http://www.nytimes.com
Editorial
Published: November 10, 2008
We had hoped that political
leaders in southern Africa would finally resolve
Zimbabwe's political crisis
at their summit meeting last weekend. Instead,
they made it worse, agreeing
that President Robert Mugabe and his thuggish
loyalties can keep control of
the two ministries that oversee the army and
the police.
A
power-sharing compromise negotiated in September can work only if these
two
ministries are divided between Mr. Mugabe's supporters and those of
Morgan
Tsvangirai, the top vote-getter in the first round of this year's
presidential elections. That is essential since it was army- and
police-backed violence that drove Mr. Tsvangirai out of the second round,
creating the current destructive political impasse.
For too long,
Zimbabwe's people have been abandoned to Mr. Mugabe's
brutality, famine and
economy-destroying hyperinflation. There hardly could
be a clearer case of a
violently stolen election, a ruinous dictator and a
responsible opposition
willing to compromise and accept less than the clear
victory it won at the
polls.
Yet handed the opportunity for constructive leadership, the
politicians in
the Southern African Development Community chose instead to
protect Mr.
Mugabe (one of their own) and his undercutting of the
power-sharing deal
painstakingly negotiated under their own
auspices.
Now that Zimbabwe's neighbors have failed, the United States,
Europe and
others will have to increase the pressure on Mr. Mugabe and his
cronies,
denying visas and freezing foreign assets. While providing
humanitarian
relief, they must withhold all other forms of aid and
recognition until Mr.
Mugabe agrees to share or vacate
power.
According to some reports, Mr. Mugabe has contemplated yielding
several
times since his first-round election defeat but has been held back
by pleas
from his generals who fear losing their power and ill-gotten gains
and
possibly being prosecuted for their worst crimes.
That suggests
the regional leaders might have been able to pressure Mr.
Mugabe into doing
the right thing for Zimbabwe. Instead, they have enabled
his continued
misrule and guaranteed his people's further misery.
VOA
By Ntungamili Nkomo & Jonga Kandemiri
Washington
10 November 2008
The power-sharing
process that has been unfolding in Zimbabwe for months
seemed close to
collapse Monday after a summit of the Southern African
Development Community
that was intended to find a solution to a stalemate
over the allocation of
cabinet posts.
The summit of the 15-nation SADC's resolved that a
Zimbabwean government of
national unity should be formed immediately, and
that President Robert
Mugabe's ZANU-PF party and Morgan Tsvangirai's
Movement for Democratic
Change should share control of the disputed and
politically sensitive Home
Affairs Ministry.
The MDC considers the Home
Affairs Ministry, which controls the national
police force, to be a critical
counterbalance to the Defense Ministry, under
Mr. Mugabe's firm
control.
Tsvangirai, prime minister-designate in the proposed national
unity
government stipulated by a Sept. 15 power-sharing agreement, rejected
SADC's
solution as unworkable given what he described as Mr. Mugabe's "utter
contempt" for the MDC - in practice still Zimbabwe's opposition party though
it won a parliamentary majority in March general
elections.
Tsvangirai in remarks immediately after the release of the
summit communique
late Sunday, expressed bitterness that Southern African
leaders had not been
more decisive.
Mr. Mugabe welcomed the decision
and said Monday that he would form a
government "as soon as possible." The
next move by Tsvangirai's MDC
formation was not clear. Its national
executive and national council were to
meet later this week to discuss
strategy.
But Tsvangirai MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa made clear in an
interview with
reporter Ntungamili Nkomo of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that
the party
feels betrayed.
Rival MDC formation leader and deputy prime
minister-designate Arthur
Mutambara, said he fully supports Tsvangirai's
demand for his party to
control the Home Affairs Ministry.
Deputy
Information Minister Bright Matonga said ZANU-PF is moving to form a
government whether Tsvangirai joins it or not.
