Brigade military unit.
The unit exterminated 20,000 innocent black villagers. Mass disappearances, beatings, gang rapes abound. Hundreds were burned alive. Some victims were forced to dig their own graves. Some were forced to sing songs praising Mugabe, before being executed.
The international community neither intervened nor chastised Mugabe. Between 1980 and 1995, he continued to be an acceptable guest at most Western capitals, London and Washington included. His crimes grabbed global headlines only after the post-1999 killings, which claimed 300 lives from both MDC and Mugabe’s Zanu PF party. But now these killings included about a dozen white Zimbabweans. Mr. Mugabe had also started repossessing white-owned farms to give to landless black peasants.
3) Call on past Mugabe supporters in the international community to account:
Prominent individuals and institutions in the West once coddled the devil. In 1984 Scotland‘s Edinburgh University awarded Mugabe an honorary doctorate of law degree. In 1986 the University of Massachusetts awarded Mugabe the same honorary degree. Michigan State University honored Mugabe in 1990.
In 1994, Mr. Mugabe became the Knight Commander of the Order of Bath, knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. In 1995, former US President Bill Clinton hosted Mr. Mugabe at the White House. The list is endless.
4) Embrace Mr. Mugabe:
When Zimbabweans signed the unity deal, all of Africa celebrated. A handful of major powers in the international community cautiously welcomed the deal. But most countries in the West openly opposed the deal because Mr. Mugabe remained in charge. They continued to demonize Mr. Mugabe and imposed more sanctions on his regime. They declared that they would only accept Mr. Tsvangirai as leader.
Last December, the Bush administration event tried to lock Mr. Obama into its retrogressive policy on Zimbabwe. It intensified calls for Mugabe to quit. It declared that Washington could no longer support a government that included Mr. Mugabe.
But Zimbabweans shrugged off the West’s divisive policy. They continued to dialogue. As I write, the Zimbabwe opposition has agreed to join the unity government, set to take office next week. On Thursday, the Parliament of Zimbabwe approved the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment 19, which will officially create the new position of Prime Minister and pave the way for the unity government. The vote, in Zimbabwe’s 210-member House of Assembly was 184 to zero in favor of the amendment.
With this unity government, Zimbabwe will negotiate a treacherous political curve that requires maximum support from the international community. If given the chance it deserves, the unity government will heal Zimbabwe and create the institutions and systems supportive of free and fair elections.
Mr. Obama can play a lead role in giving this unique home-grown experiment a chance. In a major shift away from the Bush era, and a progressive one in international politics, his administration has already publicly revealed a willingness to talk to Iran, Hamas and North Korea.
He must immediately review the US’ policy towards Zimbabwe and curb the West’s obsession with punishing Mr. Mugabe. He must tone down the language against Mr. Mugabe, apply a carrot-and-stick approach and be open to direct dialogue.
In taking this progressive route, Mr. Obama will incur a lot of political bruises. If he embraces Mr. Mugabe, he will face the wrath of a powerful global "Mugabe must go!" lobby that has built a powerful case against Mr. Mugabe.
The lobby has built careers and fortunes by peddling the anti-Mugabe stance. It has become so globally powerful that any Western leader who dares to pursue a different approach toward Mr. Mugabe risks losing domestic electoral capital.
The least Mr. Obama can do is tone down the anti-Mugabe rhetoric and let Zimbabweans do what they believe is best for their country. For now, they have chosen to jump into bed with the devil.