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Zimbabwe: Tsvangirai Wants Mbeki to Quit Talks
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Business Day (Johannesburg)
18 April 2008
Posted to the web 18 April 2008
Hopewell Radebe
Johannesburg
ZIMBABWEAN opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai yesterday called on the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to relieve President Thabo Mbeki of his mediation duties and immediately replace him with "a special envoy" similar to one that brokered a deal in Kenya.
"We want to thank President Mbeki for all of his efforts, but he needs to be relieved of his duties," Tsvangirai said.
He pulled no punches in expressing reservations about Mbeki's understanding of conditions in Zimbabwe. This follows Mbeki's statement after a meeting with President Robert Mugabe on his way to the SADC summit in Zambia last weekend that there was no crisis in Zimbabwe.
Speaking to the media in Johannesburg yesterday, Tsvangirai said his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) had asked the SADC chairman, Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa, to lead "a new initiative due to the urgent situation in Zimbabwe based on the violence, intimidation and changing electoral conditions".
He said the situation in Zimbabwe was deteriorating and the SADC could no longer rely on Mbeki alone.
His vote of no confidence in Mbeki came barely hours after the cabinet conceded that the situation in Zimbabwe was "indeed dire and requires some kind of further facilitation".
"When elections are held and results are not released two weeks after the vote took place, the situation is obviously of great concern to this government," government spokesman Themba Maseko said. However, Mbeki's cabinet also expressed support and confidence in his efforts to resolve the impasse in Zimbabwe.
The SADC summit renewed Mbeki's mediation mandate, while calling for the release of the election results soon.
Tsvangirai reiterated his conviction that the MDC had won the elections, including the presidential election, without any need for a run-off. "The regime is conditioning people to believe there's a runoff. There's no runoff because we won this election decisively. In preparation for this, Mugabe and his band of criminals have unleashed an orgy of violence against the people," he said.
Tsvangirai also said it was becoming difficult to convince Zimbabweans to let Mugabe be, and not subject him and his cronies to any form of international justice, considering the reports that Mugabe had ordered arms from China "when people were starving, without education or healthcare and facing a 160000% inflation rate".
He said that while the voices of the world had been raised, many in Zimbabwe had not heard them as there was no free media. He had been forced to use the free news media in SA and the world to "say to the Zimbabwe people, we are not alone, the world is with us".
The legal authority of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) had expired and its moral authority was compromised, Tsvangirai said.
"What the ZEC says no longer matters ... the votes cast on March 29 and posted outside each polling station elected the MDC as the majority in Parliament and elected me as the president of Zimbabwe."
Asked whether he was in self-imposed exile, Tsvangirai said: "I am not in exile; I am in Johannesburg enjoying the hospitality of South Africans." He said he would return to Zimbabwe when the time was right. However, he was focusing on lobbying SADC leaders to put pressure on Mugabe to concede defeat and relinquish power.
Tsvangirai rejected as "unfounded and baseless" allegations by Zimbabwean Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa in the state-controlled Herald newspaper yesterday saying Tsvangirai had colluded with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown to effect "illegal regime change in Zimbabwe" and that these actions were "treasonous".
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He said he has faced more than 40 such accusations before and the courts had dismissed them.
When will the world and South Africa recognise that there are three million votes not counted in this election that represent the people forced to flee Zimababwe who under normal law should have a vote. This vote added to the existing tally of the MDC puts Mug Ape (Muagbe) very firmly out the rumnning as anything IE NOT PRESIDENT and NOT RULING PARTY. Wake up world.!!!
I think Mbeki should feel relieved to have been asked to quit because the role of mediator of the Zimbabwe conflict has become untenable for him due to his close friendship with Mugabe. If it was not for Mbeki the conflict would have been resolved before the end of 2004 and now he is fuelling it by ensuring that false results are going to be announced and Mugabe retains the presidency. For the majority of Zimbabweans Mbeki is now unwelcome and he should just go and take his Pahad with him as far away as possible from the Zimconflict... [Read Full Text]
Why didn't you go on strike last week? All you do is complain but cannot even go on strike to get your point accross - You want someone else to do your dirty work. Grow up idiot!
It is to my understanding that democracy relies in peoples power and confidence out of which they do elect their leader, we as Africans and i as A Tanzanian in particular my head lingers over the Zimbabwe post election denial of results announcement, by this delay we are totaly impared of the fact that by any means the election was fairly conducted, there is a likelihood of bias and becomes obviuos to the peoples mind that Tsavangirai must be the winner due to this default. I thus beg the election commitee of zimbabwe to declare the elections as the... [Read Full Text]
President Mbeki has shown that he is not impartial to the dispute or political crisis existing in Zimbabwe of which he cannot see even hear with his naked eyes and ears. This cannot be born into the attention of any reasonable person that there is no political crisis in Zimbabwe, i think this is the high time for him to see the problem in Zimbabwe and stop protecting his comrade Mugabe he should know what is good for Africans and this is not in exception of people in Zimbabwe, The best thing to do for him is to have himself... [Read Full Text]
I too agree that President Mbeki should step down. I have always believed he has had the best intentions for Zimbabwe and continue to believe that. SADC has other leaders who can take over that role, namely Zambian President Mwanawasa. President Mwanawasa is among the new emerging leaders to take the region to higher grounds. What I find not helpful is the call to make Zimbabwean issues international, when we have democratically elected leaders in the region. Who needs Britons! What value have they added to African democracy, if any? I find the Britons a rubbish batch of talking heads... [Read Full Text]
The Government of South Africa, Namibia and Angola should be held accountable for the delay of the results and suffering of the masses in Zimbabwe.
These so-called elites in their above-the-law ruling parties has been destroying people's aspirations and democratization efforts.
One of the big lies is that Africa should not suscribe to western-style democracy, but to our own way(african) of governing. It is a lie because these parties have been copying the BIG human right violaters in the Soviet Union, North Korea(in all places, and China. ANC, SWAPO,ZANU-PF and MPLA think they are theonly parties who could rule... [Read Full Text]
The Government of South Africa, Namibia and Angola should be held accountable for the delay of the results and suffering of the masses in Zimbabwe.
These so-called elites in their above-the-law ruling parties has been destroying people's aspirations and democratization efforts.
One of the big lies is that Africa should not suscribe to western-style democracy, but to our own way(african) of governing. It is a lie because these parties have been copying the BIG human right violaters in the Soviet Union, North Korea(in all places, and China. ANC, SWAPO,ZANU-PF and MPLA think they are theonly parties who could rule... [Read Full Text]
The Government of South Africa, Namibia and Angola should be held accountable for the delay of the results and suffering of the masses in Zimbabwe.
These so-called elites in their above-the-law ruling parties has been destroying people's aspirations and democratization efforts.
One of the big lies is that Africa should not suscribe to western-style democracy, but to our own way(african) of governing. It is a lie because these parties have been copying the BIG human right violaters in the Soviet Union, North Korea(in all places, and China. ANC, SWAPO,ZANU-PF and MPLA think they are theonly parties who could rule... [Read Full Text]
Libero, Namibia, Angola or South African leaders are not responsible for whats happened in Zimbabwe. Remember Zimbawe is a soverign country with the biggest black army, airforce and navy. South Africa has the biggest white and black army. With so much power force, Zimbabwe can easily out run both namibia or Angola. The real issue remains that Zimbabweans themselves may have to take more courage to confront Mugabe. Don't tell me Britain can do better!! That to me is the biggest mind colonialization inflicted on Black Africans that UK and the USA will solve the problems for them. The UK/USA... [Read Full Text]
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