Zimbabwe 'to chart a new way'

2008-07-21 22:34

Clare Byrne

Harare - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe on Monday struck an uncharacteristically conciliatory note following his momentous signing of a joint accord with opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai to begin talks on sharing power.

"We sit here in order for us to chart a new way, a new way of political interaction," the 84-year-old leader said at his first face-to-face meeting with Tsvangirai in a decade.

Mugabe was speaking after signing a memorandum of understanding on talks on behalf of his Zanu-PF party with Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara, leader of a smaller MDC faction.

Mugabe and Tsvangirai were responding to a call by the 53-member African Union in June to form a government of national unity to end months of political violence.

Monday's agreement arose from "a decision, a decision that we made, we of southern Africa, made some time ago that we assist each other, and in this particular case we assist Zimbabwe, to overcome the political and economic situation which requires support," Mugabe said.

Good humour and camaraderie

South African President Thabo Mbeki, southern Africa's mediator in Zimbabwe, oversaw the signing, which took place in a Harare hotel in an atmosphere of good humour and camaraderie at odds with the enmity that has characterised relations between Mugabe and Tsvangirai until now.

"Let us start to move forward on what Professor Mutambara has been calling 'one vision'," Mugabe urged, expressing a desire for "brotherly", "sisterly" relations with the opposition and saying of the accord: "We (Zanu-PF) take it quite seriously."

Tsvangirai also adopted a softer than usual tone with the elderly leader, recognising that the two had "exchanged a lot of bitter words" over the past 10 years and saying he hoped the divisions were "a thing of the past".

'Comrade Robert Mugabe'

But Tsvangirai was also cautious in his overtures, referring to Mugabe as "the president of Zanu-PF, Comrade Robert Mugabe" and not state president, and calling himself "the leader of the ruling party" - a reference to the MDC's victory in March parliamentary elections.

"We all committed ourselves to taking the first tentative step towards searching for a solution to a country that is in a crisis," Tsvangirai said.

In a swipe at Mugabe's past venomous attacks on the MDC, whom he has accused of being "puppets" of the West, Tsvangirai said: "There is no-one who can claim the monopoly on the sovereign will of the people."

Mugabe, for his part, called Tsvangirai "the president of the MDC-T (Tsvangirai)" and insisted that: "We shall be doing this (negotiating) as Zimbabweans, entirely as Zimbabweans, with the help of South Africa."

No European hand

"There will be no European hand here," he vowed.

Mugabe was also fulsome in his praise of Mbeki, who was in a jovial mood for the ceremony, which represents a breakthrough for his much-criticised "quiet diplomacy" approach to Zimbabwe.

Drawing gales of laughter from reporters, Mugabe praised Mbeki's "positive insensitivity to criticism", over his mediation, saying such criticism was "ill-placed, ignorant and undeserving".

Mbeki returned the praise, congratulating the various parties to the agreement on taking a "very important step".

Both Mutambara and Mbeki said the three parties hoped to conclude the talks on a power-sharing arrangement quickly, with Mutambara talking of a two-week period for the negotiations, which will take place in South Africa.

People-driven constitution

While describing the memorandum as a "very important document" Mutambara said a "longer political conversation" was needed to resolve the issues facing Zimbabwe, including talks on a new people-driven constitution.

Monday's agreement followed a first, failed attempt by Mbeki a few weeks ago to kickstart direct talks between Tsvangirai and Mugabe.

Tsvangirai only came to the table last week after Mbeki expanded his mediation to include African Union and United Nations representatives.

The African Union's call for a unity government in Zimbabwe came after Mugabe was sworn in as president for a further five years in June following a run-off election he alone contested.

Tsvangirai boycotted the election over a spate of deadly attacks by Mugabe loyalists on his supporters. The MDC leader won the first round of voting for president in March. - Sapa-dpa

- SAPA