The summit's ruling
that ZANU-PF and the MDC should share the Home Affairs
Ministry left many
Zimbabweans in the South African diaspora fuming at the
regional body's
failure to issue a clear-cut ruling in the crisis, reported
Benedict Nhlapho
from Johannesburg.
Harare correspondent Thomas Chiripasi of VOA's
Studio 7 for Zimbabwe
reported that civic leaders and ordinary Zimbabweans
roundly condemned the
SADC resolution.
The U.S. government on Monday
expressed disappointment at SADC's failure to
resolve the deadlock. A U.S.
State Department spokesman said Mr. Mugabe's
compromise offer was another
attempt to "subvert the will" of the Zimbabwean
people, and that new
sanctions could be imposed if Mr. Mugabe fails to give
the MDC a meaningful
share in power.
http://www.thetimes.co.za
Nkululeko Ncana Published:Nov 11,
2008
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zimbabwe's
Tsvangirai says SADC leaders are too scared to take Mugabe on
THE leader
of Zimbabwe's Movement for Democratic Change, Morgan Tsvangirai,
has slammed
regional leaders for not having the courage to stand up to
Robert
Mugabe.
Tsvangirai yesterday accused President Kgalema
Motlanthe and other southern
African leaders of pressuring his party to
compromise on its demand for a
key cabinet post - while it treated the
Zimbabwean president with kid
gloves.
a.. Tsvangirai said the
weekend's Southern African Development Community
summit, in Sandton, failed
because the region's heads of state were afraid
to disagree with
Mugabe.
"In our view, a great opportunity has been missed by SADC to
bring an end to
the Zimbabwean crisis. This omission has occurred because
SADC approached
this summit without any concrete strategy and did not have
the courage and
the decency [to look] Mugabe in the eyes and tell him that
his position was
wrong," Tsvangirai said.
The MDC leader is at
loggerheads with SADC leaders after refusing to accept
their ruling that
Zimbabwe's home affairs ministry should be run jointly by
the MDC and
Zanu-PF.
The two parties had approached SADC after failing to agree on
the allocation
of ministries in a unity government, to be formed in terms of
the September
15 agreement brokered by former president Thabo
Mbeki.
Tsvangirai, who is prime minister in terms of the agreement, wants
control
of the home affairs ministry - which controls the police. Mugabe's
Zanu-PF
has the defence and state security portfolios.
Mugabe and
Arthur Mutambara, who heads a small faction of the MDC, are
blaming
Tsvangirai for the latest impasse, but the prime minister-elect put
the
blame squarely on the SADC.
He lambasted Motlanthe, who chaired the
meeting, for allowing Mugabe to
participate in a discussion from which both
MDC factions were excluded.
"For the record . it had been agreed that
all Zimbabwean principals would
recuse themselves to allow an open and
unfettered dialogue to take place
among SADC leaders. However, Mugabe
refused and the chairman of the SADC
[Motlanthe] did not tell him to
leave.
"Thus Mugabe became a judge in his own case," Tsvangirai
said.
He accused SADC leaders of "perversely" putting pressure on the MDC
which,
he said, had won the March 29 Zimbabwe general
election.
Motlanthe on Sunday accused Tsvangirai and Mugabe of "political
immaturity"
for failing to form a cabinet two months after the Mbeki
agreement was
signed.
Tsvangirai said he would not accept an
agreement not based on genuine
power-sharing between the two MDCs and
Zanu-PF.
His stance has been sharply criticised by Mutambara, who has
accused him of
reneging on an agreement that all the parties to the
negotiations would
accept SADC's ruling as final.
Mutambara said: "We
went [to SADC] for a ruling . We didn't want a situation
where the ministry
would be co-shared, but integrity says we can't go
against 15 heads of
state. We must respect the decision taken by the SADC as
a matter of
principle .
"It is unstrategic to go to war with 15 heads of state," he
told The Times.
His statement was supported by SADC executive secretary
Tomaz Salamao, who
said the summit's decision was binding.
