Mugabe (pictured right) and senior Zanu PF officials are vigorously campaigning to take the country to early elections with or without a new constitution, creating a potentially volatile situation in Zimbabwe.
Information gathered shows Mugabe returned this week from the African Union summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, seething with anger at how the continental body was handling issues mainly to do with Western intervention in hot spots in the region.
Officials say Mugabe fears suffering the same fate as former Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi and other dictators overthrown by Western countries and hauled before international courts for human rights abuses. Zanu PF officials indicated to American diplomats in WikiLeaks that Mugabe feared being “hanged” for human rights violations.
This came after former Liberian strongman Charles Taylor was seized and taken to the International Criminal Court.
Mugabe seemed to be concerned about his security while addressing the AU this week.
“Gaddafi was killed in broad daylight, his children hunted like animals and then we rush to recognise the NTC (National Transitional Council).Well well, that was Libya. Who will be next?” asked Mugabe.
Government officials say Mugabe’s sense of insecurity was further deepened after realisations that Britain and France were active in Addis Ababa trying to influence who becomes the AU Commission chairperson. The AU Commission chair runs the secretariat of the continental body and is critical to its decision-making processes.
France and Britain were said to have tried to influence the outcome of the race for the AU Commission chair which pitted South African Home Affairs minister NkosazanaDlamini-Zuma, former wife of South African President Jacob Zuma, and the incumbent Jean Ping. Neither secured the required two-thirds majority, but the two nations, and other EU nations were said to have heavily lobbied for Ping.
Ping was backed by France and its Western allies and this angered a number of African leaders, particularly Mugabe, sensitive to foreign interference in African affairs.
Although Mugabe does not see eye to eye with Zuma, Zimbabwe voted for Dlamini-Zuma. Officials say Mugabe also feels betrayed by some African leaders whom he believed are selling out to Western nations resulting in the AU’s institutions being hijacked.
It is said Mugabe believes foreign interference in the AU Commission election boiled down to the West’s desire to influence political events in different countries, including Zimbabwe with the help of some African countries.
The development comes at a time when state security agents are closely watching Prime Minster Morgan Tsvangirai’s moves following his trips to African nations which sat on the United Nations (UN) Security Council.
Mugabe and his loyalists fear Tsvangirai wants to put Zimbabwe on the UN agenda after the elections following his controversial visits to the Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Gabon and Morocco. Tsvangirai has also visited South Africa, currently a member of the UN Security Council. Nigeria and Gabon are no longer members.
Tsvangirai has previously lobbied United States presidents to intervene in Zimbabwe through the UN after disputed elections. In 2008, China and Russia blocked UN intervention in Zimbabwe mainly pushed by Britain and its allies after disputed elections.
Presidential spokesman George Charamba confirmed to the Zimbabwe Independent on Wednesday Mugabe was bitter saying his anger had been building up over the last three years when French President Nicolas Sarkozy started addressing the summit “although his hands are dripping with blood”, including that of Libya’s longtime ruler Gaddafi. Sarkozy was at the AU summit.
He said the French and the British “forgot their differences in the EU” and tried to arm-twist African countries to elect Jean Ping so that they could continue their grip on Africa.
“The French and the British were not only arm-twisting African countries, in some cases they were even arm-breaking nations,” Charamba said. “They forgot their differences in the EU because they wanted a pliant head, Ping, whose pliancy was demonstrated in Ivory Coast and Libya.”
“They didn’t want Madam (Dlamini) Zuma because she worked under (former South African president) Thabo Mbeki and is viewed as strong and principled.”
Charamba said Europe’s short-term concern was in Zimbabwe where it wants to control the outcome of elections although a pliant leadership was also needed for the control of Africa’s resources, especially oil and minerals.
“The immediate objective is to have influence ahead of elections in Zimbabwe,” he said. “They want a pliant leader who will deliver, like what happened in the Ivory Coast and Libya. We are aware of that.The whole issue is targeted. It’s about continental control of resources and Zimbabwe. (British Prime Minister, David) Cameron helped Sarkozy in Libya and Cote d’Ivoire and now it’s Sarkorzy’s turn to help Cameron in Zimbabwe,”Charamba said.
Charamba said Mugabe was opposed to the recognition of Libya’s NTC because prior to the UN’s resolution 1973, which introduced a no-fly zone in Libya resulting in Nato bombing the oil rich country, the AU had taken a position that the Libyan conflict should be resolved through dialogue.
“That position was overrun by Nato,” Charamba said, “but Africa’s position on Libya still stands because the AU has not rescinded it. In fact, the Peace and Security Commission, which is a lower body of the AU, took that position (to recognise the NTC) whereas all they should have done was to recommend that position to the AU. This summit should have made a decision to rescind, amend or stick with the resolution and not the PSC,” he said.
Zimbabwe is part of the 15-member PSC and had together with Namibia said it was premature to recognise the NTC. Others already recognise it, showing wide divisions in the AU. New AU chair, Benin President Thomas YayiBoni recognised the political changes in Libya, emerging as opposed to Mugabe and others. – The Zimbabwe Independent
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