Links ~25 June 2008

Statement by President Morgan Tsvangirai (MDC)
June 25, 2008 – The full statement of the President of the MDC, Morgan Tsvangirai, made Wednesday.

Zim – Mandela breaks his silence (Reuters)
London – Former president Nelson Mandela has broken his silence over the situation in Zimbabwe expressing “deep concern and sadness”, according to a source quoted by Britain’s Channel Four television on Wednesday.

It said the source close to Mandela – who will address a dinner in London on Wednesday evening – added that given the former president’s previous refusal to speak out on current political issues this was a “very strong statement”.

Southern African leaders meet on Zimbabwe crisis — without Mbeki (AFP)
The Defence and Security Committee of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) held a crisis meeting in Swaziland on Wednesday for talks on the Zimbabwe crisis. South African President Thabo Mbeki did not attend the meeting as he was allegedly not invited and is not a member of the council which is a troika made up of Swaziland, Angola and Tanzania. Terry Simelane spokesperson of the Prime Minister of Swaziland said that although it was a meeting of the troika the “doors were open” for Mbeki to attend “as a facilitator in the Zimbabwe talks.”

SADC call for Mugabe to postpone run-off election (SWRadio)
The SADC defence and security troika meeting has issued a statement calling on Mugabe’s regime to postpone the June 27 presidential run-off election. Tomaz Salomao executive secretary of the SADC said that it would appear to the SADC the current political situation was not conducive for free and fair elections. Should the elections continue to be held it would undermine the credibility and the legitimacy of the elections. Salomao said that the people and parties in Zimbabwe deserved a “cooling-off period”.

Zim crisis – ‘replace Mbeki’ (Reuters)
Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga had suggested that South Africa’s president Thabo Mbeki should be replaced as the SADC mediator in the Zimbabwe crisis. Kenya said that Zimbabwe face a Rwanda-style disaster should there not be intervention. “Zimbabwe right now is a disaster in the making,” said Odinga. He said that he had phoned the Tanzanian president Jakaya Kikwete ahead of the crisis meeting of the SADC defence and security committee. Odinga had then suggested that the former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanio or former leader Ketumile Masire could be possible mediators in stead of Mbeki.

Zimbabwe’s Tsvangirai says Mugabe declares war (Reuters)
Morgan Tsvangirai leader of the MDC said that Mugabe has “declared war” instead of having an election in Zimbabwe. Tsvangirai said, This is not an election, it is war. Mugabe has declared war and we don’t want to be part of it.” Tsvangirai had to seek diplomatic protection at the Dutch Embassy in Harare, because of constant threats on his life despite Mugabe’s assurances that Tsvangirai is safe. Tsvangirai said that they are open to negotiation, but such a proposal has not been made to the MDC. “So whether Robert Mugabe is there or not, we are open to any negotiation but it has not been put to us. We will see what role he can play, but I think that one of the fundamental issues is that the March election result must be respected.”

Tsvangirai Calls for Foreign Peacekeepers in Zimbabwe (Update1) (Bloomberg.com)
The MDC President Morgan Tsvangirai reiterated his call for the deployment of an international peacekeeping force in Zimbabwe. “The people of Zimbabwe need the words of indignation from global leaders to be backed by the moral rectitude of military force,”

Armed Zimbabwe police raid opposition offices: MDC (Reuters)
A MDC regional office in Mutare was raided by armed police on Wednesday. Over 200 victims of political violence were seeking shelter and protection at the office. The police made use of sniffer dogs during the raid. Muchauraya Pishai spokesperson for the MDC said that nobody had been arrested.

The rural house of MDC National Organising Secretary Elias Mudzuri was attacked on Tuesday by armed men wearing Zimbabwean military uniforms. Mudzuri’s 80-year old father has sustained severe injuries which may threaten his life. Two other relatives of Mudzuri were shot in the legs and have been hospitalised.

Observers luxuriate in Zimbabwe hotels as death toll swells by hundreds (Afrik.com)

They say there are no other options

The observers mission of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) are booked at the five star Rainbow Towers and the Rainbow Hotel in Bulawayo. There are now accusations that the observers are spending “loads of time” in their hotel rooms, instead of going out to monitor the political situation. The massage parlour and the gym are fully booked mostly by the SADC observer mission. A source said that the observers were behaving as if they were “people on a holiday”. The observers say that they are waiting to be deployed to different districts. The observers have limited freedom of movement and as they have diplomatic status, they can not travel more than 40 km from the major cities without permission from the Zimbabwe government.

Youth Forum Member attacked (The Zimbabwean)
Catherine Mkwapati a Youth Forum member, had a narrow escape as Zanu-PF militia torched her home on Wednesday. Mkwapati was not at home and was alerted to the fact that her house was burned down by neighbours who called her on her cellphone. It is the second time that Mkwapati has been targeted by the militia.

Obama talks to Tsvangirai (ZJ)
US Democrat Barack Obama has contacted, MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai, “to share my deep concern for the way his supporters are being targeted by the regime, and to express my admiration for his efforts to ensure that the will of the Zimbabwean people is finally respected”. Obama has welcomed the decision of the UN Security Council that condemns the violence in Zimbabwe. Obama called on Mugabe’s government to postpone the presidential run-off election on June 27.

This entry was posted by Link Round-up on Thursday, June 26th, 2008 at 12:50 am. You can follow any comments on this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.