But
Mutambara, who is set to be Zimbabwe's deputy prime minister under the
power-sharing agreement, dismissed speculation that he would join Mugabe in
forming a government that excluded Tsvangirai.
"It is not possible to
think of a government by Zanu-PF and Mutambara
alone," he
said.
Mugabe, however, told reporters on his return to Zimbabwe yesterday
that he
would form a new cabinet as quickly as possible - with or without
the MDC .
Tsvangirai said such a government would be illegitimate. -
Additional
reporting by Sapa
http://www.businessday.co.za
11
November 2008
Foreign
Staff
Sapa-DPA
STOCKHOLM
- The Anglican bishop of Harare expressed grave concern yesterday
about the
situation in Zimbabwe, sentiments that were echoed by a Swedish
cabinet
minister.
"It is like a war, in the sense that there is total absence of
peace,"
Bishop Sebastian Bakare said.
He has been awarded Sweden's
Per Anger prize, a human rights prize for
fighting
oppression.
"People are crying, no food, no water, no medication,"
Bakare said. "Some
are displaced, children are not going to
school."
International Development
Co-operation Minister
Gunilla Carlsson said she was "disappointed" the
Southern African
Development Community summit failed to break the deadlock
between President
Robert Mugabe and Movement for Democratic Change leader
Morgan
Tsvangirai.
"While the negotiations drag on, the people of Zimbabwe are
paying a high
price," she said.
Bakare is to be key speaker at a
human rights conference in northern Sweden
this week.
The prize of
150000 krona ($18900) commemorates Swedish diplomat Per Anger,
and honours
"people and organisations that risk their own safety to defend
the rights of
the individual against oppression and inhumanity".
Anger was an associate
of Raoul Wallenberg, who saved thousands of Hungarian
Jews during the Second
World War.
Last year Colombian rights group Organizacion Femenina Popular
received the
prize.
http://www.episcopalchurch.org
By Trevor Grundy, November
10, 2008
[Ecumenical News International, Canterbury, England] Archbishop of
Canterbury Rowan Williams has described Bishop Sebastian Bakare of Harare,
Zimbabwe as a "deeply respected and courageous leader who has spoken out not
only against injustices in his community but also against corruption within
his own Anglican church."
The head of the 77-million worldwide
Anglican Communion was speaking from
Lambeth Palace, London, before the
November 10 presentation to Bakare in
Stockholm of the 2008 Per Anger Award.
The award, founded by the Swedish
government, has been given to the bishop
for his committed work and
leadership of an important branch of the
Christian community and his battle
for human rights in Zimbabwe.
"His
continued integrity, for which he has placed himself at considerable
personal risk, has brought hope to countless people in Zimbabwe and
internationally," said Williams.
The Living History Forum in
Stockholm has been commissioned since 2004 by
the Swedish government to
award the prize in the spirit of ambassador Per
Anger who, during the Second
World War, took the initiative to write a
series of protection letters which
saved the lives of thousands of Jews in
Budapest.
"Bishop Sebastian
Bakare is awarded the 2008 Per Anger Prize for having
given voice to the
fight against oppression and for the freedom of speech
and of opinion in a
difficult political situation, with courage and personal
sacrifice," the
press officer of the history forum, Johan Perwe, told
Ecumenical News
International. "As bishop of the Anglican Church in
Zimbabwe, Sebastian
Bakare has for many years fought for the situation and
rights in society of
vulnerable people."
Bakare in 2007 replaced Nolbert Kunonga, a strong
supporter of Robert
Mugabe's Zanu-PF party which until 2008 ruled
Zimbabwe.
Since then, Bakare has denounced Mugabe's treatment of
Christians,
particularly Anglicans. Many Anglican churches have been shut on
the orders
of Zanu-PF, which believes it should still rule Zimbabwe despite
losing a
national election in March.
