Source: The Times (South Africa)We cannot adopt Mbekis position. What he has said is irrelevant to us ... The ANC has always had a position on Zimbabwe, but never had a mouth
Ruling party decides to circumvent President Mbeki and deal with Zanu-PF and MDC directly
The African National Congress has taken a decision to sidestep President Thabo Mbeki and directly intervene between Zimbabwes President Robert Mugabes Zanu-PF party and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change.
The Sunday Times has established that the ANC National Working Committee (NWC) has asked the partys secretary-general, Gwede Mantashe, to establish contact with Zimbabwes two main protagonists in an attempt to bring them to the table.
This separate ANC initiative comes as Mbekis mediation efforts in the Zimbabwean crisis took a severe blow as both the MDC and the ANC this week strongly questioned his impartiality as an honest mediator.
MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai said that his party had decided to dump Mbeki. It has requested Southern African Development Community (SADC) chairman, Zambias President Levy Mwanawasa, to recall Mbeki as the regional bodys mediator in the conflict.
On Thursday, Tsvangirai also met Mbekis director-general, Frank Chikane, and Provincial and Local Government Minister Sydney Mufamadi to convey his displeasure about Mbekis alleged bias.
In a statement on Monday, the ANC appeared to question Mbekis impartiality, saying he needs to observe a neutral position in this matter.
Mbeki has been widely condemned for his statement, made after a meeting with Mugabe in Harare last weekend, that there was no crisis in Zimbabwe.
Mbekis attempts to protect Mugabe were again exposed this week when he tried to sweep the Zimbabwean crisis under the carpet by not including the matter on the agenda of the UN Security Council meeting, of which he was chairman.
But he was forced to put the matter on the agenda by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
No one thinks, having seen the results at polling stations, that President Mugabe has won this election, said Brown, who warned that a stolen election would not be a democratic election at all.
Brown was backed by UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon, who reiterated his call for the election results to be released, warning that unless there was a transparent solution to this impasse, the situation could deteriorate further with serious implications for the people of Zimbabwe. Both leaders were joined by Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, whose country heads the African Union, in condemning Mugabes refusal to release the results.
A senior ANC leader who attended the partys NWC meeting in Cape Town on Monday where Mbekis role in the Zimbabwean crisis was discussed said the ANC could not ignore the situation in Zimbabwe and claim there was no crisis.
We cannot adopt Mbekis position. What he has said is irrelevant to us, because the ANC has to articulate its position. The ANC is bigger than an individual and it has always had a position on Zimbabwe, but never had a mouth.
Referring to pictures of a smiling Mbeki walking hand in hand with an ecstatic Mugabe in Harare last weekend, the ANC leader said: If you hold hands with one of the protagonists in a conflict, you are compromising your objectivity.
He accused Mbeki of passing judgement even before arriving at the (SADC) talks that were convened by Mwanawasa to discuss the Zimbabwe crisis.
Mugabe, whose Zanu-PF has lost the parliamentary elections to the MDC, is believed to have also lost the presidential race to Tsvangirai. This would explain his refusal to release the presidential results, as well as his insistence on a controversial recount of 23 constituencies which he had lost to the MDC.
As the Zimbabwe crisis deepened this week, Mbeki appeared increasingly isolated. Even his own frustrated Cabinet broke ranks when, on Thursday, it called for the urgent release of delayed results from Zimbabwes presidential election.
Mbeki was not present at the Cabinet meeting, which agreed to release a statement condemning Harares withholding of presidential election results.
In an unusual step, government spokesman Themba Maseko described the situation as dire.
Zimbabweans need to be informed about those reasons for holding the results. But the most important thing is that the results need to be verified and released as soon as possible.
When elections are held and results are not released two weeks after, it is obviously of great concern, he told a media briefing after Wednesdays Cabinet meeting.
Although he has subsequently denied that he said there was no crisis in Zimbabwe, Mbekis role as a neutral mediator in the Zimbabwe crisis has drawn widespread criticism.
In an interview with the Sunday Times Tsvangirai said: We have made an assessment informed by various events, the latest being the violence that is being unleashed.
No public comment, no public denunciation of Mugabe from our mediator (Mbeki). We believe that there have been instances where this continuous bias cannot give credibility to an honest broker.
We went to President Mwanawasa, explaining these frustrations. I have been under tremendous pressure from our people back home, from the region, from the international community, and I have been the first one to defend President Mbeki.
But I think we have reached a point where we should draw the attention of SADC to this. We are not happy with the way things are going. The best way, given the extraordinary circumstances we face, is to recuse President Mbeki.
Tsvangirai revealed that Mbeki said the MDC must be sensitive to the reaction of Robert Mugabe. But the situation is that we can not all continue to ply to the ego of Robert Mugabe, who is at the centre of the crisis.
However, the Canal de Moçambique article also said the arms were flown to Harare in an Ilyushin Il-76 belonging to Avient Aviation, a freight charter airline based in Zimbabwe but registered in the UK.
Arms Arrive in Zimbabwe, Report
The Zimbabwe Guardian (London)
NEWS
17 May 2008
Posted to the web 17 May 2008
By Floyd Nkomo
WEAPONS destined for Zimbabwe have arrived in Harare, according to a report in South Africa's The Weekender newspaper today.
The report said the Zimbabwean government confirmed that 3-million rounds of assault rifle ammunition, 3 000 mortar rounds and 1 500 rocket-propelled grenades--ordered from the Chinese government--had arrived in Harare.
According to the report South Africa refuelled the Chinese vessel, An Yue Jiang, which was transporting the arsenal.
The South African government denied media reports that it assisted in the delivery of the arms.
The Weekender quoted a Mozambican online newspaper, Canal de Moçambique, which reported that the ship had been refuelled by the SAS Drakensberg off the coast of South Africa before sailing north to offload its cargo.
It reported that the ship was offloaded at Ponta Negra in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
However, Zimbabwean government officials said it was offloaded in Angola, according to the report.
Canal de Moçambique reported that President Thabo Mbeki gave "a direct instruction" to Deputy Defence Minister Mluleki George to send the SAS Drakensberg to refuel the An Yue Jiang.
Presidential spokesman Mukoni Ratshitanga dismissed the reports, saying "it seems that the season of propaganda is upon us".
George said he had no instruction from Mbeki to dispatch the SAS Drakensberg and that the allegations had no substance.
However, the Canal de Moçambique article also said the arms were flown to Harare in an Ilyushin Il-76 belonging to Avient Aviation, a freight charter airline based in Zimbabwe but registered in the UK.
This was confirmed by government officials in Harare, The Weekender said.
Zimbabwe's Deputy Information Minister Bright Matonga confirmed the weapons have been delivered.
The Angolan government's assistance came after an appeal by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) chairman, Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa, to member states to bar the delivery of the ammunition to Zimbabwe, saying the arms could deepen the country's election crisis.
The US and British governments had also exerted concerted pressure on the SADC and China to stop the ship from docking in the region.
The ship has been spotted off the coast of Port Elizabeth, The Weekender said.
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Asante Lunyungu,
Habari hii ni mbaya sana kwa demokrasia ya Zimbabwe.