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HARARE, Zimbabwe The warm Western welcome Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has been receiving is rankling some of his governing partners, state media reported Monday.
Tsvangirai is on a three-week trip through Europe and the U.S. that included a meeting with President Barack Obama last week.
His coalition partner, Zimbabwe’s longtime ruler Robert Mugabe, is barred by travel restrictions from visiting the stops on Tsvangirai’s itinerary, and the leaders with whom the premier has had cordial talks accuse Mugabe of trampling on democracy and ruining a once vibrant economy.
Zimbabwe’s state-run Herald newspaper reported there were concerns among some officials aligned to Mugabe over Obama’s reference to building a new partnership not with the coalition government as a whole, but with Tsvangirai, a former opposition leader who has been beaten and jailed by Mugabe’s regime.
Tsvangirai and Mugabe formed their coalition in February, pressed by neighbors to end violent political confrontation and cooperate to address their country’s economic crisis. The political marriage of convenience has been rocky from the start, and Western leaders say progress toward reform has been slow.
After meeting Tsvangirai on Friday in Washington, Obama praised the premier for persevering in trying to lead Zimbabwe out of a “very dark and difficult period.” Obama accused Mugabe of resisting democracy.
The Herald quoted Tourism Minister Walter Mzembi, a Mugabe appointee, as accusing Obama of being “overtly biased” and lacking “diplomatic courtesy.”
Tsvangirai has said his three-week trip is aimed at re-engaging with the West, while officials linked to Mugabe have tried to portray it as an attempt to persuade the international community to lift sanctions.
Tsvangirai started in the Netherlands and the U.S., where officials demanded more progress on reforms by the coalition before aid and investment could resume. Tsvangirai was headed to Britain, Germany, France, Norway, Sweden and Belgium.
State radio in Zimbabwe reported over the weekend that Foreign Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi, another Mugabe appointee, had planned his own outreach visit with EU officials in hopes of discussing normalizing relations, but was told Tsvangirai should take the lead.
The EU said Monday it was unaware of any plans for a meeting with Mumbengegwi, while talks with Tsvangirai Thursday and Friday had been scheduled for weeks. EU spokesman John Clancy said it was too early to put normalization on the agenda.
The talks will focus on hearing out the Zimbabwe premier and how the unity government intends to meet commitments to reform and turn the country around, Clancy said.
Clancy says the EU remains ready to offer more humanitarian aid but wants to see “good progress” made by the unity government before any decision can be made to lift sanctions.
The Herald daily on Saturday played up Tsvangirai’s failure to secure direct governmental aid, saying he had “hit another brick wall” on his three-week trip to Washington and eight European capitals.
On Sunday, the Sunday Mail continued to belittle Tsvangirai’s trip by saying that it appeared to be “degenerating into a fund-raising campaign for civic bodies affiliated to the MDC.”
On Monday, the Herald turned on Obama accusing him of “overt bias” for excluding the one Zanu-PF minister in Tsvangirai’s delegation, tourism minister Walter Mzembi, from the Oval Office meeting.
Mzembi was quoted as saying he expected that Mugabe would “discuss President Obama’s behaviour” with Tsvangirai on his return.
Media freedom is one of the key aims of the agreement establishing the coalition government, but Western diplomats say there is no sign that Mugabe, whose information minister controls the radio, television and daily newspapers, has any relish for change.
“The last thing they want people to know is that Tsvangirai is being treated as a hero in the West,” said one diplomat.
Associated Press writer Angus Shaw contributed to this report,editing by Simon Spooner
Its ZANU PF that made Morgan a hero… those beatings, imprisonments and ‘accidents’. He has shown to be very brave to challenge Mugabe because even from his own ZANU PF, people do not challenge the old man. The extend of human rights violations in Zimbabwe can not be forgotten and need not to be rewarded by any form of talking, diplomacy or forgiveness
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Walter my dear friend from Victoria high you couldn’t make it to see Obama you are a proud man for nothing you like too shine and you see you nothing to Obama you are on the wrong side of the cake if you where with the MDC you would have seen your man Obama sorry old chap pack your bags now and head home with you boss Morgan T one day he will be your boss and you will bow to him watch time will tell
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shame on you maria!