On July 23 at the Lambeth
Conference, which draws Anglican bishops from all
over the world, Bakare
told journalists: "The ruling system is so oppressive
that it has denied the
people their human rights, including religious
freedom. My diocese continues
to suffer persecution. We have been denied the
freedom to
worship."
He was referring to the action of riot police preventing
Anglicans attending
services in Zimbabwe. Bakare recounted the details of
how Anglicans had been
forcefully hauled from the communion rail by members
of Zanu-PF's youth
wing, who are known in Zimbabwe as the Green Bombers.
VOA
By Patience Rusere
Washington
10
November 2008
Non-governmental organizations say the deadlock
between Zimbabwean President
Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan
Tsvangirai over sharing power in
a unity government yet to be formed is
hindering the distribution of food
aid because NGOs cannot obtain
authorization or assistance from relevant
government
authorities.
Rev. Useni Sibanda, national coordinator of the
Bulawayo-based Christian
Alliance, told reporter Patience Rusere of VOA's
Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that
political paralysis at the top is also shifting
the burden of feeding an
ever-growing number of hungry people from the
government to NGO's, while the
starvation death toll rises.
http://www.apanews.net
APA-Harare (Zimbabwe)
Zimbabwe's financial markets have reacted negatively
to the inconclusive
outcome of a regional summit held at the weekend to
resolve the country's
political crisis with the indicative exchange rate
tumbling a staggering
3,278 percent on Monday.
As news filtered of an impasse at the Southern
African Development Community
(SADC) emergency summit on Zimbabwe, the Old
Mutual Implied Rate slipped
from its Friday position of 663 trillion
Zimdollars to one United States
dollar to a massive 22.4 quadrillion
Zimdollars to the US greenback on
Monday.
The Old Mutual Implied Rate
is an unofficial proxy for the value of the
Zimdollar to the American
greenback based on the relative value of the
insurance giant's shares on the
London and Zimbabwe stock exchanges.
The rate has been adopted by most
Zimbabwean companies in coming up with
prices for their products.
The
Zimbabwe Stock Exchange was also on a tailspin on Monday as the main
industrial index rising a massive 1,833 percent and the mining index 1,348
percent.
Leaders of the SADC failed to break a deadlock on Sunday
between President
Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai over
the allocation of
ministries in a proposed unity government.
The
impasse is expected to worsen an eight-year economic crisis that has
seen
inflation hitting a world-record 230 million percent in June and
unprecedented shortages of foodstuffs and fuel.
JN/thm/APA
2008-11-10
From Episcopal Life (US), 7 November
Harare - Church leaders in Zimbabwe say they
need to repent for failing to
help the oppressed people of their country and
they now want to work
together to promote the reconstruction of their
nation. "The church must
genuinely repent to God and confess to the
suffering people of Zimbabwe for
not fulfilling the two greatest
commandments: 'Love the Lord thy God' and
'Love thy neighbor'," the church
leaders said in a statement made available
to Ecumenical News International
on November 7. The meeting of leaders of
the Heads of Christian
Denominations group, the (Roman) Catholic Commission
for Justice and Peace,
the Zimbabwe National Pastors Conference, the
Zimbabwe Christian Alliance,
the Anglican Diocese of Harare, the Ecumenical
Support Services and New
Frontiers-Zimbabwe, took place in Harare on
November 3. "The church in
general has been divided and as such has been
unable to satisfactorily meet
the physical, moral and spiritual needs of the
nation which is now in
absolute crisis," they stated. "The church must now
demonstrate genuine
unity by standing with the poor, weak, suffering and
oppressed people." The
church leaders said, "This movement for unity must
rapidly gather momentum
and cascade throughout the church, her leadership,
structures and people.
Only then will the church be able to address truth,
reconciliation and
healing in Zimbabwe."
