(HERALD) Mutambara faction raps Tsvangirai camp’s decision
Mutambara faction raps Tsvangirai camp’s decisionBy Caesar Zvayi
THE Professor Arthur Mutambara-led MDC faction has added its voice to the growing condemnation of the rival Tsvangirai faction’s decision to send a demonisation delegation to the ongoing Sadc Summit in Lusaka, Zambia, describing their conduct as undiplomatic and tantamount to contempt for African processes.
The Tsvangirai faction sent a big delegation, led by its vice president Ms Thokozani Khupe and comprising representatives of a number of civic organisations, to Lusaka in an attempt to demonise Zimbabwe, and influence Sadc opinion against the country.
The delegation was reportedly carrying dossiers of alleged human rights abuses they hoped to circulate at the summit.
Spokesman for the Mutambara faction Mr Gabriel Chaibva said he had received inquiries from the diplomatic community, the media and the general public on whether they would be sending a delegation to Lusaka, and had indicated that they had already made their submissions to South African President Thabo Mbeki and did not see the need to disrespect him through side-shows.
‘‘At the summit, President Thabo Mbeki, in his capacity as the Sadc mediator on the Zimbabwe crisis, appointed by the Sadc Heads of State and Government on March 29 2007, to facilitate dialogue between the Government of Zimbabwe and the opposition, will present his report on the state of that dialogue.
‘‘Naturally, whatever input we as a party would have wanted to go into that report has been communicated to the mediator through the normal channels,’’ said Mr Chaibva.
Mr Tsvangirai has insulted almost all Sadc leaders, accusing them of siding with Zimbabwe, and in one of his diatribes he claimed his faction had cut ties with South Africa as he described Mr Mbeki as a dishonest broker.
Mr Chaibva said in light of the Sadc initiative, it would not make any sense for his faction to send a delegation to the summit to lobby the same leadership when there exists a formal means of communicating with the Sadc leadership established by the same Sadc leadership.
‘‘As a party, we reiterate our support and endorsement of the Sadc initiative and commit ourselves to participation in the process to its conclusion. As long as that process is in existence, we will not seek to communicate with the Sadc leadership outside the framework of that process.
‘‘It is our firm belief that the Sadc dialogue process should be given the necessary support by all parties, Government and the opposition. Key to the success of the process will be the level of confidence shown by the parties, not just to the process but also in the person of the Sadc-appointed mediator.
‘‘In this regard, we, as a party and participant in the Sadc-initiated dialogue, will refrain from engaging in conduct that questions a process that has not yet been concluded and that we are currently engaged in. Such conduct on our part would not only be undiplomatic, but also amount to a demonstration of lack of confidence in African processes in general and in particular on the ability of Sadc to deal with the Zimbabwean crisis.’’
Mr Chaibva said it was for that reason that his faction did not send a delegation to the Ordinary Session of the African Union Assembly that was held in Accra, Ghana, during the last week of June and first week of July.
Ms Khupe and her delegation were in Accra ahead of the 9th Ordinary Session of the AU Summit at the end of June as they hoped to present a draft resolution to the General Assembly condemning the Government for alleged human rights abuses.
However, ordinary Ghanaians, university students and the media gave the MDC-led delegation a torrid time, forcing them to leave the country before the summit opened.
The Khupe-led delegation also found no joy in Lusaka where the Press conference they called was snubbed by the media, as they also came under fire from Zambia’s main opposition leader Mr Michael Sata, who described them as a "harem of Western agents that has descended on Lusaka to earn breadcrumbs by selling out their birthright".
People who spoke to The Herald also had no kind words for the Tsvangirai faction, which they said was exposing its lackey-nature and desperation by trying to grandstand for the Western media they knew had descended on Lusaka.
The Tsvangirai faction has made it a habit to picket almost every summit in the hope of mobilising opinion against Zimbabwe, but has invariably come unstuck every time, as summits, by their nature, are for elected governments, not aspiring ones.
Labels: ARTHUR MUTAMBARA, MDC, SADC, THE HERALD
posted by MrK @ 11:56 AM
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