Zimbabwe is burning with unprecedented levels of violence intended to intimidate the population into voting for the octogenarian dictator, President Robert Mugabe, in this week's elections who lost the first round of presidential elections last March to the leader of the Movement for Democratic Change, Mr. Morgan Tsvangirai. I just got off the phone with friends and relatives in and around Zimbabwe who report that gruesome forms of brutality including wanton murder and destruction of property are being inflicted on the opposition and the general population especially in the rural areas away from the prying eyes of the local and international media.
Africa needs to act quickly and firmly by telling the autocrats in Harare that their time is up. It is encouraging, finally, that leaders in several African countries from Angola to Tanzania, Botswana to Zambia, and even in Rwanda and Kenya are raising their concerns and condemning the atrocities in Zimbabwe. The biggest disappointment remains the indefensible silence of South Africa's lame duck president, Thabo Mbeki, mandated by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to mediate in the crisis. President Mbeki's insane 'quite diplomacy', which amounts to an unconscionable connivance with the Mugabe dictatorship, is a sad testimony to the contemporary bankruptcy of Africa's nationalist liberation generation, their inability to come to terms with the demands of the twenty-first century, to heed their people's deep yearnings for development and democracy and human decency that transcends the objectives of political nationalism for state sovereignty.
Africa needs to do more than just condemn, criticize, and censure the ruthless Mugabe regime determined to steal electoral victory at all costs. It needs to state, uncategorically, that free and fair elections are now impossible, that a Mugabe victory this week will not be recognized. Above all, it needs to impose sanctions, comprehensive sanctions on this now historically bankrupt tyranny. The imposition of sanctions should not be left to sanctimonious western governments who used to unabashedly support settler colonial regimes and resist sanctions against them. Remember how we all used to be so exercised about the vacuous arguments of the western supporters of the Rhodesians and apartheid South Africa who opposed sanctions on the grounds that they would hurt the ordinary people of these beloved countries.
We cannot turn to the same arguments now, that the ordinary people will bear the brunt of the suffering, for they are already suffering, reeling from daily violence and the unimaginable pain of deepening poverty and aborted dreams. To use those arguments would be to express our support for the murderous Mugabe dictatorship. We cannot allow the tables to be turned on us and let cynical western powers who have never been interested and invested in the welfare of African peoples to become the default champions of our people's freedom in Zimbabwe and elsewhere on the continent. We must speak out and act boldly and unapologetically against postcolonial dicatorships as we did against colonial autocracies, against both black and white tyrannies of power.
Below is a statement signed by some of Africa's leading statesmen and women, activists and thinkers, which needs the endorsement of all progressive pan-Africanists across the continent and in the diaspora:
It is crucial for the interests of both Zimbabwe and Africa that the upcoming elections are free and fair.
Zimbabweans fought for liberation in order to be able to determine their own future. Great sacrifices were made during the liberation struggle. To live up to the aspirations of those who sacrificed, it is vital that nothing is done to deny the legitimate expression of the will of the people of Zimbabwe.
As Africans we consider the forthcoming elections to be critical. We are aware of the attention of the world. More significantly we are conscious of the huge number of Africans who want to see a stable, democratic and peaceful Zimbabwe.
Consequently, we are deeply troubled by the current reports of intimidation, harassment and violence. It is vital that the appropriate conditions are created so that the Presidential run-off is conducted in a peaceful, free and fair manner. Only then can the political parties conduct their election campaigning in a way that enables the citizens to express freely their political will.
In this context, we call for an end to the violence and intimidation, and the restoration of full access for humanitarian and aid agencies.
To this end it will be necessary to have an adequate number of independent electoral observers, both during the election process and to verify the results.
Whatever the outcome of the election, it will be vital for all Zimbabweans to come together in a spirit of reconciliation to secure Zimbabwe's future.
We further call upon African leaders at all levels - pan-African, regional and national - and their institutions to ensure the achievement of these objectives.
Here is a partial list of the signatories:
Abdusalami Alhaji Abubakar, Former President of Nigeria (1998-1999)
Kofi Annan, Former Secretary-General of the United Nations (1997-2007), Nobel Laureate and member of The Elders
Professor Kwame Appiah, Laurence S. Rockefeller University Professor of Philosophy at Princeton University
Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Former Secretary-General of the United Nations (1992-1997)
Lakhdar Brahimi, Former United Nations Special Representative for Afghanistan, Haiti, Iraq and South Africa, member of The Elders
Pierre Buyoya, Former President of Burundi (1987-1993, 1996-2003)
Joaquim Chissano, Former President of Mozambique (1986-2005)
John Githongo, Former Permanent Secretary for Governance and Ethics in Kenya
Richard Goldstone, Former Judge of the Constitutional Court of South Africa
Mo Ibrahim, Founder of Celtel International and Founder of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation
Sam Jonah, Former Chief Executive of the Ashanti Goldfields Corporation
Angelique Kidjo, Musician and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador
Wangari Maathai, Founder of the Green Belt Movement and Nobel Laureate
Graça Machel, President of the Foundation for Community Development and member of The Elders
Ketumile Masire, Former President of Botswana (1980-1998)
Moeletsi Mbeki, Deputy Chairman of the South African Institute of International Affairs
Benjamin William Mkapa,,Former President of Tanzania (1995-2005)
Festus Mogae, Former President of Botswana (1998-2008)
António Mascarenhas Monteiro, Former President of Cape Verde (1991-2001)
Elson Bakili Muluzi, Former President of Malawi (1994-2004)
Ali Hassan Mwinyi, Former President of Tanzania (1985-1995)
Kumi Naidoo, Secretary General of CIVICUS
Babacar Ndiaye, Former President of the African Development Bank
Youssou N'Dour, Musician and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador
Njongonkulu Ndungane, Former Archbishop of Cape Town and Founder of the African Monitor
Moustapha Niasse, Former Prime Minister of Senegal (1983, 2000-2001)
Loyiso Nongxa, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of the Witwatersrand
Karl Offmann, Former President of Mauritius (2002-2003)
Mamphela Ramphele, Former Managing Director of the World Bank and former Vice Chancellor of the University of Cape Town
Jerry John Rawlings, Former President of Ghana (1993-2001)
Johann Rupert, Chairman of Remgro Limited
Mohammed Sahnoun, Former UN/OAU Special Representative for the Great Lakes region of Africa and former Assistant Secretary-General of the OAU
Salim Ahmed Salim, Former Prime Minister of Tanzania (1994-1995) and former Secretary-General of the OAU (1989-2001)
John Sentamu, Archbishop of York
Nicéphore Dieudonné Soglo, Former President of Benin (1991-1996)
Miguel Trovoada, Former President of São Tomé and Príncipe (1991-2001)
Desmond Tutu, Nobel Laureate and Chairman of The Elders
Cassam Uteem, Former President of Mauritius (1992-2002)
Zwelinzima Vavi, General Secretary of the Congress of South African Trade Unions
Joseph Sinde Warioba, Former Prime Minister of Tanzania (1985-1990)
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