Methodist Bishop Levee Kadenge of the Zimbabwe
Christian Alliance told ENI
that the statement represented "the best news
ever to come from Zimbabwean
churches." A consultation to include about 25
key church leaders will be
held in a few weeks time, the British
humanitarian agency Christian Aid
reported on November 6. The leaders will
discuss unity, healing and
reconciliation, and the role of the Church in
Zimbabwe's past, present and
future. Christian Aid quoted Kadenge as saying,
"We must gather together to
repent. Only then can we prepare ourselves to be
the moral and spiritual
conscience of the nation and position ourselves at
the heart of the
reconstruction of our beloved nation." The initiative by
the Christian
leaders came as leaders from southern Africa prepared to meet
in
Johannesburg on November 9 to attempt to break a deadlock between
Zimbabwe's
political leaders over the setting up of a national unity
government. The
head of Zimbabwe's Zanu PF party, Robert Mugabe, who became
leader of his
country in 1980, is refusing to budge from power or to share
it fully with
the Movement for Democratic Change which won a parliamentary
election in
March, say Zimbabwean opposition leaders. Christian Aid said
that only when
the church has thrown off its own cloak of fear will it be
able to help the
nation do the same. "The church should be at the heart of
truth and
reconciliation in Zimbabwe. Sadly as a divided body, it has been
unable to
play a meaningful role at the national level for more than a
decade, and
therefore cannot form a Truth Commission," said William
Anderson, Christian
Aid's country manager in Zimbabwe. "A secular truth and
reconciliation
commission will not be able to take the nation forward in the
same way as
one that could and should be led by the church."
VOA
By Carole Gombakomba
Washington
10 November 2008
The Global Fund to Fight
AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria on Monday promised
Zimbabwe US$169 million in
its eighth round of funding, finalized over the
weekend by the board of the
international health organization at a meeting
in New Delhi,
India.
Many in Zimbabwe had feared that the country would be refused new
funding
because the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe mishandled funds given to
Zimbabwe in
previous Global Fund rounds. But the central bank returned the
US$7.3
million last week after coming under international scrutiny for
misusing
those and other donor funds.
HIV/AIDS activist Martha
Tholana told VOA that while the local community is
pleased with the Global
Fund decision, vigilance is called for in their
handling in
future.
Tholana added that the country's health care system remains in
critical
condition, because monies from the Global Fund ear earmarked for
AIDS,
tuberculosis and malaria, while even leading state hospitals in Harare
are
closing wards due to the economic crisis.
VOA was unable to reach
Health Minister David Parirenyatwa for comment.
Global Fund
Communications Director John Liden told reporter Carole
Gombakomba of VOA's
Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that the latest funds pledged to
Zimbabwe have
conditions attached to them to avoid future problems at the
central
bank.
http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=7072
November 10, 2008
By Our
Correspondent
HARARE - The MDC has scoffed at allegations by Zanu-PF that
the party is
training militias in Botswana to destabilise Zimbabwe and force
fresh
presidential elections next year.
On Monday, MDC leader Morgan
Tsvangirai rejected a SADC recommendation to
share the ministry of Home
Affairs with Zanu-PF under the power-sharing
agreement signed on September
15.
Zanu-PF has accused Tsvangirai of plotting violence and likened him
to
former Angolan rebel leader Jonas Savimbi.
A report in the
government-controlled Herald newspaper alleges that "the
opposition is
angling for a total collapse of the cabinet talks and then use
the militias
to destabilise the country and force the staging of a fresh
presidential
election under international supervision early next year".
The report
also alleged that Tsvangirai had sought to hold a meeting with
President
Robert Mugabe in an attempt to "keep a lid on the unfolding saga".
MDC
spokesman, Nelson Chamisa, dismissed the allegations yesterday. He said
the
MDC was committed to negotiating outstanding issues under the agreement
rather than resorting to violence.
"Apart from these outstanding
issues is Zanu PF's deliberate and systematic
plot to incriminate the MDC on
fictitious charges of banditry and
terrorism," said Chamisa. "We remain
committed to peaceful and democratic
change. There is no reason for the MDC
to engage in such barbaric acts when
we are the ruling party with majority
seats in Parliament.