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Zanu Republic Police (ZRP) and Zanu National Army (ZNA) should get their salaries from Jongwe House, i have always said this. Until they start serving the nation of ZIMBABWE.
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Obama is a great man thanks for ignoring these zanu idiots and leaving them out from the delegation to meet with you, they just wanted to spy and report back to master mugabe. Tsvangirai will take the nation to new heights like Zuma will do in South Africa. zanu is history yawora, just watch this space they will make the life of MDC even harder now as they are suggesting that America is funding NGO’s that are sympathetic to MDC, shame on you zanu.
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Mzembi should have been aware that Obama was not passing any candy for ZANU PF. ZANU PF should eat their own pie. In any case, why did Mzembi accoumpany the PM? They should not have given him a VISA. he is supposed to be in the farm he invaded and producing for the nation. Where was Mzembi when Zimbabweans were being tortured? Where was Mzembi when Morgan was denied a passport. I can not wait for a day that Mzembi or Gono or any one of the ZANU PF crew spends a night in Chikurubi. I will visit them with mangai
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Muzembi — you are sick….!! Where did you think you were going? Zanu PF will milk you kusvika waona moto!! Those businesses of yours will dwindle one day — actually they are already (seeing kuti you are failing to open Spar Renco!!!)
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my only worry is why we care so much about obama-who is obama? He is not important to me .He is just a masai who happens to be at the white house in control of the biggest economy in the world. However he is not fully in charge-other gvt departments and opinion champions are in control.Look at what happened with the Guantanamo bay prisoners? He changed his mind when these same people put pressure on him.He is just a black figure with no powers except a few. Almost like morgan himself.
The fact of the matter is these guys do not respect African institutions and guys like mbeki understood this from day one.Other fools take much longer to read the situation.Mugabe understood the psychology of these people a long time ago and he could easily predict their behaviour in advance.Thats why sometimes he was able to provoke them if he wished-not that he did so intentionally.Morgan must watch out or they will use him and spit him out. They will not even chew him.Mugabe had to learn the hard way at some point.
Morgan’s brief was clear before the elections-remove mugabe and we will give you Aid-that he failed to do.So they said well unless mugabe is gone , we will never remove sanctions-and i tell you GNU or not , they will not back down.
They have refused to accept the GNU an African solution to our own problems because they want to be seen to be leaders in regime change agendas-Africans managed to breakthrough in zim after a long time , but the western gvts did not want any arrangement that allowed mugabe to remain in power.
Why not respect our choices and our own solutions? Invest your cash and you will get it back with interest. We do not want to depend on humanitarian aid. Morgan morgan has realised what sort of people he is dealing with and that next time he will not call for sanctions against his own people.Look at this mess now???
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Stalin,
The GNU isn’t an African solution, if it is then I’m ashamed to be an African. Africans need to evolve, we very much still live in the dark ages. What legitimacy can Mugaybe claim when he with held results for 5 weeks, cooked them and proceeded to destroy the evidence? I won’t even go into his atrocities over the years. Mugabe is just as bad as those Western leaders he denigrates, actually he’s worse, at least they don’t butcher their own citizens when they exercise their democratic right to vote them out of power. Unfortunately this fact alone removes any weight from what Mugaybe continuously spews no matter how right (or wrong) he is.
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Varume mave kungorasika isu muZimbabwe tinoda kuti zvinhu zvinake nokushanduka. We dont care who is who but anyone who can turn around the economy is the hero. CHETE. Dzimwe idzi dzangova ngano dzatsuro nagudo. No doubt , we need the west to kick start building our ailing economy.
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