The People Vs. The "Harare Syndrome".

In response to Morgan Tsvangirai's visit to the U.K, an editorial in The Times newspaper of June 23rd 2009 describes the " Harare Syndrome" with a question: "Is morgan Tsvangirai identifying with his persecutors [Mugabe and his cronies] and turning a pragmatic blind eye to their appalling crimes?"

There is some sense in the thinking in this editorial that giving Zimbabwe the much needed aid requested by Mr Tsvangirai may well serve to continue to perpetuate Robert Mugabe in power..

What the editorial perhaps fails to do is highlight in starker terms, the plight of the ordinary man woman and child on the streets.. a plight made particularly worse by crippling sanctions.

Putting the plight of ordinary Zimbabweans side by side with the anxiety over propping up a dictator and his cronies might well help to proffer best and practical solutions to dealing with the regime without alienating Its people.

Morgan Tsvangirai decided on a power sharing agreement with Robert Mugabe, not to validate Mugabe. He did it for the sake of ordinary Zimbabweans..

The more talk is motivated and driven by conviction, the surer the acceptance..

Reports have it that the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dispatched defense minister Ehud Barak to Washington in the hope of reaching a compromise with the Obama administration regarding continued settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank.

Benjamin Netanyahu was earlier said to have declared the Obama call for total freeze of settlement construction as 'unreasonable'.

At this critical point in the discourse, it is important that the message coming out of Washington remains resolute, unequivocal, unambiguous..

In other words, it is important that Washington's talk continue to be driven by conviction..
..a conviction that a freeze on settlement expansion is in the interest of peace.

As tough as it may be, successfully making painful and difficult compromises serves to foster long term sustained acceptance and followed from that, long term mutual accommodation..

Obama's way.. Israel's way?

President Barack Obama's Middle East envoy George Mitchell has recently reiterated the conviction of the Obama administration that two states living side by side in peace "is the best and only way to resolve the conflict" between Israel and the Palestinians.

This happens even as Obama seeks a rapprochement with Iran, Cuba, Syria and even Venezuela.

The question then.. is Obama's way Israel's way?

It is hoped that for the sake of peace between the Jewish state and the Palestinians, the current government in Israel will commit honestly and steadfastly to the idea of a two state solution.

What is perhaps the most potent way.. the only way.. to ensure this happens is for the Obama administration to continue down its chosen path.. to actively engage with friends as well as critics. To take the hand of the 'enemy' if he will 'unclench his fist'..

That way the prevailing discourse remains about Peace and not conflict.

.. That way the stakeholders in the Middle East conflict Israel included, either sign up to genuine peace or risk isolating themselves and remaining on the fringes..

Unity is strength.

Salam Fayyad has just resigned as Palestinian Authority [in the West Bank] P.M, a move designed to pave the way for unity between Palestinian Factions.

It is not clear as yet how the West, including Israel view this move.. one that is necessary, even vital to achieving a viable two- state solution.

For Abu Mazen Palestinian Authority president, there is perhaps a significant opportunity.. an opportunity to project strong leadership, something which has eluded him for much of his presidency.

Abu Mazen must quickly become a voice for a united Palestine.

Whilst actively seeking the uniting of the different Palestinian factions, he must make clear to the rest of the world that if they truly want to deal with him, they would have no choice but deal with a united Palestine.

The realities of conflict.

As the war in Gaza has shown, conflict brings in its wake the death of innocents.. a fact that the world needs to face up to, if peace is to be achieved.

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and Sky news also in Britain, made a decision not to air appeals for aid for Palestinian victims of the Gaza war. Their reason? That it could come across as taking sides in the conflict.

This in itself, is a quite simply flawed argument.

The death and displacing of innocent men, women and children in Gaza is very real. The need for help to rebuild their shattered lives is also very real..

Without getting into the justification or not for the war in Gaza, the death of innocents was an inevitability known to all when the possibility of Israeli strikes was still being muted, prior to the start of the war.

It is perhaps best that the world begin to see a consideration for the plight of innocents as a means to shift focus.

Whether war is justified or not should not be what is important. The focus should be on the utter devastation that arises from a lack of peace.

"What are you gonna do about taking care of the people?"

.. A question posed to the government of Israel by CNN contributor Lt. General Richard Honore rtd. as Israel's bombardment of Gaza and Hamas' firing of rockets into southern Israel enters Its 9th day.

So far, 507 Palestinians have been killed and about 2,200 have been injured. Much of Gaza's infrastructure have been decimated by persistent and ruthless Israeli bombardment. 6 Israelis have so far lost their lives in the last 9 days from Hamas rocket attacks.

Israel insists it is doing what is neccessary to bring peace to Its citizens who are living in constant fear of Hamas rockets. Israel's biggest ally the United States agrees wholeheartedly..

.. But has Israel used its might, as well as its so far unequivocal support from the U.S as leaverage to truly challenge Hamas to reach a peace that is, in the words of U.S secretary of state Condi Rice "durable and sustainable"?

The discourse so far perhaps, has suggested war and not peace.. even if Israel and the U.S say otherwise.

A discourse that has peace as its basis would immediately appreciate the dangers inherent in creating conditions in Gaza that alienates the man, woman and child on the streets to the extent that they become even more hateful of the Jewish state and Its people.. this a situation that can only fuel Hamas anti - Israeli rhetoric and rocket attacks instead of a dialogue for peace..

In the last 9 days Israel has so far not articulated how it intends to accommodate ordinary Palestinians on Gaza's streets as It targets Its Hamas adversary. Instead, the number of dead women and children rises to unacceptable levels..

For Israel again the question, what are you gonna do about taking care of the people?

A Tragedy..

Recently, about 150 people were killed in Kiwanja, Eastern Congo in what the International Herald Tribune of December 11th 2008 describes as "a study in unfettered cruelty meted out by the armed groups fighting for power and resources in Eastern Congo".

the Tribune draws one's attention to how the world's largest peace keeping force [centred in the Congo] has failed in its mandate to protect the people, and in the words of Anneke Van Woudenberg a senior researcher for Human Rights Watch, "the people were betrayed not just by rebels who committed terrible war crimes against them, but by the international community that failed to protect them".

The rebel forces of Laurent Nkunda meted out death and rape on the people whilst trying to flush out it's enemies. Government- allied militias looted and meted out rape on the people, as they attempted to flee Nkunda's advancing forces..

.. And what is the largest United Nations peace keeping force anywhere in the world cites poor communication and staffing, as well as inadequate equipment and intelligence breakdowns, as reasons for failing in its mission of protecting the people..

What happened in Kiwanja ranges from a lack of appreciation of the need for a 'people- centred' peace keeping, to a blatant disregard for human life..

What happened in Kiwanja is quite simply, a tragedy.