Continuing on in the current trent of inaugaurations, todays blog article will look at the situation in Zimbabwe and the hopes that the burdened nation is pinning on their new prime-minister. Morgan Tsvangairai took his oath yesterday in the capital city of Harare as some celebrated in the streets, hoping that this new face will usher in a new era and mark the end of the intense suffering for the people of Zimbabwe.Not to put a damper on the festivities, for celebrating is probably what is needed most in a country too well known for war, but a report from the BBC today outlines concerns that are metaphorically reinforced by the inauguration ceremony. To quote the BBC report, which can be found here, UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband says that “While Morgan Tsvangirai is acknowledging the crowds, behind him is a lurking figure and that figure is President Mugabe, who has tyrannised that country and bought it to its knees.”
Miliband could be speaking both metaphorically or literally in this case because, sure enough, it was none other than President Robert Mugabe who administered the oath and stands in the background; and lurking would not be the wrong word to use. The event was described as “smileless” and Mugabe denied Tsvangirai the opportunity of a national address, which was earlier promised to him.
This in stark contrast to the happenings in Washington just a few weeks ago where President of the United States Barack Obama gave a powerful speech (see The Blog Journalists’ report on this event here.) that was seen around the world. This is one case where democracy would be better served in the hands of less people, as Tsvangirai’s title as Prime Minister is contingent on his sharing of the power with Mugabe’s regime. Mugabe has proved himself a worthless leader, as evidenced by the revocation of his knighthood and several of his honourary degrees from various universities, and until he is truly gone from the picture Zimbabwe will continue to suffer.
However, the inaugauration of Tsvangirai as Prime Minister does have one major similarity to that of Barack Obama’s, and that is the theme of hope. Just as Obama’s inaugauration did not mark the end of the financial crisis or the trials invoked by the Bush regime, it did mark the start of a new era based on hope and vision; something to believe in. Today, this is why the people in Harare should be dancing. Mugabe may not be gone but the illusions he and his followers painted are fading. It will take years to bring Zimbabwe back to where it was in the 1970s and even that will not bring back the hundreds of thousands that have died due to famine and war, but amongst the quotes in the BBC article lie words like “cautiously optimistic”, “step forward” and an overall feeling of equality; another virtue Obama poignantly brought forth.
It was this feeling of equality that Tsvangirai very explicitly addressed when he finally got the opportunity to speak in front of a stadium full of hopeful Zimbabweans. I will leave you with this quote and the link to the entire speech which I can highly recommend reading.
“People of Zimbabwe, we face many challenges but we are brave and resourceful. By uniting as a nation and a people we can succeed. If you match our efforts with your own, we will succeed, if you match our desires with your own, we will succeed, if you match our dreams for Zimbabwe with your own, we will succeed.
At each point in our proud history we have looked forward not backwards, we have stood for hope not fear, we have believed in love not hate, and we have never lost touch with our democratic values or sight of our democratic goals.”
http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=11428
Will Grassby
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