US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations: Lessons for Zimbabwe.
Opinion.
08 December 2018
By Zimbo24news Team
On the eve of another year we get yet another rude awakening from the US government when everybody was filled with optimism that indeed Zimbabwe could be headed for a new beggining as re-engagement effort begin to bear fruits.
Its in no doubt that the Americans are masters of deception.They promise you one thing and they deliver the other.They preach one gospel in daytime and at night time practice a different one.
They have proved beyond reasonable doubt that they are an insincere partner and that infact believing anything they say is like betting for a pregnant horse.
The American Senators once again had an opportunity to recite yet another well choreographed presentation before the Senate which clearly was a gimmick to pretend to be democratic by inviting presenters from this side as ably represented by one business man Mr Joe Mutizwa who did well presenting a strong case for Zimbabwe while speaking passionately against the continued imposition of sanctions on Zimbabwe.
Reality is that nothing he could say had the capacity to sway their long held opinion which I think dovetails with their Foreign Policy trajectory on Zimbabwe.
I kind of like the attitude of the American Senators yesterday who did not waste time beating about the bush about the so called Democracy and Rule of law in Zimbabwe.
Rather they went straight to the point and declared that all they cared about in Zimbabwe was the MDC Alliance project as represented by one Tendai Biti whom they had the audacity to call friend of the comittee.
They indicated beyond reasonable doubt that they would do anything to protect and promote the MDC Project as custodian of the American dream in Zimbabwe.
Probably for the first time they took ownership of the MDC Alliance project such that they were so blunt as to demand that the government of Zimbabwe halt all charges against Tendai Biti and stop all procecutorial procedures against him, regardless of the gravity of charges he faces.
This time they let the cat out of the bag as they openly abandoned the Rule of Law mantra by demanding that Biti be set free through political interference.
They abandoned the sacred separation of powers between the State, Legislature and Judiciary which on its own is the standard upon which steong democracies are measured or judged.
At least now Zimbabweans know beyond reasonable doubt who stands between them and Economic Prosperity.Its this creature that must be accomodated in government in defiance of electoral outcomes which reflect otherwise.Its this creature that is supposed to take over the reigns of power at all costs as a panacea to the suffering of the Zimbabwean masses.
Here we watch helplessly as democracy is being bashed, thrashed and trempled upon by the so called masters and authors of democracy.Here is a message that indeed the elections of July 30 2018 in Zimbabwe was an exercise in futility.Its confirmation that indeed Zimbabweans are not yet free as they can not as yet choose their destiny in a free and fair election.
Some powers elsewhere will have to decide who rules the Zimbabwean destiny even if it goes against the very long cherished tenets of democracy.Sad isnt it ?
This is the bully's attitude that the Americans have displayed since time immemorial.They are now clearly medling into our judiciary and legal systems.If they truly believe that Biti has no case before the Courts why not allow for due process to take course ? Why pre-empt a case which is before the Courts ? Is that the complexion of Democracy and Rule of Law which they preach to poor nations ?
So the Americans took the opportunity to set conditions for any engagement with the ZANU PF governent aparently signaling that there may never be any meaningful engagement without the MDC Alliance, in general , and Tendai Biti in particular.
Now this will be very telling about the attitude of the Americans.
Enough respect to Mr Mutizwa for a spirited presentation.But I am sorry my brother your presentation was nothing but a windowdressing endeavour.A decision had already been made.The Senate Committee briefing was only a stage to outline a set of tough conditions for the ZANU PF government by which standard the Zimbabwean government will be judged to get the sanctioms lifted.
From that presentation a clear message was sent to the ZANU PF government that they should reform themselves out of power, hand over power to the MDC Alliance or at least incorporate the MDC Alliance in the governance structures.
Sanctions will never go away until and unless the MDC Alliance is ruling or at least ZANU PF embraces them in a Unity Government.That message was very clear.
It is common cause that Americans are bullies who thrive on Big brother tactics to arm twist weaker nation into submiting to their expansionist overtures.They have grabed with both hands the opportunity presented by President Mnangagwa's open door policy and an an all embracing attitude , which they have interpreted to be weakness.
They are determined to do everything they can to squeeze out to the last drop all concessions they need for their project to succeed.
So its apparent that these never ending protests are a product of the Americans and the latest one was well calculated to provoke the goveenment of Zimbabwe into taking drastic action against the activists thereby drawing worldwide condemnation ahead of this briefing of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs.
This was going to be justification for further continuation of the ruinous economic embargo on the peaceful nation of Zimbabwe.
They will continue to demand more until ZANU PF surrenders the national sovereinty on the alter of political reforms.
These bully tactics have however failed in the past when the people of Zimbabwe successfully executed the Land Reform in the face of a debilitating sactions regime.
Today Zmbabwe can stand tall and say here is a model to Africa of a home grown and self funded Agrarian Reform program whose template other nations can replicate in their own countries.
