adminIN my last article I cautioned against turning the Unity Accord into a nightmare but to continue supporting President Mugabe’s efforts to maintain unity, peace and development and to talk unity and act unity by equitably providing resources and appointments to former PF-Zapu and returned ex-Zipra and Zanla army and security services personnel into various boards and promotions in government service.
These are the people who together with the masses liberated Zimbabwe. I again would like to thank all positive comments from all the truly revolutionary patriotic Zimbabweans. Today I am concerned with political violence, conflict and conflict resolutions. Our politics has been infested by politically violent episodes during elections, in districts, provincially and nationally.
Sources of political violence
We cannot talk about political violence in general without making a diagnosis of the source and cause. Violence is psychological. It is a mental stimulus-response mechanism. The stimulus can be threats or induced fear. The response becomes a psychomotor violent action. Some people have violent predisposition or are naturally pugnacious. Others are sadistic meaning that they enjoy causing harm and to see another person suffering in pain. Violence may come due to lack of intellectual or acquired intellectual deficiency syndrome (AIDS) to resolve conflict through intellectual discourse and failure to communicate, and persuade to gain support. Some people react violently to criticism. Criticism invokes a physical violent reaction as the critic is regarded as an enemy. Violence is used to intimidate someone or a number of people into submission or to punish them for lack of support. This instead has the opposite effects. An insecure political leader aspiring or expiring leader may be an architect or skimmer of violence and may pay others particularly the youths to carry out violent activities on perceived or real political opponents. Youths or anyone must not accept to be used. The President has condemned this practice in unequivocal terms.
Conflict resolution as a panacea for violence
There is a wealth of information and theories on conflict resolution. Some of it is used by experts in peace negotiations. I would like to draw from my sociological background and other sociology theorists and practitioners who understand Sociology as a science of society. Prof Camuse in his book on Social Conflict indicates that a group of people tend to unite and fight together when faced by a common enemy or when they have a common shared vision or goal which is threatened.
In our case we united as the Patriotic Front to fight the colonial oppressors and to participate at the Geneva, Malta and Lancaster House conferences. When we defeated the enemy and were ready to return home to our Independence elections of 1980. We went for elections leading to our independence. We separated PF-Zapu and Zanu-PF.
Maybe this was because the common enemy had gone as the sociological theory states; we then got back into internal conflict after independence. Dr Joshua Nkomo and PF-Zapu and Cde Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF Unity Accord negotiations are an example of a home grown conflict resolution. We did not need foreign mediators or facilitators as we had the two revolutionary party leaders with a similar ideology, concerned about Peace, Unity and Development.
The other conflict resolution negotiations by President Thabo Mbeki were here in Zimbabwe which led to the inclusive government which brought in the MDC-T and MDC through Amendment Number 19 of the old constitution.
The Organ of National Healing and Reconciliation which was headed by the late Dr John Landa Nkomo had a slogan which he crafted: “Peace begins with me, Peace begins with you, Peace begins with all of us”, as an approach to conflict resolution. In our present situation we need conflict resolution.
In our Party organs there is a need for constant conflict resolution through communication. A smile to one’s enemy, perceived or real, can create a friendly relationship.
Unity of purpose must continue because the enemy is still here among us through economic sanctions and opposition imperialist mega phones. We need unity at all costs so as to defend our sovereignty and develop our nation through the implementation of Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio Economic Transformation (Zim Asset). People should fight positively and intellectually for economic development, empowerment and employment.
Online Reporter