Prime Minister Tsvangirai expected to meet Barack Obama

By Violet Gonda
5 June 2009

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai is set to leave Zimbabwe on Saturday for his inaugural overseas tour to the USA and parts of Europe. Mr. Tsvangirai is expected to meet US President Barack Obama. Information on his itinerary has not yet been made available but James Maridadi the Prime Minister’s spokesperson said Mr Tsvangirai will meet the American leadership next week, and other leaders in Europe. The tour is part of his 100 day plan to re-engage with the international community after years of isolation and to try to encourage western governments to provide economic aid to Zimbabwe.

Senior government officials representing key economic ministries are expected to join Mr. Tsvangirai on this trip. As most ZANU PF officials are under travel sanctions, this poses a major challenge for the inclusive government as western governments have been reluctant to remove the targeted travel ban against key members of the regime, saying there is little evidence to show that Mugabe is serious about sharing power and ending rights abuses.

It’s understood ZANU PF Tourism Minister Walter Mzembi, who is not on the US sanctions list, will be travelling with the Prime Minister to the US on the first leg of the tour. Elton Mangoma, the MDC-T Minister of Economic Planning and Investment Promotion and Priscilla Misihairabwi Mushonga the MDC-M Regional Integration and International Co-operation Minister, will also be part of this delegation that leaves Zimbabwe on Saturday.

Finance Minister Tendai Biti will join the group in Europe. However it is still unclear how European countries are going to deal with the issue of the ZANU PF ministers who are on the travel ban and are supposed to travel to Brussels and London with the Prime Minister’s team. A British source told SW Radio Africa on Friday that a decision had not been made yet to ‘waiver the visa’ for the banned ZANU PF Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengengwi and the Tourism Minister.

The source said an application for a visa waiver would have to be sent to all 27 members of the European Union to ask for a one off waiver, to allow the ZANU PF officials to travel to Europe, but no official note had yet been sent out. Mr Tsvangirai is expected in London on June 19th and it is likely a decision on ZANU PF officials would be made clearer next week.
It would only take one EU member state to refuse a visa waiver, for the restricted person to be denied entry.

Meanwhile the MDC UK branch announced it is organizing a gathering for the Prime Minister to meet Zimbabweans in London on June 20th. Jason Matewu, the Organizing Secretary, said people will meet the Prime Minister at Southwark Anglican Cathedral in London, where the leader will talk about his coalition government.

Some MDC sources in the UK told us that the MDC organisers were forced to look for this second venue, after a key donor who had pledged to pay £10 000 for the original venue – the Methodist Central Hall - pulled out after they found out that ZANU PF ministers on sanctions lists were expected to join the Zimbabwean delegation.

Thousands of people were killed, tortured, mutilated and beaten by the Mugabe regime and it was mainly because of these gross human rights violations that western countries imposed targeted sanctions on members of Robert Mugabe’s ruling elite. But the MDC has been pushing for the removal of these sanctions since the formation of the unity government to try and make their controversial alliance work.

ZANU PF blames Zimbabwe’s crisis on the ‘sanctions’ which they claim were brought in by western nations in response to land reform.
But the Zimbabwe Independent newspaper’ Muckracker column said it is a ‘convenient myth’ by ZANU PF and also the state media, to portray ZANU PF as victims of western penalties for restoring land to the people. Muckracker wrote: “In fact EU sanctions were imposed in 2002 in response to the expulsion from Zimbabwe of Pierre Schori who headed the EU's election monitoring mission. The measures had nothing to do with land and everything to do with political violence and electoral manipulation.”

Since the new government was formed in early February MDC and civic activists are still being brought before the courts on politically motivated charges and violent invasions on farms still continue. Western governments have said they want to see a partnership of equals but since the formation of the government ZANU PF still controls nearly all major areas of influence, such as the security forces and media.