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African Regional News Updates |
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18 June 2009 Harare — OUTGOING United States
ambassador to Zimbabwe Mr James McGee says Washington
will not give a penny to Harare because it has its own
economic problems.
He said Washington was unable to provide aid
because it faced its own financial problems, adding
that the illegal sanctions imposed by his country on
Zimbabwe would remain.
In an interview after paying a courtesy call on
Vice President Joice Mujuru at her Munhumutapa Offices
in Harare yesterday, Mr McGee said US citizens
desperately needed help and were against giving
Zimbabwe financial aid.
Asked whether the US was capable of assisting
Zimbabwe considering its current economic woes, he
said: "We have millions who have lost their jobs. It
is serious (the recession).
"People say why should we give one penny to
Zimbabwe or Sudan? We should take care of our people
at home. They desperately need assistance.
"Sanctions are in place. They will remain in place.
People know what has to be done (for them to be
removed)."
But Mr McGee described his meeting with VP Mujuru
as "good".
"It was good," he said. "It was my first time to
meet her in person. It is important that we open
dialogue and continue to dialogue. All parties should
talk to each other."
The outgoing ambassador was silent on his
achievements since his appointment here in 2007.
"I still have three weeks left," was all he could
say.
He said he hoped to "score one or two" goals before
flying back home.
During his meeting with VP Mujuru, Mr McGee was
said to have acknowledged progress made by the
inclusive Government so far in resolving outstanding
issues under the Global Political Agreement.
Government has started the constitution-making
process while it is in the process of appointing
commissioners to the Zimbabwe Media Commission, Anti
Corruption Commission, Zimbabwe Electoral Commission
and Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission, among other
reforms.
"Indications from him were that there is potential
for further improvements on our relations," a source
close to the meeting.
He acknowledged there was progress in resolving
"outstanding issues."
VP Mujuru called on the US to lift the sanctions
and to acknowledge the existence of the inclusive
Government.
Ambassador McGee replaced Mr Christopher Dell as
ambassador to Zimbabwe in July 2007, following his
appointment by the George W Bush administration.
Like his predecessor, Mr McGee worked towards
achieving an illegal regime change in Zimbabwe.
In his testimony before the Committee on Foreign
Relations in the US Senate in September 2007, Mr McGee
claimed there was a deep reservoir of democratic
knowledge, capacity, and desire in Zimbabwe that
needed continued support to challenge the Government.
He said the US would use all tools at its disposal
to "achieve the results we seek".
The ambassador boasted that the Zimbabwe Democracy
and Economic Recovery Act and illegal sanctions had
increased pressure on the Zanu-PF Government.
During his two-year stay in Zimbabwe, Mr McGee was
on a spirited campaign to demonise the Government
ahead of the June 27 presidential run-off.
He has been US ambassador in the Comoros,
Madagascar and Swaziland.
Zimbabwe, EU Talks Threatened
THE resumption of formal dialogue between Zimbabwe
and the European Union nearly failed to take off
following attempts to bar Zanu-PF mem- bers of the
delegation from travelling for the talks which start
in Belgium today.
Acting Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara had to
intervene at the 11th hour to force the British and
French embassies to issue visas to three Cabinet
ministers.
Foreign Affairs Minister Simba-rashe Mumbengegwi,
who left for Europe on Saturday and had joined another
delegation led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai
that is touring Western countries to lobby for the
removal of sanctions and extension of aid to Zimbabwe,
only got a visa yesterday afternoon.
Similarly, Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa only
got a transit visa from the French Embassy yesterday
just a few hours before his flight.
Other members of the delegation -- the Ministers of
Regional Integration, Industry, Economic Planning, and
Finance and their permanent secretaries -- had already
been granted visas. At the same time, the British
Embassy in Harare was also trying to prevent Mines and
Mining Develop-ment Minister Obert Mpofu from entering
the United Kingdom for a sector conference in that
country this weekend. Minister Mpofu is supposed to
attend the mining conference along with PM Tsvangirai.
He too was only granted the right of entry after
Harare made it clear that it would call off any
dialogue if "Europe kept trying to determine who
should be in Zimbabwean delegations".
Sources said Acting PM Mutambara yesterday told the
British and French Embassies here that they should not
expect dialogue if they only wanted to deal with
Government officials from the MDC formations.
"The Acting Prime Minister was the most vocal on
the issue of pulling out of the dialogue before it
even began. He contrasted the selective treatment of
Zimbabwean Ministers in Europe and America with the
completely different treatment of the ministerial team
he led to the World Economic Forum in South Africa
last week.
"He said the selective granting of visas was not
only an attack on the inclusive Government but on the
sovereignty of this country. He said, 'If we can't
constitute our own delegations as a Government then
who do we become?'."
The sources said Government had even considered
recalling PM Tsvangirai's delegation from its Western
tour.
"President Mugabe intervened and advised that
pulling out of the re-launch of dialogue would be too
drastic a measure. He then asked the Acting Prime
Minister to engage both the French and British
Embassies.
"He duly met the Ambassadors face-to-face and they
said they could only deal with the matter if they
received a letter from the Prime Minister. It was then
that he informed them that he was in fact the Acting
Prime Minister and he gave them the letters that they
were asking for.
"The Ambassadors saw that they were in a corner and
they were forced to oblige. As we speak, the full
Cabinet Committee on Re-Engagement is now on its way
to Brussels for the talks," the sources said.
The French Embassy subsequently apologised and
claimed that a "break down in communication" was to
blame for the delay in the issuance of the visas.
It is understood that British Ambassador Andrew
Pocock had said his government did not consider
Minister Mpofu as "one of those Ministers whose
passage into Britain we are prepared to facilitate".
A Foreign Affairs official last night said, "It's
ironical that the EU, which is playing the Global
Political Agreement refrain very loudly can't stomach
the presence of one of the key negotiators of that
same agreement.
"It means that they don't recognise the GPA and
that is why they only want to grant visas to MDC party
officials.
"As much as one wants to be optimistic on the
re-launch of dialogue, the tell-tale signs are not
promising at all. It is also doubtful if the Swedes,
who are taking over the EU presidency from France for
the next six months will be able to cut through this
glacier of resistance."
The resumption of dialogue has been fraught with
tension from the onset.
Earlier on, the EU tried to block Minister
Mumbengegwi from heading the delegation, saying they
wanted PM Tsvangirai to lead the Zimbabwe Government
team.
This was shot down, though PM Tsvangirai will be in
Brussels as part of his Western tour.
Then the EU tried to say the talks should be
between Zimbabwean Ministers and European Ambassadors
accredited to Harare.
Government again rejected this demand, saying
members of Cabinet could not be placed at par with
diplomats.
The talks are to be held in the context of Article
8 of the Cotonou Partnership Agreement, which provides
the parameters for engagement between the EU and the
African, Caribbean and Pacific bloc.
The ACP bloc is expected to stand by Zimbabwe in
the discussions as it has done since the EU
prematurely invoked Article 96 of the Cotonou
Agreement in 2002 to slap sanctions on Harare ahead of
that year's presidential elections.
A 2007 study on the implementation of Article 96 of
the Cotonou Agreement by the EU itself admitted that
Europe had slapped the sanctions in a bid to
manipulate the outcome of the 2002 Presidential
elections and to punish Harare for embarking on the
revolutionary land reform programme.
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