"We control the largest number of urban and rural
councils. We won the
presidential election on 29 March through the ballot
and any attempts to
link us with the gun and the bullet will not wash with
the people of
Zimbabwe."
The Herald also said the matter of the
militias had been put before SADC.
But Chamisa said of the allegation: "It
will not wash with our brothers and
sisters in Africa and it will not wash
with the broader international
community.
"The MDC had remained
committed to dialogue as the only option to unlock the
Zimbabwean crisis. We
are aware that Zanu-PF has stubbornly stood in the
doorway of all efforts to
find a solution to the national crisis, oblivious
of the massive starvation
in the country which needs urgent relief.
"We in the MDC derive strength
and fortitude in the knowledge that the
people of Zimbabwe are the owners of
the cause."
The MDC national executive and the national council will meet
on Friday to
deliberate on the SADC summit and the future of the dialogue
process.
Tsvangirai rejected the recommendation to share the ministry of
Home Affairs
with Zanu-PF, saying it was unworkable.
Yesterday,
Chamisa insisted the issues of contention went beyond the Home
Affairs
portfolio.
He said: "We believe that there are fundamental issues that
remain
outstanding such as the allocation of portfolio ministries, the
brazen
alteration of the Global Political Agreement by Zanu-PF, the issue of
provincial governors, the composition and powers of the National Security
Council, the appointment of senior government officials, permanent
secretaries and ambassadors and the enactment of Constitutional Amendment
Number 19."
Patrick Chinamasa, outgoing justice minister, is said to
have made
unilateral amendments to the power-sharing agreement. Chinamasa -
who has
labelled Tsvangirai 'Savimbi' - has not disputed the claims.
Sokwanele - Enough is
Enough - Zimbabwe
PROMOTING NON-VIOLENT PRINCIPLES TO ACHIEVE DEMOCRACY
Communiqué of the Extra-Ordinary Summit of the SADC
Heads of State and Government, Sandton, Republic of South Africa - and -
Statement from the Movement For Democratic Change on
the outcome of the SADC Extra-Ordinary summit on the Zimbabwe dialogue
Sokwanele - 10
November 2008
1. The Extra-Ordinary Summit of the SADC Heads of State and Government
met in Sandton, Republic of South Africa on 9 November 2008. The Extra-Ordinary
Summit met to review the latest Political and Security situation in the Region
with particular reference to the current developments in the Democratic Republic
of Congo and the Republic of Zimbabwe.
2. The Extra Ordinary Summit was
chaired by H.E. Kgalema Motlanthe, President of the Republic of South Africa and
the Chairperson of SADC.
3. The Extra-Ordinary Summit was attended by the
following Heads of State and Government or their
representatives:
DRC | H.E. President Joseph Kabila, Deputy Chairperson of SADC |
Lesotho | Right Honourable Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili |
Mozambique | H.E. President Armando Emilio Guebuza, Deputy Chairperson of the Organ and Acting Chairperson of the Organ |
Namibia | H.E. President Hifikepunye Pohamba |
South Africa | H.E. President Kgalema Motlanthe, Chairperson of SADC |
Zimbabwe | H.E. President Robert Gabriel Mugabe |
Botswana | His Honour Vice President Lieutenant General Mompati S. Merafhe |
Swaziland | Right Honourable Prime Minister Dr. Sibusiso Barnabas Dlamini |
Angola | Honourable Assuncao A. De Sousa dos Anjos, Minister of Foreign Affairs. |
United Republic of Tanzania | Honourable Bernard K. Membe, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation |
Seychelles | Honourable Patrick Pillay, Minister of Foreign Affairs |
Zambia | Honourable Kabinga J. Pande, Minister of Foreign Affairs |
Malawi | H.E Agrina Mussa, High Commissioner to the Republic of South Africa |
Mauritius | H.E. Mahomed Ismael Dossa, High Commissioner to the Republic of South Africa |
Madagascar | H.E. Bary Rafatrolaza, Consul General of Madagascar in Cape Town, Republic of South Africa |
(i) immediate ceasefire by all the armed men and militia in North Kivu;
(ii) establishment of humanitarian corridors throughout the area to ensure immediate address of the humanitarian crisis and tragedy;
(iii) immediate implementation of Nairobi Communiqué, Goma Agreement and all the relevant agreements and protocols to ensure sustainable peace and durable political stability;
(iv) the Summit of the Great Lakes Region called on the UN Secretary General to strengthen the mandate of the peacekeeping forces in DRC and provide adequate resources and be able to address the volatile situation;
(v) the Great Lakes Region would not stand by and witness incessant and destructive acts of violence by any armed groups against innocent people of DRC; if and when necessary the Great Lakes Region will send peacemaking forces into the Kivu Province of the DRC;
(vi) the Summit of the Great Lakes Region called on the UN and all humanitarian agencies that have shown great support for the victims of military violence to continue to sustain and increase their support until human tragedy is stopped.
