Funnybones, News24 User
We all know Robert Mugabe is the self-elected president of Zimbabwe. We have shouted about this, everybody has expressed their opinions and Mugabe still won't budge. The MDC mobilised everybody, but that didn't help either.
The question we should be asking ourselves is what now? First I would like to express my opinion on the way the MDC handled this whole saga. I think Morgan Tsvangirai has only himself to blame. Ever since SADC mandated Mbeki to mediate in Zimbabwe, Tsvangirai has been making things difficult for Mbeki and worst of all for himself and the people of Zimbabwe.
While engaging the Zanu-PF with the help of Mbeki, he has repeatedly made irresponsible and contradictory statements to the media and the world at large thus contributing to the hot headedness of Mugabe.
Please don't get me wrong, I am not saying Tsvangirai shouldn't express his dissatisfaction with the mediator. All I am saying is that he should do that through the proper and correct channels. He should have approached SADC or the AU first before running all over the place like a headless chicken.
For me the MDC executive do not have any proper strategy to deal with Mugabe. Tsvangirai has put Mbeki as a mediator in Zimbabwe in a difficult position because of his continuous ranting and pity-seeking antics from the media.
You cannot expect the mediator to take sides no matter how bad the other party is. It's like going to the marriage counsellor and expecting them to tell your wife/husband what a control freak they are.
Work with what you've got
Its now time for solutions and, like Gabriel Chaibva, I believe the first step towards a workable solution in Zimbabwe is for the MDC to accept that Mugabe is going nowhere anytime soon. They have worked against him for the past eight years and their strategies have clearly not worked for them. It's time for them to revise their hard-line stance against Mugabe.
The other thing they need to do is to distance themselves from the powers of the west. No matter how noble the intentions of the western countries are, they had a huge contribution to the stubbornness of Mugabe.
We cannot downplay the immense contribution Tony Blair and his England made towards the problems of Zimbabwe. Tsvangirai needs to acknowledge this and accept that running to Gordon Brown every single time will only make things worse.
If he is not satisfied with Mbeki as a mediator, he needs to approach SADC directly and not through the media. Like Mbeki, I believe the solution will only come out of Zimbabwe and Tsvangirai holds the key.
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Disclaimer: All articles and letters published on MyNews24 have been independently written by members of News24's community. The views of users published on News24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of News24. News24 editors also reserve the right to edit or delete any and all comments received.