Zim charter talks resume after pro-Mugabe protest

HARARE – Zimbabwe’s constitution talks, violently disrupted by militant backers of President Robert Mugabe, resumed yesterday with calls for tolerance in work on a charter meant to pave the way to fresh polls.

Mugabe loyalists stormed into the opening session of the talks on Monday, pushing the speaker of parliament off the stage while singing anthems to Zimbabwe’s 1970s liberation war.Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, who formed a unity government in February, gave a rare joint press conference late on Monday to condemn the protest which left at least one person injured.’We want tolerance,’ lawmaker Douglas Mwonzora said as the talks resumed yesterday. ‘We need freedom of expression… We want our people to be able to gather freely to give their views on the constitution.’The talks resumed under tight security, with baton-wielding riot police guarding the conference centre while guards refused to allow anyone to enter without accreditation.Under the unity deal, Zimbabwe is to draft a new constitution that will go before voters for approval in a referendum next year, clearing the way for fresh elections.Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has long pushed for constitutional changes that would rein in Mugabe’s sweeping executive powers, many inherited from the repressive white-minority Rhodesian government that ended with independence in 1980.But Mwonzora, an MDC member, insisted the constitution talks were not a political fight.’We are going to ask our people what they want. We must be as fair, impartial and apolitical as possible. We must speak as Zimbabweans and not infringe on each other’s rights,’ he said.Constitutional Affairs Minister Eric Matinenga reiterated the call for tolerance, saying: ‘It’s a process about the people of Zimbabwe.’The two-day meeting includes civic groups, trade unions, churches and lawmakers who will form teams to canvas the nation in public consultations on the new charter.Although the militants who broke up the meeting on Monday were supporters of Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party, led by one of the president’s nephews, the 85-year-old leader appeared next to Tsvangirai late on Monday to condemn the protest, saying the government ‘will not brook any further nonsense’.Mugabe rarely speaks out against actions by his party’s supporters.The opening session got off to a rocky start even before the protesters stormed in, with rival politicians heckling each other. The mood was more business-like yesterday, without any jeering.Debate over a constitution has been a powerful political undercurrent in Zimbabwe for more than a decade. – Nampa-AFP