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Tony Blair

Obi Egbuna Jr Simunye
Because the US-EU imperialist media apparatus prematurely and arrogantly proclaimed themselves victors of what was labelled in political circles as the Cold War, this led our former colonisers and enslavers to function from the understanding that they had absolute carte Blanche when it came to propagating their ideas by intentionally distorting the history of people they had previously conquered and ruthlessly exploited.

This methodology is of course without question an extension of their around the clock efforts to revive and reinvent those amongst our ranks, who find it both politically and financially rewarding to work for the demise of our sincerest efforts to be united and self-determining at every phase of the African revolutionary process.

While the birthday of Malcolm X was celebrated by Africans the world over on May 19, it is necessary to also evoke the memories and fighting spirits of our beloved sister, the writer and freedom fighter Lorraine Hansberry and the indomitable Vietnamese warrior Ho Chi Minh who were born on the same day.

When addressing how Vietnamese writers, artistes, and journalists should approach ideological warfare, Uncle Ho said; “Write in such a way as that you can be readily understood by both the young and old, by men as well as women, even by children”.

Our sister Lorraine confronting this exact dilemma said; “Never be afraid to sit awhile and think,” which on the surface appears to be rather simplistic, but is rather potent when we take into consideration how vulnerable Africans that let their enemies define what our role on the world stage should be, have truly become.

Since the beginning of this millennium Zimbabweans in particular and Africans in general at home and abroad, have become all too familiar with the following words: Human rights, democracy, transparency, civil society, rule of law, fact-finding missions. The manner in how regime change agents in Zimbabwe use these words to make their arguments and justify their unpatriotic activity, is almost identical to how glossaries explain their purpose, which is described in Random House Webster’s dictionary as a list of difficult or specialised terms with accompanying definitions.

When Mr Tsvangirai announced the Save Zimbabwe Campaign was a civil disobedience campaign, this conjured up an image that MDC-T was duplicating historic demonstrations organised inside US borders against modern day segregation like Bloody Sunday in Selma, the March from Selma to Montgomery or the Black Power march in Greenville, Mississippi, which would place Mr Tsvangirai historically alongside Chief Albert Luthuli, who organised a bus boycott in South Africa after witnessing the success of this tactic in Montgomery, Alabama. What blew this plan out of the water is when MDC-T members started throwing petrol bombs at police stations and nearly beating a member of the rival MDC faction Trudy Stevenson to death due to political tension and differences.

In 2007 when Mr Tsvangirai became the neo-colonialist poster child for human rights abuses who ignored these provocation methods, what was called global condemnation actually comprised of nine nations: Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the UK, Sweden, the US, Mauritius and South Africa. When President Mugabe briefed SADC leadership a few weeks later the exaggerated lies were put to rest.

We recently saw regime change agents in Washington mildly vandalise the Zimbabwean embassy by writing on the pavement directly in front of the gate in black magic marker “Bob Must Go”. Based on protocol, all embassies are supposed to be under the watchful eye of the US Secret Service, the officers on duty must have done what Christians and non-violent protesters are trained to do; turn the other cheek.

During his tenure as the Secretary-General of Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) Mr Tsvangirai was able to rock to sleep our most seasoned and respected organisation fighting for African people’s rights in the work force, the Congress of Black Trade Unionists whose, President Emeritus William Lucy, accepted the propaganda slant that President Mugabe and ZANU-PF had outlived their usefulness, were abusing political power and it was time for Mr Tsvangirai to lead Zimbabwe back to prosperity. During a debate on the Zimbabwe elections aired on WPFW in Washington, DC in 2008 Mr Lucy admitted that he never consulted with late vice presidents and national heroes Simon Muzenda and Joseph Msika who, alongside Father Zimbabwe Joshua Nkomo, among the most respected freedom fighters, had a trade unionist background.

It is hard to determine how Mr Lucy and CBTU arrived at the conclusion that they could have a full analysis of the needs of workers in Zimbabwe, without counsel from these two iconic figures who were still among us physically when CBTU decided to support ZCTU unconditionally. Another key point worthy of mention was that Mr Lucy had no answer when questioned about the relationship between the international labour solidarity centre and the CIA, which was pertinent since the money to start MDC was funnelled through ZCTU by the Westminster Foundation for Democracy. What became glaringly obvious is how Mr Lucy and Bill Fletcher Jr, who at the time headed the now defunct Trans Africa Forum, were supporting regime change through ZCTU, because they clearly understood supporting MDC would be viewed as the equivalent of supporting UNITA instead of MPLA in Angola or RENAMO in Mozambique.

The African world also found the efforts of US-EU imperialism suggesting that ZINASU (Zimbabwe National Student Union) was cut from the same cloth as SNCC(Student Non Violent Coordinating Committee), GUPS(General Union of Palestinian Students), or SASO (South African Student Organisation).

This angle was completely discredited when one of their bi-products, Briggs Bomba worked for Africa Action who along with Trans Africa Forum, and the Priority for Africa Network oversaw what was strategically labelled the Zimbabwe Solidarity Fund which funnelled National Endowment for Democracy money to 14 civil society groups in Zimbabwe.

Any attempt to provide an analytical framework would be incomplete if perhaps the most colourful masqueraders, Global Witness, were not included in any discussion focusing on regime change in Zimbabwe. While their organisational mantra is exposing corruption and environmental abuse, Global Witness appears to have no shame when it comes to funding any unholy alliances. Their plan entitled the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative was introduced in South Africa at the World Summit on Sustainable Development by none other than former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Some of the characters on the advisory board of Global Alliance include Arlene McCarthy who served four terms as a member of the EU parliament from 1994-2014, Stephen King, who was chief executive of BBC media action, which is more horrific than the novels written by his namesake, and last but not least Alexander Soros, the biological son of one of President Mugabe and ZANU-PF’s most bitter detractors, George Soros. When we hear that old adage; the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, it certainly applies to the Soros family as Mr Soros runs the Alexander Soros Foundation and his father in conjunction with OXFAM, Transparency International and Save The Children and the British and Norwegian Governments have financed Global Witness from the beginning.

The only argument they make more compelling than their pseudo intellectual arguments are when they justify who butters their bread.

This is why the laughable claim that Zimbabweans are involved in blood diamonds in Marange even though there is no war or military conflict on the ground is racist and disrespectful and holds no weight at all.

As far as human rights go, Commandante Raul Castro spoke not only for Cuba, but for all people subjected to colonialism and slavery when he politely warned President Obama about politicizing human rights. When it comes to democracy, all regime change agents continue to avoid the collective will of SADC to lift sanctions on Zimbabwe and the will of the people who say the land question and indigenisation are irreversible.

From the wannabe graffiti, artistes in Washington to the reactionary technocrats in Harare, should read the writing on the wall.

Obi Egbuna Jr is the US Correspondent to The Herald and the External Relations Officer of ZICUFA(Zimbabwe Cuba Friendship Association). His email is [email protected]