By Xinhua,
Harare : Zimbabwean opposition MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai snubbed mediation efforts by South African President Thabo Mbeki when he, at the last minute, failed to turn up for a meeting at Zimbabwe House, where he was scheduled to meet President Mugabe on Saturday, The Sunday Mail reported.
This was despite the fact that Tsvangirai had, on about four occasions, asked Mbeki to facilitate a meeting between him and Mugabe and had given assurance to the SA leader that he would attend Saturday’s meeting.
However, the president of the other MDC formation, Arthur Mutambara, his secretary-general Welshman Ncube and his deputy Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga attended the meeting.
Zimbabwean Vice-President Joice Mujuru also attended the meeting together with the Zanu-PF representatives to the inter-party talks, Patrick Chinamasa and Nicholas Goche.
Sources privy to the details of the meeting on Saturday told The Sunday Mail that Tsvangirai had been asking Mbeki to facilitate a meeting with President Mugabe even before the March 29 harmonized elections.
The SA leader then approached Mugabe, who agreed to meet the opposition leader, but the meeting could not take place earlier due to other commitments.
It is understood that Mbeki spoke to Tsvangirai last Thursday, when they agreed that the meeting should take place on Saturday at Zimbabwe House.
Last Friday, Mbeki then dispatched his Minister of Local Government and Housing, Sydney Mufumadi, together with another government official to Harare to make preparations for the meeting.
On arrival in Zimbabwe, Mufumadi met Mugabe who gave him the commitment that he would attend the meeting. The SA minister then spoke to Ncube and Tsvangirai, who both agreed that they would attend the meeting.
However, Tsvangirai was reportedly against the idea that the negotiators to the talks (Chinamasa, Goche, Ncube) should attend the meeting, saying he wanted the meeting to be attended by Mugabe, Mbeki and Mutambara only.
The MDC-T leader also wanted an expanded mediation team that would include representatives seconded by the African Union (AU).
However, during the summit that was recently held in Egypt, the AU did not pass a resolution calling for the expansion of the mediation team. Instead, the AU commended the sterling efforts being made by President Mbeki and recommended that the mediation efforts should be continued.
Despite the concerns, Tsvangirai gave Mufamadi the assurance that he would attend the meeting and it was agreed that they would meet at the residence of the SA Ambassador to Zimbabwe, from where they would all depart to Zimbabwe House on Saturday afternoon.
Tsvangirai’s aides even went to the residence on Saturday without their boss and informed the SA minister that the meeting should be postponed.
This was despite the fact that Mbeki was already on his way to Harare. Mufumadi then phoned Tsvangirai who told him that he had spoken to the AU Commission chairperson Jean Ping, and was advised that the meeting could not take place unless the mediation team was expanded.
Tsvangirai reportedly said the meeting should not proceed and hung up the phone before Mufumadi could respond. And so the meeting went ahead on Saturday without the MDC-T leader.
It is understood that during the meeting, Mbeki reiterated the position that the AU did not call for the expansion of the mediation team, adding that he would talk to the AU chairman, Jakaya Kikwete, and Ping, whom he was going to meet during the G8 Summit in Japan.
During the AU summit in Egypt, Kikwete asked all leaders about three times whether they wanted the Zimbabwean issue to be handled by the SADC-appointed mediator, President Mbeki, and they all agreed.
The SA leader then gave assurances that he would ask Ping to explain to Tsvangirai that there was no AU resolution calling for the expansion of the mediation team.
By refusing to attend Saturday’s meeting, Tsvangirai is effectively going against the AU and SADC leaders’ resolutions.
Speaking during the meeting, Mutambara expressed his party’s “unequivocal commitment to a political settlement” in the country. Mutambara bemoaned the absence of the MDC-T representatives but added that his party would participate in the negotiations because it is a separate entity from the MDC-T.
He went on to call for a constitution that is agreeable to all parties, a democratic culture, a 20 to 30-year economic vision and the establishment of “a generational agenda”. He said his party supports the land reform exercise and also supports pan-Africanism.
President Mugabe said Mutambara’s thoughts should inform the discussions, adding that indeed the country needs one vision but “the thinking of the vision should be of our own”. “Let us be the source of ideas that others must borrow,” said the president.
Mugabe together with his South African counterpart then asked Mutambara to talk to Tsvangirai so that “he can start thinking independently”.
Mugabe said on Friday night he received many calls from church leaders, political figures and even his relatives, saying Tsvangirai was ready for talks “but he has now shifted”.
The president said: “Some people would want to do harm to us. Big powers envy our resources. The British have not forgiven us for taking land from their children, but there are others with their own agenda. Please let us be careful and guard against these thieves and robbers.”
He said Mbeki had come all the way from his country to “help us find solutions to our problems and he is not even paid for that. What has happened today is a “show of utter disrespect. To say sorry to him is not enough.”
Ncube then suggested that while Mbeki goes to attend the G8 Summit, the negotiators should continue meeting. The two presidents agreed and so the negotiators will continue meeting this week.
Addressing journalists after the meeting, Mbeki said on Friday all political leaders had agreed to meet so that they would come up with a framework for the negotiations, but Tsvangirai changed his mind at the last minute.
Mbeki said: “It has been agreed by the Zimbabwean political leadership here that we need to move forward; to resume the process of negotiations so that we respond to the political situation in the country. We have agreed among ourselves that we should proceed and that the MDC formation led by Morgan Tsvangirai should be part of the process.”
He also revealed that Tsvangirai had on many occasions requested him to facilitate a meeting with President Mugabe.
Chinamasa said he hoped that the MDC-T would be part of the negotiations, adding that events in the next few weeks will show whether or not Tsvangirai is trying to turn himself into a “Zimbabwean Savimbi”.
Mutambara expressed his party’s commitment to the negotiations, adding that for the talks to be a success, the MDC-T should also be part of the process.
President Mbeki left Harare for South Africa en-route to Japan where he will attend the G8 Summit.