WHEN former British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook told the late Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Stan Mudenge in 2001 that Zimbabweans would ‘suffer until they stone you (the Zimbabwe Government) in the streets’ if land was not returned to white commercial farmers, he was right.
Cook was speaking from a British point of view.
Britain had already laid the ground for chaos in Zimbabwe, but there was always going to be aggravation in this plan.
This is because when Britain accosted the Western world to isolate Zimbabwe, there was a warped and misplaced perception from the British that Zimbabwe had no friends elsewhere.
Until last week when Chatham House: The Royal Institute of International Affairs invited the Zimbabwe Government to Britain which was represented by Foreign Affairs Deputy Minister, Ambassador Christopher Mutsvangwa, the late Cook and his country’s hard-line stance on Harare seemed to have been working.
Britain had since the turn of the millennium managed hoodwink the Western world leading to the illegal economic sanctions that has haunted the Zimbabwe economy for more than a decade.
The Chatham House invitation must be viewed as a subtle admission by the British Government that their regime change agenda has failed in spectacular fashion.
Years of anti-Zimbabwe rhetoric have brought Chinese and Russian mega deals which have already set in motion the revival of the country’s economy.
There is no second guessing that Britain has been spurred into action by the Chinese and Russian deals.
On the other hand, Chatham House is important to the British establishment in many ways.
It is not one of those fly-by-night organisations.
It is strategic to their thinking.
This think-tank is an important instrument in Britain’s foreign policy.
Chatham House is equally important to Zimbabwe’s recent history.
It was at Chatham House during a meeting that was chaired by Richard Dowden that the programme of isolating Zimbabwe was formally launched on January 29 1999.
Subversion of ZANU PF was one of the strategies that was adopted at this meeting.
The other three were a) Cause a military coup to take place, b) Build a strong opposition that should beat ZANU PF in an election, and c) Organise the people to rise against the ZANU PF Government (insurrection).
Having failed to achieve the above strategies, Britain, together with its close ally, United States have changed tactics and are now warming up to Zimbabwe.
The Chatham House meeting last week marked the first steps towards the normalisation of relations, with Britain taking the initiative.
Ambassador Mutsvangwa told the meeting which was attended by representatives of the United Kingdom Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the British business sector, academia, civil society and the London diplomatic corps that the fallout between Harare and London over the land issue in Zimbabwe was a blessing in disguise for Harare.
Zimbabwe has during this period benefitted immensely from the Chinese and most recently Russia’s steadfastness on matters of national sovereignty of other nations.
The nine mega deals signed and sealed between Zimbabwe and China and the US$3 billion platinum deal with Russia bear testimony to the assertion that true friends value respect.
Britain in 2001 stepped up its opposition to the ruling ZANU PF and President Robert Mugabe over Zimbabwe’s Land Reform Programme.
Cook shored up what he described as ‘Tony Blair’s Labour Government’s anger over Mugabe’s land reform’ when he told Dr Mudenge, the then Foreign Affairs Minister, that there would be chaos in Zimbabwe if land was not returned back to whites.
Dr Mudenge, according to his recollection, was sent by President Mugabe to New York in 2001 ‘to see if it was possible to bring conciliation between Zimbabwe and the United Kingdom’.
The then Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon is said to have been present during the discussions.
“After an hour-and-a-half in which we were trying to find how we can resolve the question of the land acquisition that was the basis of our conversation, we discovered that the differences were so wide,” said Dr Mudenge.
“The British wanted us to give back the land we had taken and I said it was not possible anymore to return – we can talk about acquisition and other things, but the question of giving back the land is no more practical politics in my country.
“Robin Cook said unless we can find some common ground on returning the land, there is no basis of going back, such that after an hour-and-half we realised the gap between us was so wide.
“We decided it was necessary to change the topic and discuss other issues. “Before we finished, Cook said, and he did not say Honourable Mudenge, he said ‘Stan, you have just condemned your people to suffering’.”
These were his exact words:
“They will suffer until they stone you in the streets.’”
Now Ambassador Mutsvangwa said there was a possibility of normalisation of relations if Britain drops its ‘Maxim machine gun and obnoxious racism’ attitude against Zimbabwe.
“While the fallout between Zimbabwe and the UK was totally unnecessary, it could yet turn out to be a blessing in disguise,” said Ambassador Mutsvangwa.
“Of course there is a caveat in keeping with new times: No to the Maxim machine gun and obnoxious racism.”
With Zimbabwe having spurred Britain to action, indications at the time of going to print were that the US was making similar moves.
The 69th United Nations General Assembly in New York could yet turn out to be a very big week in the US and Zimbabwe relations.
Of course publicly, the bravado and Big Brother attitude will continue, but behind the scenes, there is widespread panic and uncertainty in the US and UK camps.
The following weeks will unravel surprises.