Zimbabwe: Southern Africa Takes Tougher Stance on Crisis

SW Radio Africa (London)

Alex Bell

1 April 2011

A cautious welcome has greeted the criticism of the political deadlock in Zimbabwe by leaders in the Southern African Development Community (SADC), who appear to have finally adopted a tougher stance in reaction to the Zim crisis.

SADC’s security organ, the Troika, closed its summit of leaders on Thursday with a statement criticising the slow progress of Zimbabwe’s unity government in implementing the Global Political Agreement (GPA).

“The summit recalled past SADC decisions on the implementation of the GPA and noted with disappointment insufficient progress thereof and expressed its impatience in the delay of the implementation of the GPA,” read SADC’s communiqué.

The statement did not mention Robert Mugabe by name, but did raise many of the concerns voiced by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai in recent weeks. Tsvangirai two weeks ago embarked on a diplomatic offensive to brief regional leaders about ZANU PF’s intensifying campaign of violence and intimidation against MDC supporters, including a wave of arrests of top party officials and human rights activists.

“The summit noted with grave concern the polarisation of the political environment as characterised by inter alia, resurgence of violence, arrest and intimidation in Zimbabwe,” the SADC statement said.

It continued: “There must be an immediate end of violence, intimidation, hate speech, harassment, and any other form of action that contradicts the letter and spirit of the GPA.”

The communiqué featured unusually strong language for SADC, which has always avoided criticising Mugabe. The regional bloc stands accused of siding with Mugabe on several occasions, and it’s widely believed that the power sharing arrangement, drafted by SADC, helped give Mugabe a political life line.

Since the formation of the coalition, SADC has done nothing to pressure Mugabe and ZANU PF to abide by the GPA, and the regional bloc has faced harsh criticism for refusing to take strong action in Zimbabwe. The statement on Thursday appears to be a contrast to the usual behaviour of the group.

Over the past two years SADC has repeatedly drawn up timelines for the implementation of the GPA, but these deadlines have come and gone with no movement on the key outstanding issues. In November 2009, a SADC summit gave Zimbabwe’s leaders 30 days to implement the GPA, with no success. A similar deadline was then set in August 2010, but that deadline also passed with no reaction or criticism from SADC.

Dewa Mavhinga, the regional coordinator from the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, who was in Zambia for the summit, told SW Radio Africa on Friday that observers are “cautiously welcoming this change in sentiment.”

“We think this is a bold statement with important steps towards free and fair elections in Zimbabwe,” Mavhinga said, adding: “The proof of the pudding however will be in the implementation of what SADC has said.”

Mavhinga explained that SADC has repeatedly outlined what they expect to happen in Zimbabwe, without ever holding the principals in the unity government to account when these steps are not followed.

“What we want to see now is a clear roadmap towards elections, with a clear timeline and a commitment to dealing with non-compliance,” Mavhinga said.

Mugabe and Tsvangirai both attended the summit, and had separate meetings with the participating Presidents – South Africa’s Jacob Zuma, Mozambique’s Armando Guebuza, Zambia’s Rupiah Banda and Namibia’s Hifikepunye Pohamba.

It was reported that Tsvangirai emerged from his meeting smiling but refused to make a statement to the press. Mugabe meanwhile is said to have left his meeting “scowling” but told journalists it had gone “very well”. Mavhinga meanwhile said that Mugabe’s ZANU PF delegation was not happy after their attempts to protest SADC’s final statement were refused.

The SADC communiqué called for the full implementation of the GPA and pledged the regional bloc’s commitment to formulate guidelines towards the holding of a free and fair poll in Zimbabwe. The Troika is also set to appoint a team of officials to join South Africa’s facilitation team, to ensure the GPA is implemented. The team is set to work with Zimbabwe’s Joint Monitoring and Implementation Committee (JOMIC), which has been accused of being a ‘toothless’ and ineffectual organisation.

The Troika has also pledged to provide a progress report, to be presented at the next SADC Extraordinary Summit, likely to take place in the coming two months.

Observers have commented that SADC’s apparent about-turn in its attitude towards Zimbabwe’s crisis, though welcome, is more of a response to the media criticism that has greeted the group’s handling of the situation.

Commentators agree that only the implementation of SADC’s promises will prove the group’s commitment to change in Zimbabwe.

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