Southern Africa: Regional Leaders to Discuss Zimbabwe Crisis

SW Radio Africa (London)

Alex Bell

30 March 2011

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is being urged to finally stand up to Robert Mugabe, and publicly pressure the ageing leader to end worsening abuses and harassment at the hands of ZANU PF.

The regional bloc’s security organ, the Troika, is meeting in Zambia from Thursday and the deteriorating situation in Zimbabwe is on the agenda of the talks.

The heads of state Summit is being chaired by the Troika’s chief, Zambian President Rupiah Banda, and will also be attended by South African President Jacob Zuma and his Mozambican counterpart President Armando Guebuza.

The Summit comes as Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has continued with a diplomatic offensive, briefing African leaders about the situation back home. On Wednesday he traveled to the DRC for talks with President Joseph Kabila, a known Mugabe ally. He was also set to meet with Tanzania’s leader President Jakaya Kikwete, before heading to Zimbabwe for the Troika meeting.

Mugabe and an entourage, including Defence Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa, were also set to head to Zambia on Wednesday for the Summit.

Tsvangirai has also been urging the leaders to ensure that a proper roadmap towards free and fair elections is established before any poll is allowed to go ahead in Zimbabwe. He has already met with leaders from Swaziland, Zambia, Mozambique and South Africa, and on Monday met with Namibia’s President Hifikepunye Pohamba.

Pohamba said that the crumbling unity government should stay in place until proper elections are held in Zimbabwe, saying it would be “sad” if the coalition collapsed.

SADC leaders are meant to be the guarantors of the unity government, after drafting the Global Political Agreement (GPA). But to date, the regional bloc has done nothing to ensure that ZANU PF abides by the agreement or institutes any meaningful reforms.

The bloc has been accused of siding with Mugabe and allowing him to keep his grip on power, with no regard to the human rights of Zimbabweans.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Wednesday that SADC now needs to stand up to urgently intervene in the worsening situation in Zimbabwe, and take a tougher stand with Mugabe and ZANU PF. Senior HRW researcher Tiseke Kasambala told SW Radio Africa that SADC can no longer “tip toe around the situation.”

“We hope that they finally do something, or else we will see a repeat of the violence and chaos of the 2008 election period in Zimbabwe, or even worse,” Kasambala warned.

Kasambala added that SADC’s policy of “behind the scenes diplomacy has allowed the likes of ZANU PF to manipulate the public agenda, and it simply doesn’t work.” She explained that tougher action, and a public condemnation of the action of ZANU PF was needed.

“However, if SADC is unable to stand up to Mugabe then the African Union should step in and the United Nations should step in,” Kasambala said. “They cannot just sit back and allow a situation like this to unfold.”

The pressure from HRW comes as governments in Europe are again being urged to penalise SADC countires, over their failure to protect Zimbabweans. A petition by the London based protest group, The Zimbabwe Vigil, has been relaunched, calling for financial penalties against SADC. The Vigil has called on EU governments to suspend direct financial assistance to SADC governments until SADC meets its obligations over Zimbabwe.

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