(i) the security situation in the DRC is affecting peace and stability in the SADC and the Great Lakes Regions;8. In view of the above issues, the Extra Ordinary Summit resolved that:
(ii) the security and humanitarian situation is deteriorating in the Eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo;
(iii) many agreements entered into regarding peace and security in the Great Lakes Region were not implemented because of the intransigence of Laurent Nkunda;
(iv) DRC Armed Forces need to be assisted in order to protect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the country;
(i) the SADC Team of Military Experts be deployed immediately to assess the situation in the Eastern DRC;
(ii) SADC should immediately provide assistance to the Armed Forces of the DRC;
(iii) the SADC Military Advisory Team be deployed immediately to advise the Command of FARDC on matters which will be agreed by the Government of the DRC;
(iv) the SADC would not standby and witness incessant and destructive acts of violence by any armed groups against innocent people of DRC, if and when necessary SADC will, within the Nairobi framework, send peace peacekeeping force into Kivu Province of the DRC;
(v) the SADC Military Monitoring Commission be dispatched to the DRC immediately to monitor the border between DRC, Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda;
(vi) the SADC Troika of the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation meet with the Troika of the Great Lakes Region expeditiously to avoid overlaps and map a joint way forward;
(vii) the Teams established by the Double Troika of Defence Sub Committee should implement their mandate of providing technical assistance in the DRC as a matter of urgency; and
(viii) the deployed Teams should report to SADC via the Organ Troika.
(i) the Inclusive Government be formed forthwith in Zimbabwe;
(ii) the Ministry of Home Affairs be co-managed between the ZANU-PF and MDC-T;
(iii) the efficacy of the arrangement referred to in paragraph 2 above, be reviewed after six (6) months by the Parties with the assistance of the guarantors, SADC, AU and the Facilitator.
(iv) to give effect to these decisions and the provisions of the Global Political Agreement, the Parties must, without any further delay, introduce the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment Number 19.
Statement from the Movement For Democratic Change on
the outcome of the SADC Extra-Ordinary summit on the Zimbabwe
dialogue
The
Extraordinary Summit of the SADC leadership, held on the 9th November 2008, has
just concluded with the resolution that a Government of National Unity be formed
immediately in Zimbabwe and furthermore that the Ministry of Home Affairs be
co-ministered between the MDC and Zanu PF.
In addition, the SADC
leadership have stated that Constitutional Amendment 19, which would provide the
legal framework for the agreement, should be drafted as soon as possible, but
only after the new government has been formed.
With greatest respect to
SADC, the issues before them, which were not resolved by the facilitator’s
various visits to Zimbabwe and by the Troika meeting held in Harare on 27th
October 2008, centred around the following:
The MDC is shocked and saddened that the SADC Summit
has failed to tackle these key issues .
