(TALKZIMBABWE) President, PM denounce conference disruption

President, PM denounce conference disruption
Tendai Midzi
Mon, 13 Jul 2009 21:42:00 +0000

PRESIDENT Mugabe is flanked by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara during a Press conference at Zimbabwe House yesterday evening. Photo: Herald

PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai expressed dismay Monday over the disruption of the First All Stakeholders Conference on the drafting of a new constitution by party supporters.

The first day of the two-day stakeholder conference in Harare was suspended after hundreds of Zanu PF and MDC-T party loyalists clashed.

Speaking on state television Monday night after meeting with PM Tsvangirai and Deputy PM Arthur Mutambara, President Mugabe said, "We will not brook nonsense in future. Unnecessary quarrels should be a thing of the past."

He added: "As you see, we the three of us who are here, Prime Minister Tsvangirai, Professor Mutambara, we are the three who worked day and night representing our various parties to establish the Global Political Agreement which has seen our country now acquire peace and calm and our people united.

"We feel disturbed and we have a sense of abhorrence at what has happened this morning."

The President urged unity amongst Zimbabweans.

"This should not blur the fact of our unity. The principal phenomenon is that we are Zimbabweans, Zimbabweans with one flag, one national anthem, one destiny. This destiny can only come about when we are united."

PM Tsvangirai also addressed Zimbabweans on television, saying the incident undermined "the spirit and credibility" of the power-sharing agreement signed by the main political parties.

The PM said that he hoped the conference would resume unhindered.

Reports from the country said the clashes started when civil servants organizing registration Sunday were only able to accredit 300 delegates of the 4,000 invited to attend.

Deputy PM Mutambara echoed the same sentiments saying the drafting of a new constitution was important as it was linked to the lifespan of the inclusive Government.

"There is nowhere we are going to accommodate any derailment. One key outcome of this Government is that we have conditions for free and fair elections. Crafting of a new constitution is part of that effort. We have to succeed," he said.

A report by VOA says "tensions began rising in the hall lobby as Movement for Democratic Change supporters began chanting slogans quickly followed by groups loyal to Zanu PF."

Tensions were reportedly high even before the opening of the meeting, with supporters of Zimbabwe's two political rivals sang songs denigrating each other.

Some out-of-town delegates slept overnight outside the conference centre to be sure they were accredited before the start of proceedings Monday morning.

There were not enough personnel, stationery or cameras to cope with the ill-planned conference.

When it became clear registration was impossible before the start of conference, many delegates left the line and walked into the hall.

Some of the protestors accused the MDC-T party of attempting to write a constitution that would deny them the right to land.

Veterans of the country's 1970s independence war, who led the run on white-owned farms starting in 2000, called for the constitutional discussions to be halted for at least three months, claiming the process had been hijacked by the West "to reverse the gains of the liberation struggle."

Under the Global Political Agreement that President Mugabe and PM Tsvangirai signed last September and implemented in February, Zimbabwe is supposed to write a new constitution by July 2010.