Negotiators break to attend cabinet meeting

By Tichaona Sibanda
24 November 2009

The renewed negotiations to resolve the country’s deep political crisis broke off on Tuesday when representatives from the three political parties attended cabinet in the capital, Harare.

The six main negotiators from ZANU PF and the two MDC formations are also cabinet ministers and are obliged under government rules to attend the weekly meetings when they’re in the country.

MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa told SW Radio Africa that the negotiators were in cabinet on Tuesday.

“Yes I can confirm Biti and company attended cabinet today (Tuesday). But whether they’re going to meet later in the day I don’t know,” he said.

The three parties first met in Harare on Monday for what are expected to be protracted negotiations to resolve outstanding issues in the Global Political Agreement. The negotiators, when they made their first face-to-face contact in a month, reportedly agreed to resume the crunch talks under a media blackout.

There was little sign that the start of the latest round of talks has led to the two main adversaries agreeing to give up any ground in order to resolve the crisis that has rattled nerves in the country and around the SADC region.

Distrust between ZANU PF and the MDC runs deep. Analysts were hoping that the latest talks would begin to ease the tensions that have divided the country for years.

The secretive nature of the talks has left journalists disappointed at the blanket ban on negotiators talking to the media. Our Harare correspondent Simon Muchemwa told us a Memorandum of Understanding signed last year made it clear any dialogue between the parties was to remain confidential.

“It is disappointing for the media because it seems they’re working under Clause 8 of the MoU which states that neither side should communicate directly or indirectly with the media. People deserve to know what is happening in their own country,” Muchemwa said.

He added; “At the moment, we don’t even know the venue of the talks, leading to a lot of speculation that they’re taking place at State house or Munhumutapa offices.”

During last year’s negotiations journalists said denying reporters access to information about the talks was ‘unhealthy and unacceptable,’ adding that the parties to the negotiations wanted to turn journalists and the media into ‘fiction writers.’