By Tichaona Zindoga
Recently, a local columnist compared the current – and apparently neverending – standoff between powerful Western countries like United States of America, Britain, Canada among others on one hand and Zimbabwe on the other, to the Biblical contest between Goliath and David.
It seems he was referring to not only the size and power of the two sides.
He also clearly spelt out the intrinsic "bad boys" in the former against the inherent goodness and justifiability of the latter, who happen to be the owner of vast natural resources that its adversaries envy.
The same “bad boys” have imposed illegal sanctions on Zimbabwe.
Thus the writer draws the following analogy: "Like the David and Goliath story, the sanctions story in Zimbabwe will not go away."This is especially so because, unlike the Biblical Goliath, the AngloSaxon bully does not stand in one place. It insists on trying to pursue Zimbabwe everywhere, thereby making the story spectacular and available to the masses far beyond Zimbabwe’s borders."
The 1-4 November 8th annual plenary meeting of the Kimberley Process in Israel, which ended with a stalemate over the export of Marange diamonds, represents the one side of the GoliathDavid story that has become of wherever Zimbabwe goes with the Western Goliath in pursuit.
With Zimbabwe having satisfied the minimum requirements of the antiblood diamonds watchdog, as set by the Joint Work Plan agreed in Namibia in 2009, and okayed by the KP monitor Abbey Chikane leading to conditional sale of the gems twice this year, the country expected to resume full exports.
But the US and its allies would not allow it.
The US and its allies exploited the consensusseeking provision of the KP to pull out a veto against Zimbabwe's gems resulting in the plenary meeting adjourning without reaching an agreement on this matter.
In effect, the Zimbabwe issue precluded all the other business that the KP plenary had done in the four days, trying to reform and make the KP more efficient.
After the meeting, Boaz Hirsch, outgoing chair of the Kimberley Process, was somewhat fatalistic about the situation of Goliath's obsession with little David.
"Despite rigorous negotiations, regrettably the Kimberley Process members were not able to bridge the gaps among them and were unsuccessful in their efforts to reach an agreement regarding the contentious issue of the Marange diamonds," he regretted.
Adding, though without so much of certainty: "We are, however, committed to reach a consensus that will enable Zimbabwe to restore its diamond exports within the Kimberley Process framework. “Achieving such a consensus is a formidable task, yet it is a task that lies at the heart of the Kimberley Process. We will relentlessly continue pursuing an agreement."
Another news agency quoted him as saying of the stalemate: “It’s an agreement that comes to portray the complex reality that was displayed in the review mission report.”
“There are a small number of countries that are still in consultation with their capitals. We had deadlines and the plenary has ended, but we do hope to reach a consensus in the coming days.”
There are significant observations one can make from Hirsch's statements.
One is the seemingly unbridgeable gap between those for Zimbabwe's full exports, having met the KP requirements, who form the vast majority of KP membership among them 70 countries, and the tiny minority opposed to Zimbabwe.
Connected to this is the exploitation of the spirit and letter of consensus-seeking by the same minority.
Secondly, this chasm, ever widened by the nowapparentlyunfortunate consensus seeking, is threatening the KP as consensus is the "heart" of the voluntary body.
Hirsch admits consensus will be a "formidable" task.
That Zimbabwe has divided the KP for the second time this year, and that the body has seen its founding chair and industrialist Abbey Chikane being ignominiously challenged by what a participant at the recent meeting, Zimbabwe's Attorney General Johannes Tomana called “desk reporters” illustrates this.
Unfortunately for Hirsch, or anyone interested in sanity in the diamond industry, those opposed to Zimbabwe are just as “relentless” as those who want to see business prevail.
In other words the US, which handles the “desk” critics of Zimbabwe among other forces, is keen on playing politics much to the detriment of the tiny African country, which just happens to reportedly have the largest deposits of diamonds in the world.
Thus, in Israel it was reported that there was much diplomatic activity behind the scenes.
The legal advisor to the Mines Minister Obert Mpofu, Farai Mutamangira, was reportedly shuttling between Minister Mpofu and the American delegation led by the Assistant Secretary of State for Africa Affairs, Susan Page, following America's invitation to directly engage with the Zimbabwean delegation.
It was also reported that Brad Rusin Brooks, an attorney with the US State Department, was in closeddoor discussions with Mutamangira for a greater part of one of the days of the meeting.
One can guess the direction of the talks, if the hung outcome of Jerusalem does not suffice.
One can imagine the US, with its fine airs, almost telling Zimbabwe that it should not have owned the rich resources in the first place.
Or, even if it owned, certain people in Harare should be removed from the picture, or brought in, as the case might be.
Goliath would, in a moment of generosity, also offer the removal of the sanctions.
But as expected, and reflected on the outcome, the David that is Zimbabwe would refuse to be cowed, or seduced even.
Thus Mpofu emerged from the unconsummated KP rightly so upright and even defiant.
“These are our God-given resources and we will do with them what we feel is best for our people,” Mpofu said.
The reason: “Our compliance must entitle Zimbabwe to immediately and unconditionally export (diamonds).
“It is now clear that the Joint Working Plan is no longer serving the best interest of Zimbabwe. It is now evidently clear that it is being used as a tool to regulate improperly the flow of exports out of Zimbabwe.”
With the flow of human and economic capital out of Zimbabwe that has been the story of illegal sanctions on Zimbabwe by the US and its allies, this latter observation is not without parallels.
Western efforts have not only been to deprive Zimbabwe but also to spawn depravity, which finds root in chaotic situations.
The Affirmative Action Group, a civil society grouping that supports the participation of indigenous players in economic activities, which was part of the Zimbabwe delegation much to the disagreement of antiZimbabwe lobbyists noted the connection between the imposition of hurtful sanctions and opposition to diamonds sale.
The group said in a wellreceived paper at the plenary that it was not surprised by Western moves.
“The Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2002 imposed by the (former American president George,) Bush Administration and subsequently renewed by the (Barack) Obama administration empowers the United State to use its voting rights and influence (as the main donor) in multilateral lending agencies, such as the IMF, World Bank, and the African Development Bank to veto any applications by Zimbabwe for finance, credit facilities, loan rescheduling, and international debt cancellation,” AAG explained.
“We are therefore not surprised that USA is not supporting the restoration of Zimbabwe's diamond export status.”
AAG urged members of KP to “stand up to the arrogance of minority member countries who want to mix their political objectives in Zimbabwe with the diamond business.”
It said that as the KP was established to stop diamonds aiding politics and rebel regime change, similarly, diamonds must not be used as a tool for western regime change in Zimbabwe.
In other words, AAG said the western Goliath should stop its senseless pursuit of the Zimbabwe David henceforth.
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