The current political logjam in which Zimbabwe has been enmeshed in for the past seven months can only be resolved if the country’s two main political parties, ZANU PF and the MDC agree to consummate their global political agreement signed in September last year, a Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) senator has said.
David Coltart, a senator for Bulawayo under the ticket of the smaller grouping of the MDC led by professor Authur Mutambara, insisted the Septemeber 15 agreement signed between President Mugabe and the two MDC formations with the bigger one led by Mr Morgan Tsvangirai, is still the only viable option out of the decade long political and economic quagmire. "There is no alternative but to press for the September agreement to be implemented. As bad as the agrement is, there is no other viable, non-violent option open to Zimbabweans," Coltart said in his letter to the editor carried in the weekly independent publication, The Standard. Coltart, also a Member of Parliament (MP), said previous attempts to oust Mugabe-who has ruled the country for the past 28 years-have failed.
"An appeal to the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the African Union (AU) or the United Nations against the agreement will be fruitless. Even strong statements made by Gordon Brown, George W Bush, Angela Merkel and Desmond Tutu calling for the removal of Mugabe, yield little prospect that would translate into action," he added. While many had called for millitary intervention in Zimbabwe or a popular uprising, Coltart said both options are unlikely.
"There is no stomach in the West for military intervention and many of us opposed to Mugabe would not support such a policy. A spontaneous uprising is unlikely," the MDC senator said. He lashed at Tsvangirai’s delaying tactics which he equated to gambling, saying the wait and see attitude will exercabate the gross humanitarian crisis engulfing the nation.
"Some argue that if the MDC waits a while the Mugabe regime will collapse. This is a possibility but a huge gamble. In the event that Mugabe losses power, some of the more radical eelments within the millitary may seize power, which in turn could see Zimbabwe degenarate into even worse forms of anarchy than exist at present Besides the political stalemate arising from the March 29 syncronised elections where Tsvangirai beat Mugabe but failed to garner a 50 plus one majority vote, triggering a violent runoff later boycotted by the MDC, the majority of the people are on the the throes of starvation, embeded poverty worsened by hyperinflation, and the recent Cholera outbreak which has claimed more than 2000 lives countrywide.
Coltart urged the two MDC formations to ‘join the transitional government under protest and reserve their tight to withdraw from mthe government if need be’. But his sentiments have been opposed by political scientiets and ordinary Zimbabweans who said that Mugabe would destroy the MDC from within in the same way he did to late vice president, nationalist and freedom fighter, Joshua Nkomo’s PF ZAPU under the 1984 Unity Accord.
"President Mugabe has shown that he is not sincere with sharing power with the MDC. Why did the abduction of several opposition activists escalate? Tsvangirai’s powers are limited and he remains under Mugabe, then why should he accept that. If he joins the government under such conditions, that would be the greatest betrayal to suffering Zimbbabweans, the MDC would be swallowed, said Takavafira Zhou, a lecturere and president of the Progressive Teachers Union in Zimbabwe (PTUZ). Zhou said South African Acting President Kgalema Motlanthe, who is also the SADC chairperson, should exert more pressure on Mugabe in the sme way that brought the Ian Smith regime down its knees.
Leave Your Comments