What is Mutasa smoking? It has addled his brain!

In a rare interview with ABC, Mutasa indicated that Tsvangirai should answer to Robert Mugabe and should be grateful for that…

“ANDREW GEOGHEGAN: How would you describe the relationship between ZANU PF and MDC? Is it working?

DIDYMUS MUTASA: Well I say that’s nonsense. There has never been non-observation of human rights in this country. In fact, it is our party, ZANU PF, which has been fighting for human rights ever since - there were no rights in this country at all during the colonial period. The lot of us used to have dogs set up on us and we had to decide to take up arms in order to achieve both democracy and human rights.”

Why is it that when ZANU PF approach a problem, albeit real or imagined, their answer is always violence. Mutasa uses the word “fight” - and during the chimurenga Mugabe’s fighters ensured that the civilian population felt their wrath - full force.

Mutasa and his ilk always comes back to the “Rhodesian” question… If their fight was against the Rhodesians, why was it necessary to kill so many blacks during the bloody bush war?

“ANDREW GEOGHEGAN: But how then do you explain the political violence that has occurred in the past few years, particularly when we look at the MDC. Obviously Morgan Tsvangirai himself was targeted.

DIDYMUS MUTASA: There was no political violence all along until the MDC came into the picture. Now who do you accuse for being violent? It was Tsvangirai himself and that’s why he was beaten up by none other than the police, because he was ignoring their orders.”

So Mutasa is intimating that Zimbabwe is a police State? I thought his illustrious leader described it as a ‘democracy’.

“ANDREW GEOGHEGAN: Can I ask you: what do you believe has been the cause of Zimbabwe’s economic collapse?

DIDYMUS MUTASA: My dear, they are not targeted. It targets the relationships between their companies and our companies, and those companies are not individuals. I am one of the targeted people in sanctions, that doesn’t affect me at all. I mean the fact that people stopped me from going to Australia or going to Britain, doesn’t affect me at all.”

Okay, so now we get to the real nub of Mutasa’s thinking. Zimbabweans should not be prevented from travelling to other countries – they should be give carte blanche and they will be happy. But at the same time, Mugabe has banned foreign news organisations from reporting from within Zimbabwe…

It is not the choice of the banned subject, be they politicians or news reporters, to be prevented from travelling – it is the people who control the area into which those individuals want to travel that make the decision.

At the same time, Mutasa indicates that the travel sanctions have had no ill effect on him at all. So why does his President make such a noise about it?

But perhaps for me, the answer that Mutasa gave about future elections and the results thereof deserved a ‘top of the bill’ appearance…in this country is what really annoys all of us.

“ANDREW GEOGHEGAN: Are you confident that free and fair elections will occur next year? And if that is the case, who do you think will win?

DIDYMUS MUTASA: My dear, free and fair elections have been taking place all through in Zimbabwe since 1980. We have never cheated as a party and as a government. Free and fair election will continue to take place in Zimbabwe and in this case ZANU PF will win. ZANU PF will win because it is now beyond any doubt that you Europeans, you Australians and all you white Commonwealth - the so-called international community, if you behave yourselves and do not come and interfere in the internal affairs of Zimbabwe, no doubt ZANU PF will win.”

It reminds me of the joke that was doing the rounds many years ago: Mugabe has called the police in to investigate as some one broke into State House and stole next year’s election results…

Robb WJ Ellis
The Bearded Man