Livingstone — The Zambian resort of Livingstone will be the stage on Thursday for a meeting of the troika of the SADC (Southern African Development Community) Organ on Defence, Security and Political Cooperation, expected to discuss in particular the crises in Madagascar and Zimbabwe.
Zambian President Rupiah Banda is the current chair of the troika, and the other two members are the Mozambican and South African presidents, Armando Guebuza and Jacob Zuma.
Zuma is expected to deliver a detailed report on the situation in Zimbabwe in his capacity as the SADC facilitator in that country, who has been attempting to keep alive the Global Political Agreement signed between the ruling ZANU-PF, and the two factions of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
Also present will be former Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano, who is the SADC mediator on the Madagascar crisis, which erupted when the Mayor of Antananarivo, Andre Rajoelina, seized power in a coup d'etat in March 2009. Rajoelina has failed to honour the agreements mediated by Chissano at meetings held in Maputo and Addis Ababa. As a result Madagascar remains suspended from both SADC and the African Union.
The main political actors in Zimbabwe, President Robert Mugabe, and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, who are also the leaders of ZANU-PF and of the main faction of the MDC, have been invited to attend
Speaking to Mozambican journalists in Livingstone, the SADC Executive Secretary, Tomas Salomao, said that those in power in Madagascar, now and in the past, should be the first to understand that the most important thing is to bring Madagascar back to its place in the concert of nations.
"The meeting will hear about the current developments", said Salomao. "But everything indicates that the final goal is to bring the country to elections".
There exists a road map to elections, agreed to by Rajoelina, the man he overthrew, Marc Ravalomanana, and two previous presidents, Didier Ratsiraka and Albert Zafy. Prior to the holding of credible elections, there should be a transitional government and parliaments - but to date Rajoelina has prevented the establishment of these bodies.
As for Zimbabwe, Salomao stressed the importance of continuing to implement the Global Political Agreement (GPA). This envisages, among many other matters, a referendum on a new constitution, Only after this can elections be held.
This is far from the only problem. In defiance of the GPA, Mugabe unilaterally appointed the governor of the central bank, Gideon Gono, the man largely responsible for the hyper-inflation prior to the GPA which destroyed the Zimbabwe dollar, and the Attorney-General Johannes Timana. The MDC has repeatedly denounced these unilateral appointments.
Nonetheless, despite these and other problems, Salomao thought it unlikely that there would be any return to the violence of 2008. He stressed that it is the desire of both SADC and the African Union that Zimbabwe should not slip back into violence.
"Zimbabwe is not the same as it was two years ago", said Salomao. "It's true that there are divergences, but there are also convergences".
Comments Post a comment
I hope that the troïka understand the full meaning of their decision tomorrow because we are fed up with all the violence and lies that this so called transitional government in Madagascar have shown to their own countrymen as to the international community by not accepting their own signature, and I'm sure that if they still locking themselves into their unilateral decision, violence will become the only alternative to the legalists and followers of former presidents, Ravalomanana and Ratsiraka ans Zafy which still hold thousands of followers throughout the country,as myself.
"The Zambian resort of Livingstone "
Do names matter? How many pieces of silver are these Zambians paid to keep the vile rhodies up front in our offspring's consciousness?
Are these Zambians so eager to remember "Livingstone" - and be reminded constantly about that period of sadness? Weren't there worthy and deserving natives in Zambia before or after the demise of that and other vile rhodie rats?
Do we honor our long-suffering glorious ancestors by prominently keeping alive the reminders of their tormentors in our offspring's' consciousness?
Why should we resolve that our offspring will encounter such vile names only as footnotes in the history books of the African Child - and only when they are adults and not easily impressed by vile characters.
.
"to Discuss Madagascar, Zimbabwe"
Doesn't this convention of clowns have better things to discuss - such as the de facto foreign invasion of Africa by foreigners now in Libya and Ivory Coast?
DO these resource/time-wasting clowns lack foresight and strategic planning capabilities - OR do they hope and pray that the currently raging "Scramble for Africa" will spare their offspring?
Are they elected to hope and pray - or are they (like Jonathan and Kibaki) in fact foisted on the people by the very same plundering foreigners - to mind the business of foreign imperialism in Africa?
Imperial plunder. There is no refuge in weakness: The Aus Aborigines and the North/South American Indians were exterminated by Cameron's brits. And supremacist slaver Cameron lurks in the shadows - destabilizing Zimbabwe, victimizing and weakening Zimbabweans while bidding his time for the opportune moment to strike and exterminate the natives of Zimbabwe - and others like Kenya in Africa.
For instance, the war in Libya makes it clear to the natives that they cannot prevail in a conventional warfare against the vile foreigners. How is Zuma preparing the natives to fight a sustained - long-term - unconventional (asymmetric) war of attrition against the foreigners - AND PREVAIL? {Note: The Vietnamese did it .. Failure is not an option: The losers soon become extinct.}
.
"Zuma is expected to deliver a detailed report on the situation in Zimbabwe"
It would be nice to get a detailed report on the situation in Azania where the native STILL wallows in poverty while the land-grabbing, mother-raping, father-torturing, ancestor-slaughtering boers are ensconced in the commandeered, natives' abundant resources and the grabbed ancestral loot.
Meanwhile Zuma apologizes for the traditions of our forefathers. Zuma, what is wrong with polygamy? What is right with monogamy (with undeclared mates on the side?)
Meanwhile Zuma apologizes for the natives' war songs that sustained the African Child through the long years of denigration, destitution and bondage. Hell! The Americans fought the British and the French for their land and on public occasions the people and their kids solemnly and proudly sing their glorious war songs of sacrifice, "fire and brimstone" and victory - oblivious of whether the brits like it or not.
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0194015.html
When is the last time that Zuma and the youth of Azania were heard proudly and loudly singing "Umshini wami" let alone rockets, bombs, flares, blood, gore, death? {Does the propaganda steamroller of the boer in South Africa overwhelm the child of Shaka?}
Libya reminds us.
The Ivory Coast reminds us that the enemy of the African Child was not vanquished. The enemy is still with us - alive, plundering, and still incorrigibly duplicitous, racist, ruthless and bloody.
Behold, the boers in Azania would honour the passing of their vile terrablanche (or terror-blanche) with a Nazi salute - at a meet with no trace of the flag of the land of the native in sight! Yet that seditious act of defiance elicits no response from Tutu, Zuma nor Zuma's government - perhaps for fear of offending the vile boers, murderer Sakorzy and the racist Cameron.
Hell! If Shaka's offspring must again make a bid for their sovereignty - this time in an unambiguous manner - so be it.
the struggle continues
You know chokora, even dogs have a much greater sense of discerning between right and wrong than you have as they bark when they are happy and when they know that someone is about to do harm. You on the other hand, are protecting the dictators that the people of those countries are trying to get rid of and you forget that you too called for outside help when you fought for your independence to rid yourselves of white supremacy. Qaddafi like Mugabe are scum bags and if the Libyan people have had enough of THEIR scum bag, let them get all the help they need. The Russians Cubans, Chinese etc. helped YOU in the 70s so what is the difference now? None. Get over it and let the Libyan folk free themselves from greedy brutal bastards.