Washington - The US ambassador to Zimbabwe Tuesday called
for the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to take 'firm
and hard-hitting' moves against the government of Zimbabwe to curtail
pre-election violence against the opposition, and warned challenger
Morgan Tsvangirai to use caution before leaving his refuge at the
Dutch embassy in Harare.
In a telephone conference from Harare with reporters, Ambassador
James McGee suggested that sanctions, including border closings
against the landlocked country, could be the only effective move that
the international community could make before Friday's scheduled run-
off vote between Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe and Tsvangirai, who
withdrew from the race on Sunday.
Mugabe has vowed to stay in power at all costs amidst the most
serious challenge to his position in nearly three decades.
McGee said Mugabe's government had given assurances that
Tsvangirai 'could leave the country if he so desired' and that it
would not raid the Dutch embassy in the capital, where the leader of
the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has been holed up since
stepping aside Sunday.
The assurances came from a Zimbabwe permanent secretary to the
Dutch ambassador, McGee said, but the US official warned that one can
no longer 'take the Zimbabwe government at its word.'
'Right now, I don't have a lot of faith in anything this
government says,' McGee said. 'I would urge Mr Tsvangirai to take a
careful look at the analysis taken by his security people.'
McGee pointed out that the 'permanent secretary forgot' to mention
that the government had confiscated the opposition leader's passport
when he returned from self-exile in South Africa. It was not clear if
Tsvangirai would be allowed to leave the Dutch embassy and remain
inside the country, McGee said.
The call to SADC is the latest in ongoing efforts to get the
regional economic consortium to put pressure in Mugabe through weeks
of political violence that has seen at least 85 MDC supporters killed
and thousands more wounded and dispossessed. Tens of thousands of
Zimbabweans have sought refuge in South Africa.
But South African President Thabo Mbeki, the lead power broker in
SADC, has refused to criticize Mugabe despite pressure even from
within his own party, and most other SADC members have followed suit.
The frustration in the international community over SADC's refusal
to act came through in McGees comments, who was speaking a day after
the United Nations condemned the Zimbabwe government for the violence
and said the abuse would make it impossible for Friday's vote to be
free and fair.
He mentioned several times the need for SADC to take firm steps.
'I think Mr Mugabe would listen much more ... to a statement from
SADC,' McGee said. 'Zimbabwe is landlocked, surrounded by (SADC)
members. Very simple pressure can be brought to bear on Zimbabwe.'
McGee also noted that another 2,000 MDC supporters had sought
refuge by Monday at the Harvest House headquarters from physical
attacks by Mugabe's supporters. The diplomatic community was able to
warn them of a police raid headed their way, and 'most left and
dispersed.'
But police had arrested about 30 people who were 'too old or
infirm to get out in a hurry.'
The refugees were since filtering back and have been promised
shelter and food by the United Nations and International Committee of
the Red Cross (ICRC) as internally displaced people, McGee said.
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