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The invitation, which marks the first time London has formally sought to talk over the bilateral dispute that flared in November 1997, following the new Labour government’s refusal to honour obligations entered into with the Tory administration of Margaret Thatcher, could not have come at a better time given the spirit of Team Zimbabwe that saw our nation overwhelmingly endorse the envisaged new constitution. A constitution that upheld the irreversibility of the land reform programme, itself the source of the acrimony of the past 14 years.
Zimbabweans overwhelmingly endorsed their right to their God-given resources in that document, and we hope the British team will respect the overwhelming voice of our people.
We say so because as we report elsewhere in this issue, the British authorities already have a full draft communiqué detailing their positions in place way before listening to our re-engagement team.
It will be a sad day for international diplomacy if the British side mistakes the scheduled talks for a lecture during which they will talk down to Zimbabwe.
We notice that in the pre-emptive communiqué, London harps about the GPA and its implementation as one of the pre-conditions to normalising relations. But there was no GPA in 1997, when this dispute began. And the last time we checked the GPA was a purely Zimbabwean and African affair, which is why its guarantors are Sadc and the African Union.
These two bodies have expressed satisfaction with the way the inclusive Government has worked. Not only that the three parties in Government have expressed similar sentiments. What we have always found ironic is the claim that the sanctions are being maintained to further the implementation of the GPA when the same GPA is quite explicit that the sanctions have to go, and its implementation can never be complete with the ruinous coercive measures in place.
The three parties in Government — all of whom are represented in the re-engagement team — have made it clear that the sanctions have to go in toto. We take this opportunity to remind the Tories that they bear the burden of history as it was under their watch that colonial obligations were outlined, and history bids to restore relations to normal relations as re-engagement occurs under their watch. Short of permanent estrangement with Zimbabwe, the only option left is dialogue.
The time for re-engagement is now in the same spirit that sees our two countries exchanging diplomatic envoys. We urge Britain to read the mood in Europe which has been reviewing its raft of sanctions against our country, the same goes for Australia.
Online Reporter