Kitsepile Nyathi and Agencies
2 September 2008
Harare — President Robert Mugabe says it will provide regional leaders with footage of proceedings during last week's official opening of parliament where the embattled leader was jeered by legislators, to prove that the opposition is 'childish'.
The threats by the ruling Zanu PF, coming a day after the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) called on regional leaders to pressure Mr Mugabe to be more flexible in the stalled power sharing talks, could be yet another sign the dialogue to solve the country's political crisis has collapsed.
State media reported on Tuesday that South African President Thabo Mbeki, the mediator in the stalled talks, had already been given the footage showing MDC MPs jeering and heckling Mr Mugabe as he went through his speech.
"The ruling party has decided that it is going to prepare videos of proceedings of Tuesday (last week) for circulation to all SADC heads and the facilitator for them to get to know their (MDC) version of collaborative talks," the official Herald newspaper said.
After he was humiliated by MDC MPs protesting against his decision to open parliament before the conclusion of the talks, Mr Mugabe threatened to form a government without the opposition saying the MDC did not seem interested in a government of national unity.
Zanu PF supporters have also been holding a series of demonstrations against the MDC MPs, while veterans of the country's liberation war threatened to barricade parliament when it re-opens on 4 October in protest.
The ruling party has demanded an apology from MDC, which says although the behaviour of its MPs was 'regrettable', it showed the extent of the polarisation in the country.
"The behaviour of the MDC parliamentarians was very bad and we are not happy at all," Zanu PF'S secretary for administration, Mr Didymus Mutasa told ruling party supporters after one of the marches in Harare. "They always strive to destabilise government systems and we need to be strong against such machinations."
The opposition also accuses the government of stepping up the arrests of its MPs on charges that they instigated political violence in the run-up to the one candidate June 27 presidential run-off election.
Five MPs have appeared in court since Friday on charges ranging from rape to inciting soldiers to revolt against Mr Mugabe's government.
Meanwhile, African Union chair Tanzania wants to see a 50-50 power-sharing deal agreed for Zimbabwe immediately to stem a growing economic crisis, Tanzania's foreign minister said today.
"There is a problem and we still hope the mediation will continue and we still hope wisdom will prevail," Tanzanian Foreign Minister Bernard Membe said in Dar es Salaam. "We would prefer a solution be arrived at immediately because of the escalating economic crisis. We still pray that a solution will be found towards a 50 percent power-sharing solution," he told reporters in Tanzania's commercial capital.
On Friday, negotiators from Zanu-PF, the main MDC and a smaller breakaway MDC faction separately met South African President Thabo Mbeki, who is mediating the discussions.
The power-sharing talks have stalled over how to share executive power between Mugabe and MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who refused to sign an agreement two weeks ago that would have made him prime minister.
Mr Tsvangirai protested against the proposed deal, saying it did not give him enough executive powers.
The opposition leader beat Mugabe in a March 29 election but fell short of enough votes to avoid a run-off vote, which was won by Mugabe unopposed after Tsvangirai pulled out citing violence and intimidation against his supporters.
The economic price of the deadlock is rising by the day.
The hardships -- inflation of more than 11 million percent is the world's highest -- have already driven millions of Zimbabweans to seek refuge in neighbouring countries.
Critics say Mugabe's policies, such as seizing white-owned commercial farms and handing them to blacks, have ruined the country's once-prosperous agriculture sector.
Mugabe, in power since independence from Britain in 1980, blames Western sanctions for the nation's economic collapse. Mr Tsvangirai who won the first round of the presidential election in March but was stopped from contesting the second round of the poll because of state sponsored violence are haggling over who should be in charge of a government of national unity. "Zanu PF has to be persuaded to be rational and put the people first," said MDC spokesman, Mr Nelson Chamisa.
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AK 47 , Why did your tribes steal the bushman's (Sans peoples) land ? You owe them an explanation ?
I do not see how the MDC would be embarrassed by Mugabe. Mugabe would actually embarrass himself by showing legitimate presidents of other African countries that video. It's actually good for the MDC for other presidents to view that video. The video depicts that Mugabe has lost power. Like previous dictators before him, Mugabe was a frightening politician previously and now opponents are losing the fear they had in him. Opponents always lose fear in a dictator who is about to bow out of power. I observed this loss of fear in Kamuzu Banda and Mobutu Sese Seko during their last days in power. With Kamuzu, Chihana had the courage to fly into Malawi to be arrested. With Mobutu, there was this gentleman, Tshisekede who would always humiliate him and Kabila's soldiers marched from Rwanda and Burundi without encountering any resistance from Mobutu's former notorious forces. The humiliation Mugabe is suffering from the MDC is the beginning of his slow and painful ouster from power. Very soon some regiment of soldiers will refuse to salute him and get imprisoned for it. All dictators suffer embarrassment in their last days in power.
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Ox , you are so blinded with rubbish, these people are free to write what they want and yet Journalists in Zimbabwe are forced ! It is typical, you are an embarrasment to Afrika even bringing up Mau Mau, murderers are not heros ! So Ox or whatever your name is stop talking rubbish, Afrika is already a laughing stock , much less have more fools like you.
No one can embarrass our glorious leader, Robert Gabriel Mugabe! He embarrasses those who try to embarrass him! Zimbabwe embarrasses all other African countries!
Tsvangirai will be embarrassed by the great Sir Robert's splendid video which will soon be released for all the world to see how glorious and unchildish our great leader is!
Glory to Zimbabwe!
What splendid video?
You havn't seen the one by Modonna praising ?? Mugabe and Hitler getting stupid in her song entitled "Get stupid".
You may not be surprised to learn CIO agents crossing over to Malawi to arrest Madonna during her next planned visit there!! The lunatic can do anything to continue retaining power illegitimately.
The new story running around is that CIO agents might have been behind necklacing and burning to death MDC supporters exiled to Jo'burg!
Glory to those leading a second liberation war in Zimbabwe!
As if MDC-T hasn't already embarrassed itself enough. This is good to hear, BBC and all the other trash media claimed Mugabe was "humiliated" by this parliamentary theatrics, however that doesn't seem to be the case at all.
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What do you mean by white owned farms??? These farmers occupied stolen land. Rhodes had no right to hand out land to his cousins and those missionaries forgot the bible and received thousands of acres from Rhodes...eg Chishawasha and Inyathi. Just remove your MDC sanctions against the country and our farmers would produce enough food ...even for export. The MDC accepted economic sanctions against their own people and country so that when the common man suffers he would blame the ZANU Administration and vote with their stomachs. Its unfair to blame RMG for the sanctions. How selective are these sanctions when then there is no food or mushonga in hospitals, when the factories have all closed down. Ma Zimbabwe ari kutambura because of MDC sponsored sanctions. Politics i TSORO but to make your own people suffer so that you take over the national gvt is immoral.