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By Simplisio Chirinda HARARE – Zimbabwe
non-governmental organisations (NGOs) will meet the ruling ZANU PF party and
the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party to press the
political parties to consider the views of civic society during negotiations to
end the country’s crisis. Civic groups that have
unsuccessfully attempted to persuade South Africa’s President Thabo Mbeki -
facilitating talks between ZANU PF and the MDC – to include them in the
dialogue process, insist they should be part to any initiative to end the
country’s crisis, arguing Zimbabwe’s future cannot be left to politicians
alone. Zimbabwe Election Support
Network (ZESN) director Rindai Chipfunde said a meeting of civic groups held in
Harare on Wednesday had resolved to “request for a meeting with the political
parties involved in the talks and find out how we can be engaged and let our
views be known and represented by the mediating teams.” Chipfunde, who said NGOs
also wanted more information about the inter-party talks that have been held in
almost total secrecy, did not say when exactly the civic groups would be
requesting meetings with the two political parties. Civic groups will meet
the political parties separately and ZimOnline understands the first meeting
with the MDC is scheduled to take place in Harare today. The NGOs will also use
today’s meeting to discuss the MDC’s backing of government constitutional
reforms, a move disapproved by most civic groups. Mbeki was last March
asked by Southern African Development Community (SADC) heads of state and
government to lead efforts to resolve Zimbabwe’s eight-year crisis by
facilitating dialogue between ZANU PF and the MDC. Mbeki – who insists
dialogue will deliver free and fair elections in Zimbabwe next year - has not
made civic society formal parties to the talks arguing SADC mandated him to
broker talks between political parties only. Civic groups represented
at the Wednesday meeting included the Media Institute of Southern Africa
(MISA), Media Monitoring Project of Zimbabwe (MMPZ), Zimbabwe Union of
Journalists (ZUJ) and Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) among others. –
ZimOnline |