Zimbabwe has become a trailblazer and a torch bearer in the redistribution of wealth in Africa.
Now to quench their imperist thirst they resorted to sponsoring an opposition Party locally which they hope will represent their interests once they get their hands on the levers of power.
The Americans displayed their bulling tactics again when they started and lost a Trade War with China
It is my considered opinion that Zimbabwe is unjustifiably under sanctions.
If any contry has to be under sanctions then that country is Saudi Arabia.
Evidence so far overwhelmingly point to a State sponsored murder of a journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi Consulate in Instanbul, at the direct order of the Saudi Crown Prince Khalid Bin Salman.
But apparently no sanctions will be imposed on Saudi Arabia because it recently signed a deal to purchase American Weapons worth billoons of dollars, and thus it is a very important partner.
America uses Saudi Arabia for geopolitical purposes to advance is expansionist and conquest aspirations in the Middle East and to counter the Iranian influence.Therefore no punitive measures will be imposed on Saudi Arabia besides it being a bigger devil on its own when it comes to human rights violations.
These are double standards.If America truly stands for Human rights and rule of law they should protect all human life from harm by whomsoever, regardless of the amount of business they offer.
So you see that Zimbabwe is only being punished here for standing with the people of DRC during a war of aggression by Uganda and Rwanda in the 90's, and daring to repossess their land in the 2000's thereby setting an example which is now fully immitable all over the region.
The apparent premature attack on the Commission of inquiry into the 01 August violence is a direct attack on the integrity of SADC , AU and the Commonwealth who encouraged and endorsed the appointment of that Commission as a way to start a healing process.
Chairman Kgalema Mohlanthe himself is a respected African Statesman whose integrity is beyond reproach.He leads a team of world renowned leaders and experts in their own fields who deserve all respect and benefit of the doubt until their report has been released.
They chose to attack this committee because they know very well that their men did not fare well before this committee ,thus a strategy to pre-empt their findings and to discredit its findings before they are made public.
This committee also provided some important pointers regarding the power dynamics within the MDC Alliance.
The committee itself and indeed the American government prefers Tendai Biti to lead the MDC Alliance in government and in any subsequent engagements.
And where does this live Nelson Chamisa ?
Apparently Nelson Chamisa has real reason to be scared.The Americans clearly showed that they respect Biti more than Chamisa and no doubt they prefer Biti taking over from Chamisa.And where does this take Chamisa from here ? Probably to the dustbin of political history.
Time will tell.
Opinion.
08 December 2018
By Zimbo24news Team
On the eve of another year we get yet another rude awakening from the US government when everybody was filled with optimism that indeed Zimbabwe could be headed for a new beggining as re-engagement effort begin to bear fruits.
Its in no doubt that the Americans are masters of deception.They promise you one thing and they deliver the other.They preach one gospel in daytime and at night time practice a different one.
They have proved beyond reasonable doubt that they are an insincere partner and that infact believing anything they say is like betting for a pregnant horse.
The American Senators once again had an opportunity to recite yet another well choreographed presentation before the Senate which clearly was a gimmick to pretend to be democratic by inviting presenters from this side as ably represented by one business man Mr Joe Mutizwa who did well presenting a strong case for Zimbabwe while speaking passionately against the continued imposition of sanctions on Zimbabwe.
Reality is that nothing he could say had the capacity to sway their long held opinion which I think dovetails with their Foreign Policy trajectory on Zimbabwe.
I kind of like the attitude of the American Senators yesterday who did not waste time beating about the bush about the so called Democracy and Rule of law in Zimbabwe.
Rather they went straight to the point and declared that all they cared about in Zimbabwe was the MDC Alliance project as represented by one Tendai Biti whom they had the audacity to call friend of the comittee.
They indicated beyond reasonable doubt that they would do anything to protect and promote the MDC Project as custodian of the American dream in Zimbabwe.
Probably for the first time they took ownership of the MDC Alliance project such that they were so blunt as to demand that the government of Zimbabwe halt all charges against Tendai Biti and stop all procecutorial procedures against him, regardless of the gravity of charges he faces.
This time they let the cat out of the bag as they openly abandoned the Rule of Law mantra by demanding that Biti be set free through political interference.
They abandoned the sacred separation of powers between the State, Legislature and Judiciary which on its own is the standard upon which steong democracies are measured or judged.
At least now Zimbabweans know beyond reasonable doubt who stands between them and Economic Prosperity.Its this creature that must be accomodated in government in defiance of electoral outcomes which reflect otherwise.Its this creature that is supposed to take over the reigns of power at all costs as a panacea to the suffering of the Zimbabwean masses.
Here we watch helplessly as democracy is being bashed, thrashed and trempled upon by the so called masters and authors of democracy.Here is a message that indeed the elections of July 30 2018 in Zimbabwe was an exercise in futility.Its confirmation that indeed Zimbabweans are not yet free as they can not as yet choose their destiny in a free and fair election.
