Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai rally on Jul. 29, 2013, two days before Zimbabwe’s election. Many Zimbabweans are disillusioned by the country’s political leadership. Credit: Jeffrey Moyo/IPS

By Jeffrey Moyo
HARARE, Mar 24 2014 (IPS)

Leroy Muzamani from Zimbabwe’s low income suburb, Highfield, sits with his chin resting on his hands.

Dressed in a worn shirt, shoes that have been repaired multiple times and a pair of oversized trousers, he waits by the public works department in the country’s capital Harare, hoping that he will be hired by them to work as a casual labourer for the day.

“We always hunt for casual jobs that are not even there. Since [the] 2002 elections, many of us have placed our hopes on our political leaders, thinking they would solve our unemployment problems, but alas…” Muzamani tells IPS. "If main political actors are really failing, it means there is ground for other political forces to emerge.” -- Socio-political commentator Brian Mateyo

Muzamani is a professional marketer who has never been employed in his qualified profession. And he blames the government for not prioritising the plight of Zimbabwe’s jobless.

According to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, the country’s unemployment rate was 10.70 percent in 2011. However, the United Nations World Food Programme estimates that Zimbabwe’s unemployment rate is as high as 60 percent.

Consequently, like many other Zimbabweans, Muzamani has lost hope in the political course this southern African nation is taking.

“We have many unanswered questions right now as we [endure] hardships, wondering about who shall really change the dynamics of our politics for the better. [The] major political parties have proved to be failures as they are seized with internal power struggles,” he says.

The ruling Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF) is ridden with internal fissures as factional groups are said to be positioning themselves to succeed their 90-year-old leader, President Robert Mugabe.

One Zanu-PF faction is reportedly led by the country’s, and party’s, vice-president Joyce Mujuru. The Zanu-PF secretary of legal affairs, Emerson Mnangagwa, allegedly leads another.

The opposition Movement for Democratic Change-Tsvangirai (MDC-T) is equally ridden with divisions amid calls for its leader Morgan Tsvangirai to step down due to his repeated failure at the polls since 2002.

In February, the deputy secretary general of the MDC-T, Elton Mangoma, wrote a letter to Tsvangirai, urging him to step down and pave the way for a new leader with fresh ideas.

However, this did not go down well with Tsvangirai’s supporters in the party, who pushed for Mangoma’s suspension. It consequently caused anxiety for many Zimbabweans like Muzamani who feel political leaders here offer them no hope for a better future.

“There is growing confusion amongst ordinary Zimbabweans as to which political leaders to entrust their hopes; they now doubt Mugabe, and they also equally now doubt Tsvangirai,” political observer Whatmore Makokoba tells IPS.

Civil society leaders here are also sceptical about the future of Zimbabwe’s main political parties.

“With fissures widening in Zimbabwe’s major political parties, Zanu-PF and MDC-T, for them really the future looks uncertain. Both may be headed for their Waterloo,” Claris Madhuku, director of the Platform for Youth Development, a democracy lobby group here, tells IPS.

Independent political analyst Malvern Tigere tells IPS that it raises the question of “who shall Zimbabweans follow now between a failure and failure?”

“First it was Mugabe who raised Zimbabwe’s hopes at independence from Britain in 1980 when he came to power. But his government only helped to diminish the gains made during the colonial era and now many Zimbabweans look back to the colonial era with nostalgia,” Tigere explains.

“Secondly, we have Tsvangirai who kindled the hope of a departure from Mugabe’s [grip] on power, but is now personally mired in leadership wrangles in his own party, rendering millions of his supporters disillusioned.”

But the country’s major political parties don’t see it that way.

“Zanu-PF has a history of an unquestionable degree of unity since its formation over half a century ago and it remains a trusted political party by Zimbabweans to this day,” Zanu-PF national spokesperson Rugare Gumbo tells IPS.

MDC-T national spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora is equally confident of his party’s leadership.

“MDC-T remains the only alternative for real change in Zimbabwe. It’s an organised party unshaken by fallacious rumours of fissures spread by our detractors,” he tells IPS.

But socio-political commentator Brian Mateyo tells IPS, “if main political actors are really failing, it means there is ground for other political forces to emerge.”

David Chidende, programmes officer for Youth Information and Education for Behaviour Change, a democracy lobby group, does not rule out civil unrest.

“Civilian-led uprisings can happen, but it’s not too obvious. Young people have to re-strategise and form a mass movement that will champion the democratic course for this country. As the youth of this country, we are the most affected, and if we relax, we risk suffering in perpetuity,” Chidende tells IPS.

Muzamani says it may be the only way to enforce political change.

