Wafawarova Writes

Equal concern: Remedying injustice

admin — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 08:19:38 +0000

Equal concern: Remedying injustice (The Herald)

Wednesday, 15 February 2012 00:00

Author of "Sovereign Virtue," Ronald Dworkin wrote, "Equal concern is the sovereign virtue of political community: without it government is only tyranny."

This writer wrote about the Zimbabwean revolution last week, lamenting bitterly the intransigence and inexorability of elite bureaucrats and that of politicians at whose alter these arrogant officials worship in the despicable world of patronage.

The piece went down well with the poorer of the readers, and not so well with the corrupt elites, as with those sympathetic to the imperialistic cause.

It was a piece about a stolen revolution, a betrayed revolution - about abandoned grassroots revolutionaries, all betrayed by the petty bourgeoisies in the leadership ranks. It was a sorry story about an undefended revolution, almost abandoned by those who claim its custodianship.

Who is the true revolutionary?

admin — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:41:02 +0000

Who is the true revolutionary? (The Herald)

Thursday, 09 February 2012 21:45

This writer was a mere 13-year-old on the eve of Zimbabwe's national independence in April 1980. Then there was an enigmatic political atmosphere pitting the overrated and defeated camp of capitalist-leaning political leaders who had favoured an internal settlement with Ian Smith, now standing in opposition to revolutionary leaders Robert Gabriel Mugabe and Joshua Nkomo, of the Patriotic Front.The former group was fronted by avowed capitalist Abel Muzorewa and ex-revolutionary Ndabaningi Sithole.

To us insiders, we simply had popular and heroic returning freedom fighters pitted against pathetic traitors that shamelessly opposed the war that finally brought independence.

Nuclear threat or propaganda war?

admin — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 07:04:59 +0000

Nuclear threat or propaganda war? (The Herald)

Thursday, 02 February 2012 21:07

President Obama has frequently threatened Iran with "consequences" for its alleged nuclear ambitions. In his first ever State of the Union address, Obama said, "As Iran's leaders continue to ignore their obligations, there should be no doubt: they, too, will face growing consequences."

Politics and Violence

admin — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 02:05:07 +0000

Politics and violence

Thursday, 26 January 2012 00:00

In a December 13, 2006 feature article on Politics and Violence, Elizabeth Frazer of Oxford University and Kimberly Hutchings of the London School of Economics compared and contrasted the political theory and philosophy of political violence as propounded by legendary Frantz Fanon and prolific author and commentator Hannah Arendt.

We have an amazing number of African politicians who subscribe to the doctrine of flagellating political opponents into submission. Campaigns are characterised by sloganeering, song and dance, as well as street and stadium chants that reflect everything on euphoria and hysterics, and absolutely nothing on policy.
Whipping up emotions and conspiring to demonise political opponents has sadly become synonymous with African politicking, and it is this primitive culture that breeds political violence.

Election Watch 2012: The MDC-T Perspective

admin — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 09:04:26 +0000

Election Watch 2012: The MDC-T Perspective (The Herald)

Thursday, 19 January 2012 08:48

The last time this writer engaged Senator Obert Gutu on his routine publications on political commentary was when he wrote about the indigenisation policy and what he thought of its chief presiding executive, Minister Saviour Kasukuwere.

Then Senator Gutu profusely expressed his allured admiration for Direct Foreign Investment as the panacea to economic growth for Zimbabwe, arguing that FDI would “inevitably” grow the economy to a point where local entrepreneurs would also “inevitably” pop up from our midst. It was an argument akin to telling a man to wait for roast chicken to fly into the mouth. That wait can only be forever.

The piece was an effort by Gutu to spin Morgan Tsvangirai’s Marondera shallow attack on the indigenisation policy, pretty much as uncalculated as Fidelis Mhashu’s infamous promise to return Zimbabwean commercial farmland to dispossessed white farmers.

Oil and Israel: Unalterable Determinants of US Policy

admin — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 03:24:09 +0000

Oil and Israel: Unalterable Determinants of US Policy (The Herald)

Reason Wafawarova

Thursday 12 January 2012

There is an unquestionable strategic importance always assigned to the Middle East by successive US presidents, regardless of which political party they belong to.

One has to always take into consideration the historical and contemporary intensity of imperial domination in this region, and with this understanding it becomes a lot easier to interpret the recent wave of uprisings that swept across the Arab world, making many people falsely believe there has been a reawakening of Arab nationalism and unification.

The way the uprisings developed can only be fully understood within the context of an understanding of the dynamics of each wave, inasmuch as it is equally important to place each uprising in the context of the location of the Arab world in the international order of world affairs.

Arab Spring: Stolen revolution

admin — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 23:59:04 +0000

Arab Spring: Stolen revolution (The Herald)

Thursday, 05 January 2012 00:00

Reason Wafawarova

After Israel and its Western backers defeated Arab nationalism in 1967, a solicitous Nizar Qabbani emotionally called for the rekindling of the Arab fighting spirit.

He wrote in a poem:
Arab children,
Corn ears of the future,
You will break our chains.
Kill the opium in our heads,
Kill the illusions
Arab Children,
Spring rain,
Corn ears of the future,
You are the generation that will overcome defeat.

It has been 44 years since Qabbani wrote this inspirational poem and the US-led Western alliance has plundered, ruined and raped the Arab world, creating this patchwork political landscape of "client monarchies, degenerated nationalist dictatorships, imperial petrol stations, a.k.a the Gulf States," to quote author Tariq Ali.

Civilisation Only Skin Deep

admin — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 09:48:46 +0000

Civilisation only skin deep (The Herald)

Thursday, 29 December 2011 00:00

We saw insolent celebrations by many young American liberals who saw it as absolutely normal to hysterically yell injudiciously in praise of the assassination of Osama bin Laden on May 2, 2011.

The crowd chanted in unmistakable jingoism: "U-S-A! U-S-A! / Obama got Osama! Obama got Osama! / You can't beat us! (clap-clap-clap-clap-clap-clap) You can't beat us! / F**k bin Laden! F**k bin Laden," according to a blogger for the radical magazine N+1.

The same ‘world' could not stomach it when some Afghans were seen dancing on the streets the day the Twin Towers fell to a terrorist attack that is now commonly known as September 11.

Power Politics: The Foundation of US Policy

admin — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 21:16:20 +0000

Power Politics: The Foundation of US Policy (The Herald)

Thursday 22 December 2011

Reason Wafawarova

The bedighting of democracy in power politics is a direct indication of the inter-link found between the domestic and foreign policy of the United States.

One can look at Barack Obama’s bid for a second term re-election that was marked by the May 2, 2011 revenge killing of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, and it becomes abundantly clear that public opinion can easily be manipulated in the United States, even to the point of bigotry.

In targeting and executing the US’ most wanted terrorist, Obama tactfully intended to create a dramatic start to the years ahead, positioning himself favourably for re-election come Election 2012.

Regulating Democracy

admin — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 03:16:18 +0000

Regulating Democracy

Thursday, 15 December 2011 13:46

Reason Wafawarova

In the play largely attributed to tragedian Greek playwright Aeschylus, the play being “Prometheus Bound,” the pathetic figure of one Hermes, who was the messenger and servant of the gods, appeals to the rebellious Prometheus to make his peace with the supreme beings of the time.

The response from the misery-afflicted Prometheus, who was being tortured for betraying the secret of fire to humans, is a good illustration of the politics of democracy today. He said:

“Be sure of this, I would not change my evil plight for your servility. It is better to be slave to the rock than to serve Father Zeus as his faithful messenger.”