Zim: SADC at crossroads

SOUTHERN AFRICAN leaders last night remained locked in intense discussions on the deteriorating situation in Zimbabwe.

The choice: to either hold 83-year-old President Robert Mugabe accountable for the brutal crackdown in his country, or to turn a blind eye and fall in line with Mugabe’s call for “African solidarity”. The leaders are meeting behind closed doors in Dar es Salaam.Despite the gravity of the situation, Mugabe’s spokesman appeared defiant in the face of condemnation of Mugabe’s actions, saying the Zimbabwean leader would push for “African solidarity” at the summit.Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, who is hosting the special summit, said yesterday he was confident African leaders would rally to solve Zimbabwe’s crisis as Western countries demanded action against Mugabe’s authoritarian rule.Mugabe’s spokesman, George Charamba, struck a defiant note, however, saying the veteran leader would tell the West to “go hang” as long as it tried to interfere in Zimbabwe’s affairs.Leaders of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) are under pressure to censure Mugabe for a police crackdown on the opposition that has sparked the threat of more sanctions on a country already mired in economic crisis.Kikwete said the situation in Zimbabwe was among those requiring “urgent” attention in the region.”However complex and difficult they appear, none of them is impossible to solve,” he said before closed-door talks began.The United States, joining Britain and the European Union, said it was time for African leaders to get tough on Mugabe, whose police forces on Wednesday briefly detained opposition leaders for the second time in a month.”Certainly we think it’s time for the African states, specifically this group of neighbouring states, to make clear that this kind of behaviour from President Mugabe is unacceptable,” US State Department spokesman Tom Casey said.Charamba, speaking to reporters in Dar es Salaam, brushed aside the Western criticism and said the Zimbabwean leader would be looking for African solidarity.”The president is here for two basic things – to explain the situation on the ground and to get solidarity from SADC in his fight against the British,” Charamba told reporters.”He will continue to tell the West to go hang as long as those (Western) concerns undermine the sovereignty of the country,” he said, referring to economic sanctions.ABUSE AND MISMANAGEMENT Mugabe, who has ruled Zimbabwe since independence from Britain in 1980, is accused by critics of political abuses and economic mismanagement.He came under fresh attack this month after police arrested and allegedly beat opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) activists at a Harare prayer rally.Zimbabwe’s ruling party is today to endorse Mugabe as its candidate for next year’s presidential elections despite an escalating political crisis, party sources said.The central committee of the Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF) is to meet today, two days after the politburo held “extensive and conclusive” discussions on plans to extend the 83-year-old leader’s tenure, according to party spokesman Nathan Shamuyarira.Sources close to the politburo said Mugabe will be named the candidate and that no one was likely to challenge his nomination.Political analysts say Zimbabwe’s political crisis and rapidly shrinking economy threaten to destabilise the region as millions flee inflation of 1 700 per cent, food shortages and more than 80 per cent unemployment.But many analysts believe Mugabe will escape public censure from his African peers.Britain and the United States have called for more sanctions against Mugabe’s government, while London has also sought intervention from the United Nations.Mugabe has tried to divert attention from rights abuses by claiming he is the victim of Western sabotage for his policy of seizing white-owned farms to give to landless blacks.DRC ISSUE Though Zimbabwe was expected to dominate talks, SADC leaders were also likely to quiz Congolese President Joseph Kabila about clashes between government soldiers and forces loyal to a former rebel leader that have killed more than 100 people.Congolese authorities have issued an arrest warrant for Jean-Pierre Bemba, who is sheltering in the South African embassy in Kinshasa, where he fled during last week’s fierce gun and mortar battles.Meanwhile, Zimbabwe’s opposition has approached the government to relaunch talks to pacify the country’s volatile political climate, a Zimbabwean official said on the sidelines of the SADC summit yesterday.”Both factions of the MDC have already communicated with our justice minister to suggest a resumption of conduct (talks) that we used to have,” a top government official told AFP in Dar es Salaam.”We used to have this and they (the opposition) called them off,” he added, asking not to be named.Tanzanian officials said SADC chiefs would try to convince Mugabe to meet the MDC leaders in a bid to dissolve mounting acrimony that threatens Zimbabwe’s stability.Nampa-Reuters-AFPThe leaders are meeting behind closed doors in Dar es Salaam.Despite the gravity of the situation, Mugabe’s spokesman appeared defiant in the face of condemnation of Mugabe’s actions, saying the Zimbabwean leader would push for “African solidarity” at the summit.Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, who is hosting the special summit, said yesterday he was confident African leaders would rally to solve Zimbabwe’s crisis as Western countries demanded action against Mugabe’s authoritarian rule.Mugabe’s spokesman, George Charamba, struck a defiant note, however, saying the veteran leader would tell the West to “go hang” as long as it tried to interfere in Zimbabwe’s affairs.Leaders of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) are under pressure to censure Mugabe for a police crackdown on the opposition that has sparked the threat of more sanctions on a country already mired in economic crisis.Kikwete said the situation in Zimbabwe was among those requiring “urgent” attention in the region.”However complex and difficult they appear, none of them is impossible to solve,” he said before closed-door talks began.The United States, joining Britain and the European Union, said it was time for African leaders to get tough on Mugabe, whose police forces on Wednesday briefly detained opposition leaders for the second time in a month.”Certainly we think it’s time for the African states, specifically this group of neighbouring states, to make clear that this kind of behaviour from President Mugabe is unacceptable,” US State Department spokesman Tom Casey said. Charamba, speaking to reporters in Dar es Salaam, brushed aside the Western criticism and said the Zimbabwean leader would be looking for African solidarity.”The president is here for two basic things – to explain the situation on the ground and to get solidarity from SADC in his fight against the British,” Charamba told reporters.”He will continue to tell the West to go hang as long as those (Western) concerns undermine the sovereignty of the country,” he said, referring to economic sanctions. ABUSE AND MISMANAGEMENT Mugabe, who has ruled Zimbabwe since independence from Britain in 1980, is accused by critics of political abuses and economic mismanagement.He came under fresh attack this month after police arrested and allegedly beat opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) activists at a Harare prayer rally.Zimbabwe’s ruling party is today to endorse Mugabe as its candidate for next year’s presidential elections despite an escalating political crisis, party sources said.The central committee of the Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF) is to meet today, two days after the politburo held “extensive and conclusive” discussions on plans to extend the 83-year-old leader’s tenure, according to party spokesman Nathan Shamuyarira.Sources close to the politburo said Mugabe will be named the candidate and that no one was likely to challenge his nomination.Political analysts say Zimbabwe’s political crisis and rapidly shrinking economy threaten to destabilise the region a
s millions flee inflation of 1 700 per cent, food shortages and more than 80 per cent unemployment.But many analysts believe Mugabe will escape public censure from his African peers.Britain and the United States have called for more sanctions against Mugabe’s government, while London has also sought intervention from the United Nations.Mugabe has tried to divert attention from rights abuses by claiming he is the victim of Western sabotage for his policy of seizing white-owned farms to give to landless blacks.DRC ISSUE Though Zimbabwe was expected to dominate talks, SADC leaders were also likely to quiz Congolese President Joseph Kabila about clashes between government soldiers and forces loyal to a former rebel leader that have killed more than 100 people.Congolese authorities have issued an arrest warrant for Jean-Pierre Bemba, who is sheltering in the South African embassy in Kinshasa, where he fled during last week’s fierce gun and mortar battles.Meanwhile, Zimbabwe’s opposition has approached the government to relaunch talks to pacify the country’s volatile political climate, a Zimbabwean official said on the sidelines of the SADC summit yesterday.”Both factions of the MDC have already communicated with our justice minister to suggest a resumption of conduct (talks) that we used to have,” a top government official told AFP in Dar es Salaam.”We used to have this and they (the opposition) called them off,” he added, asking not to be named.Tanzanian officials said SADC chiefs would try to convince Mugabe to meet the MDC leaders in a bid to dissolve mounting acrimony that threatens Zimbabwe’s stability.Nampa-Reuters-AFP