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Latest update: 29/07/2008
- elections - Morgan Tsvangirai - Robert Mugabe - Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe talks reach stalemate
The South African sponsored talks between the ruling ZANU-PF and the opposition MDC came to a stop Monday after the opposition allegedly refused a deal for the post of vice president for its leader Morgan Tsvangirai. C.Dumay reports.
JOHANNESBURG - Negotiations between Zimbabwe's ruling ZANU-PF and opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) were deadlocked on Monday after negotiators failed to agree on a power sharing agreement, an MDC source said.
"The talks have reached a deadlock and cannot be moved forward. Apparently, the ZANU-PF negotiators were only mandated to negotiate around the vice presidency and nothing else," the MDC official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
Senior negotiators from ZANU-PF and the MDC started the talks last Thursday, with the objective of finding a solution to the country's political and economic crisis, including the possibility of forming a unity government.
The negotiations followed preliminary talks that started on Tuesday after President Robert Mugabe and MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai signed a deal on the framework for discussions to end the deadlock over Mugabe's re-election on June 27 in a poll boycotted by the opposition because of violence.
The MDC official said the opposition was unwilling to accept a deal for the post of vice president for Tsvangirai, who won the initial March 29 election but failed to get enough votes to avoid a run-off vote.
"The MDC is the largest party in parliament and all they could offer was the vice presidency? Obviously, the MDC's position is that that's not acceptable," the official said, adding that the ZANU-PF negotiators had reportedly left because of the stalemate.
Tsvangirai's spokesman George Sibotshiwe said the MDC chief had travelled to South Africa on Monday, but was on "private business" and would not meet with his negotiators.
But the MDC source said Tsvangirai would meet the negotiators on Tuesday, before proceeding to a meeting of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC)'s organ on politics, defence and security in Angola on Wednesday.
Worried by a crisis that has flooded neighbouring states with millions of refugees, SADC and the African Union (AU) have pushed for a power-sharing deal in Zimbabwe.
The southern African grouping appointed South African President Thabo Mbeki mediator between ZANU-PF and the MDC last year.
Tsvangirai's MDC insists that he be the leader of any unity government because he won the first round of voting.
ZANU-PF, however, has said it will not accept any deal that fails to recognise Mugabe's re-election or seeks to reverse his land redistribution programme, which has seen the government seize thousands of white-owned farms beginning in 2000.
The parties also disagree over how long a national unity government should remain in power. Tsvangirai's MDC wants fresh elections held as soon as possible, while Mugabe, who has ruled since 1980, wants to carry on with his new five-year mandate.
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Not a true story
Zimbabwe negotiators hunt mole, sell world media a dummy
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By Mduduzi Mathuthu
Last updated: 07/29/2008 11:14:38
NEGOTIATORS from Zimbabwe’s major political parties sold the world media a dummy on Monday after a story “leaked” out suggesting power-sharing talks being held in Pretoria, South Africa, had broken down, New Zimbabwe.com can reveal.
The story is untrue.
The real aim of the leak, this website has learnt, was to smoke out a mole on the periphery of the talks thought to be selling stories to the media – against the spirit of a media blackout agreed between the negotiators.
The South African government, which is facilitating the talks, denied any knowledge of the talks breaking down after the Associated Press ran the false story – leaked to Johannesburg Bureau reporter Michelle Faul. Much later, the Reuters news agency also fell for the trap.
New Zimbabwe.com has learnt that the negotiators were uneasy with a group of officials – mainly from the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) faction led by Morgan Tsvangirai – seconded to shadow the party’s chief negotiators Tendai Biti and Elton Mangoma.
On top of the two negotiators allowed for each of the three parties – Zanu PF, MDC-T and MDC – at least two “support officers” from each party are allowed to sit through the meetings.
New Zimbabwe.com has confirmed with several sources that MDC-T has Lovemore Moyo and Theresa Makone as support officers and the MDC has Moses Mzila and Miriam Mushayi. They sit through the talks but offer no input, only discussing privately with the appointed negotiators at intervals. It was not immediately possible to confirm the Zanu PF ‘support officers’.
On Monday, a South African newspaper reported that MDC-T had sent a “technical team” to the talks which includes his political adviser Jameson Timba, Professor Elphas Mukonoweshuro and Innocent Chagonda. Also present at the talks in an unexplained capacity is Isaac Maposa of the Zimbabwe Institute, the Cape Argus reported.
New Zimbabwe.com understands that all the negotiators took a decision to brief one or more of the officials on the periphery of the talks with a “false story” to see how long it took for it to get out.
In no time, the “mole” had contacted the Associated Press and the story was soon picked up by world media – including the BBC which had quotes from its own MDC sources suggesting the talks had broken down over Zanu PF’s insistence that Tsvangirai must be a third Vice President.
The Associated Press, again quoting MDC sources, said Zanu PF negotiators Patrick Chinamasa and Nicholas Goche were on their way back to Harare “to consult with President Robert Mugabe”. None of this is true, authoritative sources tell New Zimbabwe.com.
President Mugabe, Tsvangirai and MDC leader Arthur Mutambara all signed a historic memorandum of understanding which prohibits the parties from talking to the media in any detail about the talks.