Links ~ 18 August 2008
SADC leaders fail to secure Zimbabwe deal (Reuters)
Southern African leaders gathered at a weekend summit failed to push Zimbabwe’s ruling party and the opposition to agree a power-sharing deal that could end the country’s post-election political crisis. But the secretary-general of Zimbabwe’s opposition MDC said on Sunday the party believed talks with the ruling ZANU-PF would be concluded soon and that failure was not an option.
Robert Mugabe facing coup or civil war, warns Botswana (The Telegraph)
[...] Botswana’s foreign minister Phandu Skelemani said a successful outcome to the negotiations was crucial. “If they fail the situation will spiral,” he said. “There’s going to be turmoil. Then we are really heading for trouble. Some mad chap might think these fellows have failed, now I’m taking over. Those are the risks you run. “I’m not sure that the Zimbabweans are not going to start fighting, then we are all in trouble. There’s no option but to agree. The consequences are too ghastly to contemplate.”
Morgan Tsvangirai under pressure to sign up to Robert Mugabe’s deal (The Telegraph)
But at the summit the final communiqué from SADC’s security organisation said that it “expressed strong opinion that documents as contained in the facilitators report are a good basis for a global agreement”. The documents in question are the existing agreement text [...] The SADC grouping also gave Mr Mugabe the green light to call parliament – which would imply his recognition as president – saying that “while negotiations are continuing, it may be necessary to convene Parliament to give effect to the will of the people”.
Mugabe rejects PM offer (The Star)
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has offered Morgan Tsvangirai a 50-50 power-sharing deal as prime minister with President Robert Mugabe, but the Movement for Democratic Change rejected this, offering the prime minister post to Mugabe instead. A furious Mugabe rejected the counter-offer, sources said last night. But the MDC scored a symbolic victory in the “recognition” by the SADC that parliament may have to be convened even as talks continued – based “on the will of the people” as expressed by the results of the March 29 parliamentary elections, which the MDC won. However, such a move might scupper the dialogue between the three negotiating parties because it means Mugabe would immediately have to appoint a new cabinet.
August 18th, 2008 17:58
When these talks finally end, the world will have to know whether the mediator Mbeki has sided with Mugabe’s insistence on holding on to the power to control the police, the judiciary and the armed forces. This is because Mbeki knows full well that with that power Mugabe’s forces would be able to hatch a plot against Morgan Tsvangirai and lead him into a trap. If Mbeki tries to do this he will also be finished, and will never have any credibility as a politician again.
Africa being what it is, and Zimbabwe being one of the worst examples of the abuse of power, Morgan obviously cannot afford to sign up to such a plan. If Mbeki and his helpers cannot persuade Mugabe to concede that power, which should be backed up by an undertaking by other African states to police such an agreement, then Zimbabwe is finished as an independent state and would become just a dead shell where only pandemonium will reign.
Morgan MUST hold his ground, and not be just co-opted into a trap, either by pressure from Mbeki or Mugabe. Gangsters like to frame people, and Mugabe is a gangster of the first order.