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Tsvangirai is an unrepentant puppet, charges Grace Mugabe

Tsvangirai is an unrepentant puppet, charges Grace Mugabe
By George Chellah in Harare, Zimbabwe
Saturday July 19, 2008 [04:00]

FIRST lady Grace Mugabe has accused MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai of being an unrepentant puppet. And the opposition MDC has indicated that it would decide on the inter-party talks with the ruling ZANU-PF after the outcome of South African President Thabo Mbeki's meeting with the African Union chairperson Jean Ping.

Commenting on the deadlock in the inter-party talks, Grace, who was donating agricultural machinery and food hampers in Gutu District, condemned Tsvangirai saying the MDC leader had proved that he was serving the wishes of Western powers.

President Robert Mugabe, MDC smaller faction leader, Professor Arthur Mutambara, and Tsvangirai were supposed to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Wednesday as part of President Thabo Mbeki's mediation efforts.

But the dialogue process could not proceed as expected following Tsvangirai's last-minute decision to hold back his signature from the MoU that was expected to set the agenda for the inter-party dialogue between the ZANU-PF and the two MDC formations.

Grace further said Tsvangirai must be ashamed of being an unrepentant puppet of Zimbabwe's former colonisers.

Grace reminded the opposition leader that the dialogue was as a result of the ruling ZANU-PF's determination to resolve Zimbabwe's problems.

But the opposition MDC stated that the party would only decide on the MoU with the ruling ZANU-PF after observing the outcome of the meeting between President Mbeki and Ping.

President Mbeki, who is the Southern African Development Community (SADC)-led negotiator, is today expected to meet Ping to discuss the Zimbabwean crisis.

"We MDC want to see the outcome of the meeting between Mr Ping and President Mbeki tomorrow and then we will take it from there," MDC spokesperson, Nqobizita Mlilo, told the media. "We won't have people putting it on our heads that we have to sign an agreement when our demands have not been met."

On Wednesday, the opposition MDC refused to sign an MoU on the inter-party talks with the ruling ZANU-PF.

The MDC has set conditions before the MoU with the ruling ZANU-PF can be signed.

The opposition is demanding that the Zimbabwean President acts to end political violence against its party supporters and also that the AU appoints an envoy to work with President Mbeki on the Zimbabwean crisis.

The MDC also demanded that Tsvangirai's victory in the March 29 presidential election be recognised.

However, this is a demand which may not be met following President Mugabe's declaration upon returning from the AU summit in Egypt that he would only engage the opposition for talks when they first recognise him as the duly-elected Head of State.

Labels: COLOUR REVOLUTIONS, GRACE MUGABE, MORGAN TSVANGIRAI, NEOCONSERVATISM

posted by MrK @ 4:09 AM