Mbeki+acts+on+Zimbabwe+crisis



=Mbeki acts on Zimbabwe crisis=


 * //President backs SACC emergency aid plan as he awaits UN report//**

Sunday Independent, Johannesburg, July 17, 2005

 * By Basildon Peta and Christelle Terreblanche**

President Thabo Mbeki appears to have decided that he can no longer sit back and watch Zimbabwe destroy itself. This week he sent his deputy with a strong message to President Robert Mugabe to stop persecuting his people and to start talking to his political opponents, sources in both countries say.

Supporting church plans for a massive rescue and aid package for those displaced by Mugabe's huge crackdown on informal homes and businesses, Mbeki is also believed to have made one more attempt behind the scenes to rein in his neighbour.

He sent Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka to see Mugabe and urge an about-turn in the policies that are plunging Zimbabwe ever deeper into crisis.

After years of "silent diplomacy" that has failed to hold Mugabe to account, Mbeki has been under mounting pressure either to speak out publicly against him or give him an ultimatum.

The breaking point has been Mugabe's Operation Murambatsvina ("Drive out trash"), a clean-up of the informal economy that has left thousands homeless and destitute.

This in turn led to a mission to Zimbabwe by Anna Kajumulo Tibaijuka, the special envoy of Kofi Annan, the United Nations secretary-general. She left there a week ago promising to report on her findings within a fortnight.

It is expected that her report will be highly critical of Mugabe's government. Some analysts believe Mbeki's intervention is designed to pre-empt condemnation from Tibaijuka and likely action by the security council.

The South African Council of Churches (SACC), which went on a fact-finding visit to Zimbabwe this week, also called on Mbeki to try to stop Mugabe while the churches assemble "a massive arsenal of relief" for displaced Zimbabweans.

Mbeki met the church leaders on Friday and promised support for the relief effort and further talks after the release of the special UN report.

Zimbabwean sources close to last week's discussions between Mlambo-Ngcuka and Mugabe said Mbeki was of the view that the solution to Zimbabwe's problems lay with some sort of co-governance pact between the ruling Zanu-PF and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), and he wanted dialogue to resume now.

They said Mlambo-Ngcuka also carried a message from Mbeki advising the Zimbabwe leader to discontinue his Operation Murambatsvina and instead concentrate on highlighting a comprehensive reconstruction programme.

Yesterday Sapa-AFP reported that the Zimbabwean government had temporarily stopped its campaign to demolish shacks and other illegal buildings. It is giving landlords 10 days starting on Monday "to regularise" the structures with municipalities.

The South African government has made no comment on the message carried by Mlambo-Ngcuka.

On Friday, Mugabe dismissed suggestions that Mbeki was putting pressure on him. He told reporters after a Zanu-PF rally: "South Africa is part of us and we share ideas with President Thabo Mbeki almost on a weekly basis."

Speaking to The Sunday Independent yesterday, Anglican Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane said the SACC would make another attempt to meet Mugabe after the release of the report and further discussion with Mbeki. He added, however, that massive aid was urgent.

"We would like to see a comprehensive plan in terms of support from the UN. The fact that the president invited us to engage with him shows his commitment in terms of resolving the conflict."

Bheki Khumalo, Mbeki's spokesperson, hinted that Mbeki may have been a driving force behind the UN special envoy's visit to Zimbabwe. "The president called the UN secretary-general before he sent the envoy. He endorsed the decision to send an envoy." But, Khumalo said, it would be incorrect to conclude that the visit happened solely because of the request.


 * From: http://www.sundayindependent.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=2628327