Worst reconciliation of best divorce?

TSHIRELETSO MOTLOGELWA
Staff Writer | Thursday April 1, 2010 00:00

 

It is said he made his presentation on his peace-making roadmap, and left, letting the leadership ponder on the matter. That is the story so far, at least as far as it can be revealed. However, the subtext is always more profound than the text itself.

Although the average mortal could be holding his breath, fingers crossed, hoping something comes of the Masire intervention, those with a much more refined political understanding know that Masire may have now become but a pawn in a tactical game - the immortal combat between the A-Team and Barata Phathi for the Crown Jewel that is public sympathy.

But Masire cannot be blamed for his attempts to reconcile the two factions.  From his vantage point, one of the few surviving of a group of men, who it is said sometime in the early 60s gathered under some Morula tree behind where the American Embassy now stands, to found what would become the Botswana Democratic Party. So it would be heartbreaking to see the party fade into oblivion courtesy of break-ups. Masire would do anything to bring about a reconciliation. Armed with vast experience in dealing with the most acrimonious situations not least the DRC impasse, Masire seems ready to give this initiative his best effort, to bring about a compromise of sorts. QKJ is also of the older generation of the BDP who genuinely believe that there is no conflict that the party's admixture of negotiations, cajoling and even carrot-stick approaches where required could not solve, believing perhaps like Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, the Spanish writer who once mused, 'The worst reconciliation is better than the best divorce.'

However, Masire's interpretation of this as a sort of divorce unfolding in slow-motion is flawed, all indications are that he came to the party a bit late to put it mildly. The break-up happened sometime last year, perhaps even as early as the High Court deliberation on Gomolemo Motswaledi was delivered. Or at the latest, both parties realised they could not continue to co-exist mo sakeng loora-Domkrag as soon as the Barata Phathi decided to leave the central committee.

However, politics is a game of numbers and numbers come from a particular public image. The fact is that Khama and his faction could never accept Barata-Phathi back into the BDP, neither could Barata-Phathi ever accept their return to the party. Politicians, of all creatures depend on public image hence the dissonance between the real events (the inevitable suspensions from the party alongside the guaranteed unfolding formation of the new party) and the perception being managed (semblance of willingness to negotiate from both parties). What is left, therefore, is the fight for public sympathy - Khama's team, and not necessarily Khama, is not willing to be seen to be unnecessarily dismissing such a large group from the party, while on the other side Barata-Phathi would not want to be seen to be too willing to leave the party. It is important to note though that within the Khama faction, Khama himself is not a dove, he is said, alongside Merafhe and a few others, to be least concerned with public perception.

At the Mogoditshane gathering the group concluded that Khama would never be open to any peace-making effort with a measure of genuine interest. The central committee has always indicated, from its rabble-rousing pronouncement before and after the gathering that true peace is now beyond the distant horizon.

When Barata-Phathi listed their demands to Khama, they decided to make the most untenable of requests. Reports indicate that many believed that Khama could never accept any peace-making efforts, and thus the list of demands was more a choreographed act, not at all expected to affect the process of founding the new party.

What this means is that Masire has become a side-show to the main event, a mere chapter in the continuing saga that is the fight for public sympathy between the two factions.

Masire could be but a pawn in this very complex tactical game tussle. On Monday, the central committee of the Botswana Democratic Party met to consider former President Masire's peace proposal. Masire, a veteran of the Democratic Republic of the Congo peace process, last week issued a statement on the preconditions for his mediation process.

Having met with Barata-Phathi last week he issued the statement on Thursday of the same week.  Barata-Phathi would have to desist from making statements to the media on the issue, stand down their concerns or demands to allow for dialogue. Finally, both factions would convene a meeting to discuss the matter.

However, lodged within that statement was a revealing sentence - 'This meeting (between Barata-Phathi and Masire) was therefore held, not at the request of, but with the blessing of His Excellency, the President and the BDP central committee.'

Why was it important to put this note in bold and underlined in the Masire statement one may ask? It reveals once again the constant chess game being played between the two factions in their constant struggle for public sympathy. In other words, while Khama would not want to be seen to be rejecting Masire's efforts offhand he is still the tough guy who would not at all motivate any peacemaking effort.

Why would anyone want to pretend that they are accepting Masire's proposals even though they are aware that indeed the party for all intents and purposes is torn asunder beyond unity? Masire represents a specific constituency of the BDP, and even outside of the party itself. Masire represents the party elder constituency, which specifically would want sanity to reign. To a certain extent too, Masire represents the BDP core of followers whose view would be that a faithful member and a good leadership would put the party before any interests including theirs, thus would make every effort to solve a problem afflicting the party. Masire is the symbol of the party faithful.

In the wider nation, Masire represents an elder and any elder demands respect. The fact that Barata-Phathi are leaving the party, does not mean they want to be seen to be disrespectful to the party faithful, or national elders. This is the dilemma of both Khama's team and Barata-Phathi alike. It would not be inaccurate that Masire represents the 'reasonable' majority.

Khama had no option but to accept Masire's efforts, at least create the image of not being seen to be rejecting the party veteran's efforts. He allowed Masire to present his initial report to the nation on state media. Khama allowed Masire to say that the intervention had his (Khama) blessing.

On Tuesday Barata-Phathi released a statement in which they say they accept Masire's intervention, 'without any pre-conditions'. On the same day the central committee was said to be preparing to charge members of Barata-Phathi who went to the Mogoditshane gathering.  Sources within the BDP say the central committee was divided over the matter of Masire. The hawks think the Masire effort should be rejected outright and Barata-Phathi members punished as had been planned all along. The doves think more consideration has to be taken to whatever position agreed upon.

It has been agreed therefore, sources say, for the central committee, that publicly they will not reject Masire's intervention but that in private they would want Barata Phathi to come forth as individual members of the party, not as a team. In all accounts, therefore, the central committee is in total rejection of the Masire plan. But they are yet to say so. However, Masire awaits their response. That is the Masire dilemma.