“As betrayed ordinary people, we shall be one day forced by circumstances to take matters into our own hands and lead the struggle for political change on our own,” Muzamani says.

State media report that Xi Jinping is to take the reins of China’s all-powerful Communist Party in a leadership transition that will put him in charge of the world’s number-two economy for the next decade.

Xi, the current vice president and successor to President Hu Jintao, assumes power at an uncertain time with the party facing urgent calls to clean its ranks of corruption and overhaul its economic model as growth stutters.

His long-expected ascension as head of the ruling party took place at 0400 GMT along with the unveiling of a new Politburo Standing Committee, the nation’s top decision-making body.

According to tradition, the members marched out before the media in a pecking order agreed after years of factional bargaining, a process which intensified in the months leading up to the five-yearly reshuffle.

In a 20-minute speech broadcast live on Chinese state TV and worldwide, Xi admitted there were problems within the CPC that had to be resolved.

“The problems among the party members and cadres of corruption, taking bribes, being out of touch with the people, undue emphasis on formalities and bureaucracy must be addressed with great efforts. The whole party must be vigilant against them,” he said.
Xi will consolidate his position at the apex of national politics by being named China’s president by the rubber-stamp legislature next March, for a tenure expected to last through two five-year terms.

Xi will also become head of China’s military, marked a break from the recent tradition of retiring leaders holding onto the post for a transitional period to extend their influence.

It meant outgoing leader Hu Jintao would relinquish all positions of power, giving Xi broader leeway to consolidate his authority.

“Xi Jinping is the chairman and he is the sole chairman, and what makes that important is that it gives him the independence, strength and power to exercise leadership,” said China analyst and author Robert Lawrence Kuhn on Thursday.

The standing committee, which had nine members under Hu, has been slimmed to seven and includes Vice Premier Li Keqiang, which would set him on the path to be appointed premier from next March.

Other members include Zhang Dejiang, Yu Zhengsheng, Liu Yunshan, Wang Qishan and Zhang Gaoli.

They will be tasked with addressing a rare deceleration in economic growth that threatens the party’s key claim to legitimacy – continually improving the livelihoods of the country’s 1.3 billion people.

China is also bubbling with localised unrest often sparked by public rage at corruption and government abuses, and by myriad manifestations of anger among the millions left out of the country’s economic boom.

The communists have a monopoly on political power in China and state appointments are decided within the party.

The process began with behind-the-scenes horse trading and political deals.

It was essentially finalised on Wednesday when the party ended a week-long congress by announcing a new Central Committee of 205 people.

On Thursday, the Central Committee approved the higher leadership bodies, including the elite Politburo Standing Committee.

Factional politics

Observers believe two main factions have been jockeying for power, one centred largely on protégés of former president Jiang Zemin and another linked to allies of Hu.

Xi is considered a consensus figure who leans toward Jiang, while Li has long been seen as a Hu protégé.

Analysts say that despite rivalries between the two camps which are largely divided along patronage lines, they broadly agree that China must realign its economy away from a dependence on exports, while maintaining a firm hand on dissent.

The government ramped up security in Beijing and increased oversight on popular social media sites to prevent any criticism during the gathering.

The run-up to this year’s congress was unsettled by events surrounding Bo Xilai, a political star seen as a candidate for a top post until a scandal in which his wife was convicted of murdering a British businessman.

The sensational affair torpedoed Bo’s political career – he will face trial for charges of corruption and abuse of power – and added to the intrigue in the run-up to the transition.

Reactions

In the streets of Beijing, people gathered to watch as the new leadership committee was announced.

Many said they were hopeful the transition would lead China to a prosperous future.

“We are very satisfied with the new leadership line-up we just saw, we can rest assured now, and more importantly we have high expectations for the new leadership,” said a tourist from Sichuan Province.

Across the Taiwan Straits, the Taiwanese are watching the situation very closely. China has long claimed Taiwan as a renegade province.

“To tell the truth, Xi Jinping has just assumed office, we are not very clear of his policy, direction and style, but after all I think he should be following Hu Jintao’s direction, because the cross-strait relation has been good so far, and he should follow through,” said one Taipei resident. “That’s the best way.”

“Xi Jinping has good relations with the Taiwanese businessmen, so I hope Taiwan’s economy will improve,” said a young Taiwanese worker.

Meanwhile in Hong Kong, China analyst Willy Lam said Xi could take a harder line in foreign policy “in order to consolidate his power quickly.”

“So we expect, perhaps, possible military confrontation with Japan, the Philippines and Vietnam over sovereignty disputes concerning the islands in the South China Sea and the East China Sea.”

