Zanu PF tries to arm-twist Sadc: MDC-T

BY PATIENCE NYANGOVE ZANU PF tried to arm-twist the Sadc at the just ended summit in Namibia to change its tough stance on President Robert Mugabe and his party reached at a summit in Zambia two months ago, the MDC-T said yesterday. Sadc’s troika heavily reprimanded the former ruling party at the Livingstone summit in March, and told Mugabe to end violence and politically-motivated arrests, among other things. But Zanu PF came out guns blazing at last week’s summit hoping to overturn the Troika decision in the absence of the facilitator, SA President Jacob Zuma, according to the MDC-T. Other sources said Zanu PF also wanted to push for early elections by insisting that the inclusive government was not functioning as the parties were not speaking with one voice on issues such as land, sanctions and indigenisation. Zanu PF also did not want the roadmap to free and fair election, said the sources. MDC-T spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora said his party was happy that Sadc leaders refused to listen to Zanu PF. “We understand that Zanu PF wanted Sadc to review the Livingstone resolutions on Zimbabwe based on the position of papers of protagonists of interested parties,” said Mwonzora. “We were happy the summit proposed to review the Sadc position on Zimbabwe as reflected in the resolution arrived at in Zambia. It was improper to review a position of that nature on the basis of a position paper of an interested party. It appears Sadc is being informed by its technical process.” Mwonzora said for Sadc to reach a conclusive position on Zimbabwe, there was need for it to get a full report from the facilitator for it to have a better appreciation of progress being made by the negotiators. “We are happy they will be a special summit next month where the Zimbabwean issue will be deliberated. At the summit as the MDC, we will insist on a clear roadmap to free and fair elections,” said Mwonzora. “We will also insist on security sector reform. We will insist that we must not have a partisan army, a partisan police and a partisan Central Intelligence Organisation.” A source who attended the summit said Sadc was very hostile to the Zanu PF position because it was now aware that the party was trying to “ambush” all the processes in a bid to make all Sadc initiatives irrelevant. However, Zanu PF negotiator Patrick Chinamasa said the proposal to put Zimbabwe for deliberation was put by Botswana President Ian Khama after Banda had called for it to be deferred since Zuma was not present. “It’s not true what the MDC is saying. What happened is that the proposal came from the chairperson on the organ on Defence President Rupiah Banda to defer deliberations on Zimbabwe because President Zuma was not there,” said Chinamasa. “However, Khama insisted that the matter be debated. President Mugabe chipped in saying the matter can’t be up for deliberations since the facilitator and the other two MDC formations were not around. We are lawyers, President Mugabe, Mnangagwa and I and so it would have been irregular for us to discuss while others were not there because they are also affected.” Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, who heads the main MDC formation, his deputy Arthur Mutambara and Professor Welshman Ncube were not at the summit after being informed in advance that Zimbabwe would not be on the agenda.