Maravi

British PM blows cover on elections plot
Sunday, 14 July 2013 00:00
Makomborero Mutimukulu

British Prime Minister David Cameron has lifted the lid on his country’s sinister plot to step up its regime change agenda in Zimbabwe ahead of the July 31 harmonised elections. A fortnight ago, Mr Cameron told British parliamentarians that his government has “been working out how best to maximise the leverage and influence that we have in order to secure a proper election and a proper democratic transition” in Zimbabwe.

The British premier hinted that British Ambassador to Harare Deborah Bronnert will play a key role in a plot that buttresses claims by Zanu-PF that the British are out to effect illegal regime change in Zimbabwe.

The revolutionary party has always maintained that political parties such as the MDC-T and MDC are being funded by countries seeking to effect illegal regime change in Zimbabwe.

Zanu-PF, in its People’s Manifesto, even flags out the regime change agenda as a threat to the “goals of the people”.

Speaking in the House of Commons on July 2, Mr Cameron revealed that his government recently held a National Security Council meeting where plans to step up the regime change agenda were discussed.

Responding to questions from Kate Hoey, the Labour MP for Vauxhall, who asked if he had discussed the “deteriorating” situation in Zimbabwe on the sidelines of last month’s European Council meeting, Mr Cameron gave an insight into Britain’s psyche ahead of the harmonised elections.

Hoey, who is the chairperson of the All Party Group on Zimbabwe in the British Parliament and claims to have visited the country “undercover” thrice asked: “Did the Prime Minister have any opportunity in the margins to discuss, even informally, the deteriorating situation in Zimbabwe, especially in the light of the EU’s removal of some of its restrictive sanctions?

“Will he continue to urge South Africa and the Southern African Development Community generally, to send more international monitors to the country as soon as possible?
“If that is not done, we shall see another stolen election.”

Mr Cameron responded: “The Honourable Lady speaks about this issue with great expertise. I did not discuss Zimbabwe at the European Council, but we did hold a National Security Council meeting relatively recently, at which our high commissioner in Zimbabwe was present.

“We have been working out how best to maximise the leverage and influence that we have in order to secure a proper election and a proper democratic transition, and that is why we have taken the steps in the European Union to which she referred.

“However, we keep all these matters under review to ensure that we do all that we can to assist the transition that Zimbabwe so badly needs.”

Mr Cameron’s revelations came a few days after US president Barack Obama blatantly displayed his support for the MDC-T when he told a press conference during his visit to South Africa that Zimbabwe needs to undergo “some reforms’’ if it is to hold a credible election.

Analysts last night noted that Mr Cameron was reading from the same script as former British premier Tony Blair who, in 2009, revealed that his government was working closely with MDC-T leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai.

They added that the British and the Americans, who believe that Mr Tsvangirai requires “massive hand holding”, are pulling all the stops to ensure their regime change push comes to fruition in the face of a growing list of think tanks and research institutions that are tipping President Mugabe and Zanu-PF to triumph in the forthcoming elections.
University of Zimbabwe political science lecturer Dr Charity Manyeruke described Mr Cameron’s utterances as “very sinister”.

“His utterances sound very sinister. I do not think the leverage and influence he is referring to are legal,” she said.

A senior lecturer in the Media and Society Studies Department at the Midlands State University, Dr Nhamo Mhiripiri, reckons the British are playing into the hands of Zanu-PF.

“I wonder if the British are so naïve that they cannot realise the effects of their reckless statements,” he said.

“There is a real possibility that a good number of voters who have been sitting on the fence will be swayed to the Zanu-PF side, and not the parties that the British seem to support, by such statements.

“It’s predictable that the British will make such statements in the run up to crucial elections but it always backfires.” Among the institutions that have predicted a Zanu-PF in this month’s elections are US outfits Freedom House and the Council on Foreign Relations.

Western media, among them CNN, the New York Times and The Guardian, have of late been highly critical of Mr Tsvangirai.

They highlight that his appeal among the electorate has taken some massive battering in the wake of scandals about his personal life and his party’s handling of public finances.

Labels: 2013 ELECTIONS (ZW), DAVID CAMERON, MDC

posted by MrK @ 3:33 PM