TransAfrica Forum is outraged at the arrest of the opposition party Secretary General, Tendai Biti, for the “treasonous act” of developing a document to transition the Zimbabwean government from ZANU-PF to a Movement for Democratic Change.   Now, more than ever, it is essential to lift up the voice of the Zimbabwean people and their desire to have a peaceful and internationally monitored run-off election on June 27th.   

“We recognize the fragile state of Zimbabwe’s democratic processes and denounce all actions—whether they are taken by outside forces or the Zimbabwean government—that curtail the right of the Zimbabwean people to have a free and fair run-off election this month.  We must condemn the arrests of Mr. Biti and Mr. Tsvangirai.  The charge of treason is incredible and outrageous.”  says Nicole Lee, Executive Director of TransAfrica Forum.

TransAfrica supports the ongoing SADC mediation process and call on the international community to be firm with both ZANU-PF and the MDC in order to ensure total abidance to democratic processes and their outcomes.

“We are calling on the international community to, under the leadership of SADC, materially support both the conceptualization and implementation a Temporary Transitional Government.  We see this as the only hope for a free, democratic and socially just Zimbabwe.”  states Roxanne Lawson, Director of Africa Policy at TransAfrica Forum

Amidst reports of rampant politically motivated violence and intimidation, over 40 deaths and the freezing of International Aid Agencies Field Operations we ask that the International Community stand in solidarity with the people of Zimbabwe as they work to safeguard their democracy.  

A Temporary Transitional Government

Given the current level of violence and instability three months after Zimbabwe’s March 29 Harmonized Elections there seems only one approach that can lead to a peaceful and just solution in Zimbabwe:  a Temporary Transitional Government.  During which, government and stakeholders would draft a new constitution, work towards the democratization of internal structures of governance, and the creation of an environment for free and fair elections by 2010.  Other outcomes of this transitional arrangement should be the stabilization of the Zimbabwe dollar, inflation reduction, restoration of industrial and agricultural productivity as well as the democratization and professionalization of state institutions, most importantly, the security forces, the Judiciary and the Electoral Commission.  

TransAfrica has been unequivocal in our criticism of the Zimbabwe governments’ human rights abuses.  Zimbabwean Civil Society has been adamant that U.S. intervention in Zimbabwe will only exacerbate the tensions on the ground.   They are also unanimous in their criticism of the March elections which they maintain were neither free nor fair.  Fundamental to any free and fair elections is an environment devoid of violence that supports the right to assembly, association, expression and movement.   Any election that is held without citizens and political contenders enjoying these rights cannot be fully free and fair.  These conditions were not met in Zimbabwe’s March 29th Harmonized Elections.  Free elections require transparent media to support an electorate well-informed about candidates’ viewpoints in an environment where voters do not fear attending political events.   Also key is the presence of international observers who, themselves, enjoy the freedom of movement so that they are able to fully asses the elections environment.  

No to a Government of National Unity

We recognize that the solution to the Zimbabwe crisis rests with the people of Zimbabwe and call on the international community, including the U.S. and the United Nations, to work under the leadership of SADC and the Zimbabwean Civil Society Organizations to ensure the opening of democratic space in Zimbabwe.  

From many corners of the International Community have come calls for a Government of National Unity (GNU), TransAfrica Forum does not support a GNU as a solution given the unhappy history of Zimbabwe under such an arrangement.  In 1979, at the end of the Rhodesian colonization of Zimbabwe, Ian Smith Regime’s “Internal Settlement” with moderate Black Nationalist leader Bishop Abel Muzorewa formed Zimbabwe-Rhodesia, a joint government with the unpopular Smith regime.  In this settlement former colonial dictator Ian Smith was a “Minister without Portfolio” and, as such, retained political power and leverage.    

That GNU was condemned as "illegal and unacceptable” by the Zimbabwean Patriotic Front and the Organization of African Unity.  It lasted only six months and was, in practice, an attempt by the Smith Regime to deny unrestrained majority rule.  In this compromise Rhodesians retained permanent control over most of the key capacities of the government, enjoyed a large enough permanent plurality in the legislature to block most initiatives undertaken by lawmakers and blocked any moves to address land reform or economic redistribution.  It was literally a symbolic majority government with all the capacity to govern retained within the Smith Regime and not a formula for resolving the legitimate aspirations of Africans for self-determination.   Today Zimbabweans are again calling for the freedom to be self-determinate, for economic stability and constitutional reform.  A GNU, if history is to be believed, will not be able to deliver these demands.   

TransAfrica Forum acknowledges the legal complexity of conceptualizing and implementing a transitional arrangement as well as the need for true restorative justice in Zimbabwe.  We support a civil society and government partnership in the transformation of the political culture and economic management systems of Zimbabwe.   

The political machine of ZANU-PF is still deeply entrenched and despite the obvious flaws in the March elections the reality that, among the 42% that voted, vote distribution is nearly split in the middle for presidential, parliamentary and Senate elections.  Given all of this, the only viable alternative to a transitional arrangement seems to be a ZANU-PF government . . . that reality, given what has transpired over the last two months is impossible.   TransAfrica Forum acknowledges the complexity of conceptualizing and implementing a transitional arrangement in an environment characterized by acute political polarization. The challenges are:

• Legal – the constitution will have to be amended to accommodate a transitional arrangement
• Justice and Accountability – a transitional arrangement, by its very nature of being a negotiated settlement sacrifices issues of justice and accountability. The growing demands to hold members of President Mugabe’s administration answerable for human rights abuses and corruption present a challenge to negotiating a political settlement.
• Transformation - it is clear that the solution requires a thorough transformation of the political culture and economic management systems. A negotiated settlement, by definition, limits the extent to which this transformation can happen – the preserved power of the status quo will limit true transformation in an effort to maintain political and economic power.

TransAfrica Forum is the leading advocacy organization for Africa and the African Diaspora in U.S. foreign policy. TransAfrica Forum helped lead the world protest against apartheid in South Africa. The organization was a key player in Zimbabwe’s liberation movement. Today TAF works for human and economic justice for African people on the continent of Africa, in Latin America and in the Caribbean. For more information visit www.transafricaforum.org  or call Joia Jefferson Nuri 240-603-7905