The Zimbabwe Rally for social justice was a great success. Close to
2000 people filled Cape Town's St George's Cathedral to the preverbal
rafters . Many Zimbabweans attended some coming from the refugee
camps and others mobilised through various Zimbabwean associations.
The TAC mobilised a very large contingent as did the newly formed
Social Justice Coalition. Amandla made sure that many of the networks
it works with brought people. Some powerful speeches were delivered
with good connections between SA's negotiations and what Zimbabwe
should be wary off in their current negotiations. Tony Ehrenreich
called for the negotiations to be opened to public scrutiny. He
reminded us that South Africans are not free because of secret deals
made during the negotiations that left the economy in the hands of
the rich. Zimbabwe should not make the same mistake and said only
mass struggle could avoid that. He drew thunderous applause when he
said if Mugabe comes to South Africa we will affect a citizen's
arrest on him for crimes against humanity. He emphasised the debt of
solidarity that South Africans owed Zimbabweans.
There was pandaemonium when MDC Vice President, Thokozani Khupe got up to speak. The MDC is supported in masse by locally based
Zimbabweans. She pointed out that Zanu had betrayed the ideals of the
liberation struggle and situated the MDC within the context of
completing the unfulfilled aspirations of Zimbabewe's suffering and
struggling masses. It was a theme that Elinor Sisulu had developed
highlighting the way Zanu had renegaded on the struggle as had many
other national liberation movements in the region. She drew an
analogy with the first government of national unity i.e. between ZANU
and ZAPU and the present negotiations as a warning on what could
happen. Such a unity government between ZANU and ZAPU was used to
wipe out opposition and divergent voices. She argued for the
importance of popular movements and their vigilance over the
negotiation process.
Farid Esack closed the evening by reading the proposed decalration
(which was unanimously adopted) and called for the continued
mobilisation of solidarity with the people of Zimbabwe. He also
warned how yesterday's liberators can become today's dictators. This
was clearly a veiled warning to what is beginning to unfold in South
Africa.
The rally was jointly organised by COSATU, TAC, Social Justice
Coalition and Amandla Publishers.
Declaration on Social Justice in Zimbabwe
As civil society we welcome the fragile possibility of a return to
democracy. It is the duty of all people in Africa and our
governments to ensure that the negotiations ensure that people in
Zimbabwe have freedom and food. Civil society, business and
government in South Africa all have a special duty to mobilize
support for the democratic aspirations of the people of Zimbabwe.
After a decade of deepening political and economic crisis and a few
false starts at political negotiations, Zimbabwe’s two major
political parties, the MDC and Zanu PF signed a Memorandum of
Understanding on the 21st July 2008. The MOU binds the two parties to
agree to seek solutions to “differences, challenges and problems
through dialogue under the auspices of the SADC mediation, supported
and endorsed by the AU.”
While it appears that the signing of the MOU is a continuation of the
SADC mediation began by President Mbeki in early 2007, it was forced
on to Mugabe by a combination of factors. These include:
§ An election defeat by the MDC in March 2008, the culmination
of a decade of political and civic struggles in the country.
§ Spiraling economic decline including mass hunger.
§ An average life-expectancy that has declined from 61 to 37
years for men and 34 years for women.
§ Divisions in SADC over Mugabe, and Mbeki’s handling of the
mediation.
§ A Presidential runoff election in June 2008 that was largely
judged to be “not free and fair”.
§ Growing international diplomatic pressure and targeted
sanctions against the ZANU PF elite.
These factors rather than the policy of quiet diplomacy forced Mugabe
and Mbeki to promote negotiations that appear to be meaningful.
Whatever the merits of this policy it needs to be remembered that
during the period of the mediation Zimbabwe witnessed the worst
political violence in its post-colonial history since the Matabeland
massacres in the mid 1980s.
Against this background and in he context of the current negotiation
taking place in Pretoria between the MDC and ZANU PF, civic groups
make the following demands on the negotiations:
§ Negotiations should be transparent and open to public scrutiny
§ A transitional authority should be established for a period of
no more than two years in which such an authority must:
· Bring an end to the ruling party’s political violence and
remove state control from the military based Joint Operations Command
currently running the country. This means confining the army and
police to the barracks.
· Allow for immediate humanitarian assistance to alleviate the
humanitarian disaster unfolding in Zimbabwe.
· Carry out constitutional reform and the repeal of repressive
political legislation.
· Put in place conditions for reconstruction and development
which will overcome mass poverty and unemployment
· Create a framework in which international economic assistance
is targeted at strengthening the Zimbabwe economy and the country’s
national sovereignity
· Begin a discussion on the ways in which human rights abuses
that have been carried out in the post-independence period can be
addressed.
· Ensure that this transitional period is monitored and
guaranteed by SADC, the AU and the UN.
We commit ourselves to:
§ Pressurise all African governments to honour these demands.
§ Support the democratic forces in Zimbabwe both morally and
materially. Pressure all governments to assist with an emergency
rescue package to assist the people of Zimbabwe
§ Support a reconstruction and development plan for Zimbabwe and
Southern Africa that ensure freedom and social justice in the long-term.
§ Maintain vigilance over our own democratic institutions and
Constitution
Adopted at St George’s Cathedral Thursday 31 July 2008 at a rally
hosted by COSATU, TAC, Social Justice Coalition and Amandla Publishers
Brian Ashley
P.S. Look out for Amandla issue 1 of 2008 due out 11 March - SA's ew
progressive magazine, covering politics and more.
www.amandla.org.zabrian@amandla.org.zabriana@cybersmart.co.za
Tel 021 6867930
Cell 0820857088
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