Zimbabwe’s Serial Drama
The Zimbabwean negotiations continue to provide a constant source of suspense and drama. The recent reports that Mugabe had brokered a deal excluding Morgan Tsvangirai from a new unity government appear to have been the result of confusion (or perhaps represented a trial balloon that lost air quickly upon release). The talks continued through last night, but adjourned with no agreement reached and the most contentious issues still far from decided. It is unclear if or when the negotiations will recommence, and whether the latest impasse represents a failure of either side to blink first in the ongoing stare-down.
Morgan Tsvangirai continues to strike a deserved pose of integrity and honor. He continues to speak out against the country’s humanitarian crisis and to insist that any agreement that he and the other parties to the negotiations reach represents the will of the people. This insistence may well have led to the talk about a deal that excluded his (overwhelming majority) wing of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). But any deal that lacked Tsvangirai’s involvement would have been an utter farce. Tsvangirai also continues to be the consummate politician, asserting that there is no deadlock and that he will continue to work toward a resolution.
Thabo Mbeki too is confident that a deal will eventually be struck, though whether his optimism represents whistling past the graveyard remains to be seen. It is certainly in his interest for the sides to come to an agreement that will in turn make Mbeki appear to be a statesman on an issue for which he has been rightly pilloried for ranging from feckless to ineffectual to diffident hopelessly biased toward Mugabe.
So stay tuned. Continue to watch and to hope. I suspect that this story will still be ongoing when I return from a trip this weekend.