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(HERALD) UK begs Chissano over Zim coalition

UK begs Chissano over Zim coalition
Political Editor Munyaradzi Huni

THE British and American governments, working closely with a prominent leader in Sadc, recently made overtures to former Mozambican leader Cde Joaquim Chissano to entice him to take up the leadership of an amalgam of elder statesmen in the region whose mandate was to persuade President Mugabe into accepting a government of national unity with the MDC, diplomatic sources have revealed.

It is also understood that the American government was separately pushing for the involvement of former United Nations Secretary-General Mr Kofi Annan in the talks leading to the government of national unity.

The targeted elder statesmen included former Zambian president Dr Kenneth Kaunda, former Botswana leader Sir Ketumile Masire and former Tanzanian leader Mr Benjamin Mkapa.

Diplomatic sources say the plan by the British and the American governments went up in smoke when Dr Kaunda criticised the British Prime Minister, Mr Gordon Brown, over the way he is handling the Zimbabwean issue.

"The British and Americans made overtures to Cde Chissano to take up the leading role in the set-up. The plan was that the former Mozambican leader would persuade Dr Kaunda, but on the eve of that persuasion, the former Zambian leader released a statement attacking Mr Brown over Zimbabwe," said one diplomat.

In a speech that he delivered last month as a special guest to recipients of recognition awards from Pope Benedict XVI, Dr Kaunda said: "It is sad for Prime Minister Brown to say what he has said about the Zimbabwe situation . . . Brown does not understand what he is talking about. It is a sad thing that he said that (calling for more sanctions against Zimbabwe)."

The diplomat added: "They also wanted Sir Ketumile and Mr Mkapa, but the later was considered too radical and too close to President Mugabe."

The diplomat said the US President, Mr George W. Bush, was also pushing another initiative where Mr Annan was supposed to mediate as he recently did in Kenya.

"If you were closely monitoring events you will realise that on Friday US Secretary of State Ms Condoleezza Rice, alongside the Sadc chairman, President Levy Mwanawasa of Zambia, and the AU chairman, President Jakaya Kikwete, consulted Mr Annan on Zimbabwe," said the diplomat.

However, the two initiatives failed and the Americans and the British were left with no option but to order the MDC-T leader, Mr Morgan Tsvangirai, to go for the run-off.

Yesterday, after weeks of dithering, Mr Tsvangirai announced that he would be coming back home "in two days’ time" to contest in the run-off whose date has not yet been fixed.

President Mugabe has already said he is ready for the run-off and the ruling party machinery is already at work making preparations for the poll.

Other sources added that now that the efforts to force a government of national unity had failed and that the UN Security Council had refused to be drawn into the politics in Zimbabwe, the UK and US governments, through the international media, will play up incidences of violence in the country and agitate for the international supervision of the run-off.

Indications are that the Government will not bow down to the machinations by these two governments and only the AU, Sadc, countries from Asia and a few selected European countries would observe and monitor the elections.

Speaking to The Sunday Mail yesterday, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information and Publicity, Cde George Charamba, said: "The Zimbabwe case illustrates perfectly that Africa and the Third World are capable of delivering a clean poll. The British and Americans cannot accept the results of the just-ended harmonised polls and at the same time claim any inadequacies in any African observation and election monitoring. They cannot accept the result and disparage the agency that made that result possible."

Labels: JOACHIM CHISANO, NATIONAL UNITY GOVERNMENT, SADC, ZIMBABWE

posted by MrK @ 11:18 AM