Firstly, the principle of equity
and fairness. It is the MDCs position that any coalition or cooperative
government has to be based on genuine power sharing of portfolio allocations.
In this regard, we had proposed a formula which seeks to pair various ministries
on the basis of relative parity. Thus, in our view, to the extent that Zanu PF
had allocated itself the portfolios of defence and state security, it only made
sense that the Ministry of Home Affairs should go to the MDC.
Equally,
this methodology was suggested and communicated to the facilitator in writing on
Wednesday the 15th October , to the Troika on the 27 October 2008 and to the
SADC Executive Secretary on 30 October, 2008. Thus SADC knew fully our
position.
Secondly, we had also made it clear that the issue of the
enactment of Constitutional Amendment 19 was a precondition to the formation of
any new government. More importantly, the offices being created in the global
political agreement, such as that of the Prime Minister, could only come into
being with Constitutional Amendment 19. Events after the 15th September 2008, in
respect of which serious lack of sincerity has been displayed by Zanu PF,
demonstrated quite clearly that one could not proceed on the basis of good faith
in a government not grounded on a legal foundation. Thus the question of
Constitutional Amendment 19 cannot be postponed as it is not a question of
procedure but rather an issue of substance.
Furthermore, in a political
environment such as ours, poisoned by lack of a paradigm shift by Zanu PF, lack
of sincerity and utter contempt towards the MDC and the wishes of the people,
quite clearly the concept of co-ministering cannot work. In any event, what is
the rational of proposing a co-ministry only in relation to the Home Affairs
portfolio in total oblivion to Defence and State Security which Zanu PF already
holds.
In our view a great opportunity has been missed by SADC to bring
an end to the Zimbabwean Crisis. This omission has occurred because SADC
approached this summit without any concrete strategy and did not have the
courage and the decency of looking Mr Mugabe in the eyes and telling him that
his position was wrong.
For the record, in today’s meeting it had been
agreed that all the Zimbabwean principals would recuse themselves to allow an
open and unfettered dialogue to take place amongst the SADC leaders. However, Mr
Mugabe refused and the Chairman of SADC did not tell him to leave. Thus, Mr
Mugabe became a judge in his own case.
Perversely, pressure was brought
to bear on the MDC, a party that won an election but has shown compromise and
political maturity in these negotiations rather than the party that lost an
election and has flouted the spirit and substance of the agreement, namely Zanu
PF.
The failure of this summit to acknowledge the only fair and rational
solution with regard to equitable power sharing, places the Zimbabwean people in
a quandary. It is no exaggeration when I say that the needless suffering being
experienced by millions of Zimbabweans every day is unprecedented in our
country’s history.
It is precisely because of this that we remain
committed to the agreement signed 15th September. It is precisely because of
this that we cannot accept any arrangement that does not allow the MDC to
effectively contribute to ending this suffering.
I would like to put out
that the failure to consummate and implement the Global Political Agreement
means that there is no legitimacy on any government or any person purporting to
be Head of State. In short, Mr Mugabe is not the President of Zimbabwe without
this agreement. Given this dangerous and precarious situation and the suffering
of the people of Zimbabwe we hope and pray that the guarantors of the agreement,
in particular progressive members of SADC and the African Union, will now move
very quickly to try and salvage this agreement.
We remain committed to
the agreement and peaceful resolution of the Zimbabwean crisis and I am hopeful
that sooner, rather than later, the democratic voice and vote of the Zimbabwean
people will be heard and respected by our African institutions.
Until
that day, the MDC will continue to stand with the people of Zimbabwe, for it is
from them that we derive our legitimacy, and because of them, that we remain
resolute in our struggle for democracy.
Thank you
Morgan
Tsvangirai
President Movement for Democratic
Change
Via an MDC
Press Release
We have a fundamental right to freedom of expression!
Elliot Pfebve, MSc, PGCE, MBCS CITP
Chartered IT Professional