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Western diplomats and political analysts have described as suicidal Malawi Government’s hosting of Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe next month, when the Zimbabwe leader is expected to open an EU-funded road which will be named after him.
And if words of our two diplomatic sources are anything to go by, the Midima road opening ceremony will be boycotted by a number of Western representatives.
Two diplomatic sources working for two foreign missions in Malawi indicated that a clear position will be known once full details of Mugabe’s visit are known.
“Our policy is not to interfere in internal affairs of any country but there are certain things that sovereign countries must always consider. I mean, there will always be diplomatic sensitivities. The EU has problems with Mugabe, the same bloc funded the road in question, now what do you think the reaction in Brussels will be?” questioned one diplomat.
“The answer is that there will be resentment, this is the reaction that will filter to its membership,” he added.
Said the other diplomat: “Obviously there will be unhappiness in the EU membership, you might see some boycotts or low key representation at the ceremony.”
The diplomats were reacting to Foreign Affairs Minister Davis Katsonga’s confirmation that Mugabe will visit Malawi next month, and will among other things open the Midima road which connects Blantyre and Mulanje.
Information Minister Patricia Kaliati on Friday said government will proceed to host Mugabe and name the road after him because Malawi is a sovereign state and some civil society organisations are being used by some members of the donor community.
“If some countries have problems with Zimbabwe, that should not concern us. Malawi is a sovereign state, fully entitled to choose its friends,” said Kaliati without mentioning the countries.
“Zimbabwe has been a friend of Malawi for a long time, and it is playing host to over 5 million Malawians. If we quarrel with Mugabe, where will these Malawians go? Will some of these Western countries host them?” she questioned.
Kaliati said government does not share the position of civil society organisations.
“They are free to express their opinions and they can hold their demonstrations. Malawi is a democratic state. But government has a different view. We believe Zimbabwe is more than a friend, and by naming the road after Mugabe we are underlining this fact,” said Kaliati. “When the EU funded the project, the condition was not that Mugabe should not open it. That is no where in the agreement.”
Rafiq Hajat, Executive Director of the Institute for Policy Interaction (IPI), a Blantyre-based think tank, said on Thursday Mugabe’s visit was “highly irresponsible and counterproductive on the part of the Malawi Government and President Bingu wa Mutharika.”
“This is highly counterproductive. Inviting Mugabe to Malawi to perform the functions that have been lined up for him, is tantamount to acknowledging his successes and applauding the hardships that have visited the people of Zimbabwe at his hands,” said Hajat. “We are setting a very bad example.”
Hajat said by honouring Mugabe to open the Midima road, “which was funded by the European Union”, and naming it after “a dictator”, Malawi was slapping the Union in the face.
“What message are we sending?” asked Hajat, and answered the question himself: “We are slapping the EU in the face. If we are so obsessed with Zimbabwe, why can’t we name the road after one unsung hero Attati Mpakati who was hand-bombed on the streets of Harare?”
Mugabe, who is renowned for using public platforms to lash out at the West, notably Britain—Malawi’s largest bilateral donor—and United States, is under some EU sanctions, including selected travel restrictions.
“If he lashes out at Britain and the United States we will be committing suicide,” warned Hajat. “We are just recovering from donor fatigue, we do not have the luxury of being self-sufficient to be doing this.”
Human Rights Consultative Committee (HRCC)—an umbrella body of over 50 human rights organisation in Malawi—will stage demonstrations during Mugabe’s visit, to protest against the poor human rights record of his administration.
HRCC chair Rodgers Newa said on Thursday keeping quiet during Mugabe’s visit would be a “regrettable endorsement of the atrocities that are taking place against the great of people of Zimbabwe and all those who have encountered the wrath of the prevalent brutality.”
“Definitely, we will stage sustained demonstrations from the first to the last day of the visit,” said Newa. “We cannot keep quiet. We cannot stop him from coming to Malawi although we would rather he did not come,” said Newa.
He said his organisation has been preparing for Mugabe once it was learnt he was coming to Malawi.
Meanwhile, Mutharika’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and Zimbabwe Africa National Union—Patrotic Front (ZANU—PF) will sign a cooperation agreement during the visit, DPP and government officials disclosed on Thursday.
A member of the DPP national governing council disclosed Thursday that the agreement will cement an informal relationship that has existed between the two parties since President Mutharika formed his party last year.
“One of the things that will happen during the visit is to formalise a working relationship between the two parties,” said governing council member. “This means the two parties will be working like sisters or brothers.”
ZANU PF—which has been in power since 1980 when Zimbabwe gained its independence from the British colonial masters—stands accused of presiding over an administration tainted by human rights violations and economic decline, with current inflation hovering at around 900 percent.
A senior government official involved in the preparations for Mugabe’s visit said the agreement is expected to be signed at the New State House on May 3, 2005 in presence of members of the DPP national governing council and the ZANU—PF politburo.
“It is true arrangements are being made for the function you are talking about,” said the official. “This will be a climax of the discussion the two leaders have had for some time now.”
Ntaba said on Thursday he would make a comment on behalf of the party once “we have been supplied with details of President Mugabe’s visit.”
“I cannot comment now, until we get details from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. At the moment we have not been given any details. Once we get the details, I give you a comment,” said Ntaba.
He declined to comment on whether or not DPP is informally working with ZANU—PF.
Foreign Affairs Minister Katsonga said details of the visit will not be released until on the eve of Mugabe’s arrival, citing security considerations.
“It will be too early to release a full programme of President Mugabe’s visit, but it will be made public at the appropriate time,” said Katsonga on Thursday.
When Muluzi was in power he tried to mediate between Mugabe and Opposition. He also tried, together with other SADC leaders, to persuade Mugabe to slow down on his fast-track land expropriation programme which has impoverished the once bread basket for the region. There were fears that Malawi would be affected by the spill-over effect on economic collapse in our second biggest regional trading partner.
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