In Japan, the new leadership was cautiously welcomed. Its foreign ministry said Japan wants to develop “mutually beneficial” relations with China’s new leaders.

“We really hope that the mutually beneficial relationship based on common strategic interests will be further developed and enhanced with the new leadership” of China, the ministry’s Deputy Press Secretary Naoko Saiki said.

In North Korea, leader Kim Jong-un welcomed China’s new leadership and pledged to continue to develop bilateral relations.

*Published under an agreement with Al Jazeera.

The attack on a Sikh temple in Wisconsin in early August on the heels of the shooting at a movie theatre in Aurora, Colorado signals the rise of right-wing domestic terrorism in the United States, experts say.

After the shooting at the Sikh temple, a statement repeated on nearly every U.S. media outlet was that the Sikh shooting was a case of mistaken identity and that because gunman Wade Michael Page was actually trying to gun down Muslims and desecrate a mosque, the act was somehow therefore justified.

A talk held by the New America Foundation on Aug. 23 entitled “What do we make of extremism after Wisconsin?” sought to address these issues and highlight hate crimes against Muslims that have not received the same media attention as recent events.

On Aug. 6, a mosque in Joplin, Missouri was burnt down. The day before, the Sikh temple shooting had taken place in Wisconsin. On Aug. 7, pigs’ feet were thrown into a mosque in southern California. On Aug. 10, pellet shots were fired into a mosque in Illinois. The list doesn’t end here.

Haris Tarin, director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council believes that a change in attitude towards Muslim Americans needs to come from the top. “Democrats and Republicans need to come together to fight Islamophobia. We don’t want it to become a partisan issue,” said Tarin, who pointed to Representative Michelle Bachman’s witch hunt as an extremely dangerous turn taken by politicians.

Participants at the talk argue that how politicians portray American Muslims has a significant impact on how they are treated. “When the president talks, it helps. When politicians talk in favor of a certain group, it definitely helps,” says Valarie Kaur, director of the Visual Law Project.

Perhaps most unsettling is the fact that Muslims in America are held accountable and answerable for terrorist crimes perpetrated by a select number of Islamic extremists – most often foreign elements – who, moderate Muslims have explained, do not represent true Islam.

Spencer Ackerman, a senior reporter at Wired.com, dismissed the idea that people weren’t educated about Islam. “I’m an American Jew, and I have never had to explain or defend actions of Jewish people around the world. I realize I am in a privileged position. So why do American Muslims have to explain themselves or defend other Muslims’ actions?” said Ackerman.

Kaur added that no white Christians would ever be held responsible for the actions of other white Christians across the world.

The double standard is mind-boggling, but a truth that slowly seems to be permeating American society.

After 9/11, hate crimes against Muslims and turban-wearing Sikhs more than doubled. The word “terrorist” has become synonymous with “Muslim extremists”. The Aurora shootings, the Sikh temple tragedy – neither of these incidents was treated as “terrorist” activity by the media.

The manner in which media covers such events, as well as how politicians talk about Muslims, plays a huge part in the way Muslims are perceived in the United States.

“Rhetoric does not fall on deaf ears. Rhetoric is how political extremism becomes mainstream,” says Tarin. “There is a correlation between violence, rhetoric, and political extremism; hate crimes do not occur in a vacuum,” he adds, explaining how the media and the government can mould the public’s view towards certain groups.

Two incidents that highlight this correlation are Bachman’s witch hunt against Muslim politicians, and Representative Joe Walsh’s (R-IL) claim made in a town hall that radical Muslims are “trying to kill Americans every week”. The town hall was 15 miles from the Morton Grove Mosque, where pellets were fired by David Conrad. Other attacks such as an acid bomb incident in Lombard, Illinois and graffiti in Evergreen Park, Illinois, also took place in Walsh’s district.

Although negative perceptions of Muslims have reached extreme levels and can and have take on dangerous forms, there is reason to believe that not all Americans maintain such negatively biased beliefs about Muslims.

An evangelical friend of Tarin, along with a group of other evangelicals, has bought ad space and plans to put up signs reading, “I stand with my Muslim brother. I stand with my Sikh brother.”

“This is the greatness of America, its democracy and its pluralism; that people stand up and support one another,” says Tarin. Yet a lack of exposure to other cultures and religions is perhaps one of the largest factors for fear and hatred towards certain religious groups.

“The most supportive pro-Islam groups in the U.S. are returning veterans. Most Americans don’t travel, (they) only assume,” says Ackerman of the need for people in the United States to broaden their horizons and understand other peoples and cultures.

Whether Islamophobia will decrease in coming years will depend greatly on the media, and the U.S. government’s willingness to tackle hate crimes and counter negative perceptions of this religious group.