(TALKZIMBABWE) 'Mwanawasa dividing SADC'
'Mwanawasa dividing SADC'Nyasha Maunze
Mon, 23 Jun 2008 10:41:00 +0000
THE Southern African Development Community (Sadc) chairman and President of Zambia is unilaterally putting pressure on the Zimbabwe government to call off the run-off election scheduled for Friday saying the conditions on the ground are not yet conducive for a free and fair election.
President Levy Mwanawasa called for a postponement of this Friday’s presidential election run-off in a press conference over the weekend without consulting the regional body.
President Mwanawasa’s press conference seemed to have been scheduled beforehand sparking rumours that he knew about the opposition Movement for Democratic Change’s decision before it had been made public.
The press conference was held around the same time as the unofficial announcement by Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the opposition MDC-T that he was pulling out of the race.
President Mwanawasa’s announcement goes against Sadc protocol which calls on all members of the regional grouping to be consulted before such an announcement is made.
The Zambian leader has been at loggerheads on previous occasions with the government of Zimbabwe for making unilateral decisions on issues relating to the country.
In March this year, President Mwanawasa unilaterally called for an Extra-Ordinary Summit on Zimbabwe without first consulting member states.
Sadc’s designated mediator for Zimbabwe, President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, achieved a breakthrough in the crisis by arranging for one-thousand Sadc observers to monitor the Zimbabwe elections last week.
This new move by President Mwanawasa is likely to divide the regional bloc further.
The MDC-T party last week sent a six-man team to the Zambian chancery in Pretoria to petition President Mwanawasa, as Sadc chairperson, to assist and end to the violence in Zimbabwe.
Sources in the opposition party told the Zimbabwe Guardian that the MDC-T called the Zambian president yesterday and notified him of their decision before they made their announcement, putting considerable pressure on him to take a position.
A rift is also said to have developed in the regional bloc over Zimbabwe as the Zambian President is seen as favoring the opposition MDC-T and ‘issuing unwarranted statements on Zimbabwe’.
Reports say President Mwanawasa tried to contact President Mbeki on Friday, on two occasions, but was told he was in a meeting and that he would get back to him, but he never did.
It is also reported that President Mbeki has not been giving reports to the Zambian president as required. He has been relying on intelligence reports on Zimbabwe from the Zambian chancery and other intelligence reports.
On Sunday, President Mwanawasa said: ‘I’m disappointed as chairperson of SADC because I’m being denied information’,” he said.
Labels: MWANAWASA, SADC, ZIMBABWE
posted by MrK @ 1:30 AM
1 Comments:
Mbeki's stance on Zimbabwe is unfortunate. It’s now clear why the South Africans have opted for Zuma. Mbeki's failure at home has extended to Zimbabwe. He has been very dishonest with the situation in Zimbabwe and SADC must consider replacing him though its almost too late. The violence and deaths we keep on hearing in Zimbabwe is evidence of Mbeki's failed policy on Zimbabwe. His quiet diplomacy is not yielding anything
and will not correct the situation in Zimbabwe. Mugabe MUST be rebuked by his close friends for his eyes to open. Mugabe has power to command his machine of brutality to stop its actions of killing innocent Zimbabweans but with likes of Mbeki by his side more damage will be done in Zimbabwe. At some point i thought Mbeki was like Mandela and I now condemn myself for ever making this comparison. Mbeki MUST GO we need leaders that are courageous and with the people at heart!!
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