Some powers elsewhere will have to decide who rules the Zimbabwean destiny even if it goes against the very long cherished tenets of democracy.Sad isnt it ?
This is the bully's attitude that the Americans have displayed since time immemorial.They are now clearly medling into our judiciary and legal systems.If they truly believe that Biti has no case before the Courts why not allow for due process to take course ? Why pre-empt a case which is before the Courts ? Is that the complexion of Democracy and Rule of Law which they preach to poor nations ?
So the Americans took the opportunity to set conditions for any engagement with the ZANU PF governent aparently signaling that there may never be any meaningful engagement without the MDC Alliance, in general , and Tendai Biti in particular.
Now this will be very telling about the attitude of the Americans.
Enough respect to Mr Mutizwa for a spirited presentation.But I am sorry my brother your presentation was nothing but a windowdressing endeavour.A decision had already been made.The Senate Committee briefing was only a stage to outline a set of tough conditions for the ZANU PF government by which standard the Zimbabwean government will be judged to get the sanctioms lifted.
From that presentation a clear message was sent to the ZANU PF government that they should reform themselves out of power, hand over power to the MDC Alliance or at least incorporate the MDC Alliance in the governance structures.
Sanctions will never go away until and unless the MDC Alliance is ruling or at least ZANU PF embraces them in a Unity Government.That message was very clear.
It is common cause that Americans are bullies who thrive on Big brother tactics to arm twist weaker nation into submiting to their expansionist overtures.They have grabed with both hands the opportunity presented by President Mnangagwa's open door policy and an an all embracing attitude , which they have interpreted to be weakness.
They are determined to do everything they can to squeeze out to the last drop all concessions they need for their project to succeed.
So its apparent that these never ending protests are a product of the Americans and the latest one was well calculated to provoke the goveenment of Zimbabwe into taking drastic action against the activists thereby drawing worldwide condemnation ahead of this briefing of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs.
This was going to be justification for further continuation of the ruinous economic embargo on the peaceful nation of Zimbabwe.
They will continue to demand more until ZANU PF surrenders the national sovereinty on the alter of political reforms.
These bully tactics have however failed in the past when the people of Zimbabwe successfully executed the Land Reform in the face of a debilitating sactions regime.
Today Zmbabwe can stand tall and say here is a model to Africa of a home grown and self funded Agrarian Reform program whose template other nations can replicate in their own countries.
Zimbabwe has become a trailblazer and a torch bearer in the redistribution of wealth in Africa.
Now to quench their imperist thirst they resorted to sponsoring an opposition Party locally which they hope will represent their interests once they get their hands on the levers of power.
The Americans displayed their bulling tactics again when they started and lost a Trade War with China
It is my considered opinion that Zimbabwe is unjustifiably under sanctions.
If any contry has to be under sanctions then that country is Saudi Arabia.
Evidence so far overwhelmingly point to a State sponsored murder of a journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi Consulate in Instanbul, at the direct order of the Saudi Crown Prince Khalid Bin Salman.
But apparently no sanctions will be imposed on Saudi Arabia because it recently signed a deal to purchase American Weapons worth billoons of dollars, and thus it is a very important partner.
America uses Saudi Arabia for geopolitical purposes to advance is expansionist and conquest aspirations in the Middle East and to counter the Iranian influence.Therefore no punitive measures will be imposed on Saudi Arabia besides it being a bigger devil on its own when it comes to human rights violations.
These are double standards.If America truly stands for Human rights and rule of law they should protect all human life from harm by whomsoever, regardless of the amount of business they offer.
So you see that Zimbabwe is only being punished here for standing with the people of DRC during a war of aggression by Uganda and Rwanda in the 90's, and daring to repossess their land in the 2000's thereby setting an example which is now fully immitable all over the region.
The apparent premature attack on the Commission of inquiry into the 01 August violence is a direct attack on the integrity of SADC , AU and the Commonwealth who encouraged and endorsed the appointment of that Commission as a way to start a healing process.
Chairman Kgalema Mohlanthe himself is a respected African Statesman whose integrity is beyond reproach.He leads a team of world renowned leaders and experts in their own fields who deserve all respect and benefit of the doubt until their report has been released.
They chose to attack this committee because they know very well that their men did not fare well before this committee ,thus a strategy to pre-empt their findings and to discredit its findings before they are made public.
This committee also provided some important pointers regarding the power dynamics within the MDC Alliance.
The committee itself and indeed the American government prefers Tendai Biti to lead the MDC Alliance in government and in any subsequent engagements.
And where does this live Nelson Chamisa ?
Apparently Nelson Chamisa has real reason to be scared.The Americans clearly showed that they respect Biti more than Chamisa and no doubt they prefer Biti taking over from Chamisa.And where does this take Chamisa from here ? Probably to the dustbin of political history.
Time will tell.
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