No ‘Major Breakthrough’ on Zimbabwe As SADC Rallies Behind Mugabe – Site

Text of unattributed report by South Africa-based Zim Online website entitled “SADC rallies behind Mugabe” on 17 August

Lusaka: Southern African leaders on Thursday [16 August] settled for public posturing rather than confronting embattled Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe whose widely condemned policies look set to derail the region’s ambitious economic programme.

Political observers said Southern African Development Community (SADC) leaders meeting in the Zambian capital Lusaka for the 27th annual regional summit chose the inconvenience of living with a deranged neighbour rather than facing the crisis head-on.

The observers discounted any prospects of any major breakthrough on the long-running Zimbabwean crisis.

Incoming SADC chairman and host [Zambian] President Levy Mwanawasa set the tone at the beginning of the two-day summit by pledging to stand by Zimbabwe’s side.

Mwanawasa said SADC was always ready to assist resolve the problems in Zimbabwe. The Zambian leader appealed to Zimbabweans to maintain unity even as the country faces political and economic crises.

“My strong advice to my brothers and sisters in Zimbabwe, therefore, is that maintain peace and stability at all costs because the opposite will just push your beautiful country even further backwards. SADC is there for you,” he said.

The Zambian leader, who early this year referred to Zimbabwe as a “sinking Titanic”, urged other southern African leaders to be mindful of the difficulties that Zimbabweans were currently experiencing.

“In the meantime, SADC is there for you,” he told the Zimbabwean delegation.

The incoming SADC chairman’s opening comments resonated in Harare where it was already being seen as another diplomatic coup for the 83-year-old Mugabe who is accused of running the once-prosperous economy into the ground.

Mugabe’s spokesman George Charamba was quoted by Zambia’s The Post newspaper as having said that Harare expected “nothing short of an extension of the solidarity expressed by the region during the SADC extraordinary summit held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in March this year”.

Harare also celebrated the rapturous reception received by Mugabe at the start of the SADC summit.

Observers said, while the regional body was uneasy about the goings-on in Zimbabwe, the liberation movement mentality was going to carry the day for Mugabe.

Most of the countries in the region have relations dating back to days of the liberation struggle against white minority rule.

Mugabe played a crucial role in the liberation of South Africa and Namibia, and helped the governments of Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of Congo repel rebel attacks.

Analysts say Mugabe would be banking on these historical ties when South Africa’s President Thabo Mbeki tables a much-awaited report on his mediation role in the Zimbabwe crisis talks involving Mugabe’s ZANU PF party and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change.

Zimbabwean Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa on Wednesday [15 August] told the media that Harare saw no justification in resuming dialogue with the MDC, which he accused of engaging in a violent campaign to remove Mugabe from power.

He repeated the position on Thursday when he rejected calls for political reforms in Zimbabwe.

“Political reform is not necessary in my country because we are a democracy like any other democracy in the world,” said Chinamasa, who is part of the ZANU PF team negotiating with the MDC.

Originally published by Zim Online, Johannesburg, in English 17 Aug 07.

(c) 2007 BBC Monitoring Africa. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.