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SADC leaders in Zimbabwe, DRC talks

SADC leaders in Zimbabwe, DRC talks
By Webster Malido and Chansa Kabwela in Dar-es-Salaam
Thursday March 29, 2007 [10:43]

SADC leaders have locked themselves into a closed-door meeting at their extraordinary summit which is expected to tackle the political and security situations in Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). And Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, in his opening remarks at the summit, said the combined wisdom of all SADC leaders should be sufficient to handle any complex situation.

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) leaders remained tight-lipped even as local and international press kept bombarding them with questions on the anticipated outcome of the meeting, especially with regards to the situation in Zimbabwe. Yesterday's meeting was preceded by the SADC troika gathering and that of the Politics, Defence and Security organ, which is chaired by President Kikwete.

President Levy Mwanawasa attended the double troika meeting which ran from about 21:30 hours on Wednesday until past midnight this morning. The SADC leaders did not want to discuss anything with the media as they arrived yesterday morning at the Kilimanjaro Hotel where the special summit was being held. South African President Thabo Mbeki, who was the first to arrive at the venue of the summit, was the first leader to make it clear that their lips were tight.

When CNN's Jeff Koinange tried to squeeze a comment from President Mbeki on what he expected from yesterday's meeting and on what he was going to tell Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, the South African leader just said: "I don't know." When another journalist asked President Kikwete if the SADC leaders were going to apply any pressure on President Mugabe, the Tanzanian leader, who was hosting the meeting in his capacity as chair of the regional body's politics, defence and security wing just said: "Well, we are in a meeting". President Mwanawasa emphasised the point that he would not say anything by squeezing his lips with his fingers.

On his part, President Mugabe just told the inquisitive journalists that he was well. According to a programme released by SADC, President Mugabe was the only leader staying at State House while the rest were scattered around different hotels within Dar-es-Salaam. And President Kikwete acknowledged that the SADC region faces some daunting challenges. However, President Kikwete said there were only a few spots, which demanded attention.

"However complex and difficult some may appear none of them is impossible to fix. The combined wisdom and concerted efforts of all of us in the SADC region should be sufficient to handle any complex situation," President Kikwete said. "I believe through open and frank discussions we will be able to diagnose properly the political and security problems facing our region and on the cause of action to deal with them. I am confident that we will be able to recapture the old glory of the SADC region being the most peaceful, the most stable and fastest growing region in the continent." President Kikwete said the extraordinary summit was convened upon the recommendation of the ministerial meeting of the double troika, which met in Maseru from March 21 to 22, 2007.

He said that meeting reviewed the political and security situation obtaining in the southern African region and concluded that the challenges facing the region required attention of the summit as a matter of urgency. "Hence the ministers recommended to me as the chair of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation the urgent need for the convocation of an extraordinary summit," said President Kikwete. "This meeting is being held at the Kilimanjaro Hotel a historic place as far as the history of the liberation of southern Africa is concerned. Many meetings to strategise on the conduct of the liberation struggle were held in this hotel. "President Mugabe, President Mbeki, President Pohamba and many other comrades gathered here have vivid memory of that glorious past. We succeeded then against all odds, I am confident that we will succeed in our quest for a peaceful, stable and prosperous post independence and post apartheid southern African region."

According to the summit programme, the meeting was expected to run the whole day until about 18:00 hours after which the leaders were expected to come up with a joint statement on the issues they were expected to cover. The meeting was expected to deal with the political situation in Zimbabwe and the recent clashes in the DRC between government forces and the security. The DRC leader was among the nine presidents attending the summit. Others are President Mbeki of South Africa, President Mwanawasa (Zambia), President Mugabe (Zimbabwe), Dr Bingu wa Mutharika (Malawi), Hifikepunye Pohamba (Namibia), Armando Guebuza (Mozambique), Marc Ravalomanana (Madagascar) and the host President Kikwete.

Others are Lesotho's Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili who is the current SADC chairperson, Botswana's Vice-President Seretse Ian Khama, Swaziland's Prime Minister Themba Dlamini, Angola's foreign affairs minister Joao Bernado de Miranda and Mauritius High Commissioner to South Africa, Mohamed Dossa. Both President Mugabe and President Kabila were expected to brief their SADC counterparts on the situation in their countries as they seek to find solutions.

Labels: DRC, SADC, ZIMBABWE

posted by MrK @ 10:17 PM