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afrol.com, 9 November - At a press conference today, Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) president Morgan Tsvangirai, having returned from a two-week trip to Europe, confirmed that the MDC national executive were pressing ahead with plans for a mass action "in order to express their discontent at the current anarchic state of the country, as well as the meltdown of the economy." He also said that the believed the international community would not support Zimbabwe until President Mugabe had stepped down. Tsvangirai spent the past two weeks in Norway, Finland, Sweden, Ireland and the United Kingdom where he explained the MDC's position as a credible opposition party in Zimbabwe, intent on reinstituting freedom and democracy in the country. "The trip was very successful and we were warmly welcomed and supported by politicians, civic groups in the various countries, as well as the general public," he said. He acknowledged, however, that the international community expressed deep concern about the issue of the transition of government should there be change: "There are constitutional reasons to wait for two more years, until President Mugabe's constitutional mandate has expired. But there is a fear that, if we are that patient, there will be nothing left of this economy. Our own resources are over-stretched, and no one in the international community will underwrite this country if it keeps the leadership of the present government." Tsvangirai stated that "consequently, some are in favour of developing mechanisms to share power, but the obstinacy of Robert Mugabe is a major stumbling block in this regard. The MDC is open to such possibilities, but we are not going to hold our breath waiting for this possibility. That is why we are keeping our options open. If necessary, we will support an expedited - but still constitutional - process of transferring power, featuring mass action and popular demonstrations, in order to get the message across." - The message of these actions is clear, The MDC president said. "The objective would be the peaceful expression of Zimbabweans, demonstrating their discontent with the continued presence of President Mugabe. The message would be: 'Mugabe, please go.' Following that departure, we would then encourage a new set of elections. Our objective is not to enable anyone to unceremoniously take over power in this country without elections," he emphasised. Tsvangirai confirmed that MDC supporters abroad understood the reasons behind the discussed mass action, and supported them, so long as they were conducted peacefully: "The people I spoke to overseas understood our reasoning, and supported the potential action. If it is done peacefully, it is consistent with the accepted democratic rights of people across the world to express themselves. The people of Zimbabwe have the full support of the international community in their struggle for democracy." In terms of the timing, Tsvangirai did not discuss any specifics. "We are still in discussion with our structures and with our stakeholders. There are many issues to take into consideration here: the form, the content, the timing of this action. You cannot just wake up one morning and decide: 'today is the day.' We want to be certain that, when this action is launched, it is successful. Once we take that step forward, there will be no way back." - We know that the state is going to respond to mass action. An accelerated process is bound to give opportunities for anarchy, given the hunger of Zanu PF to respond violently to opposition, Tsvangirai stated. - Regardless of the specific day, Mugabe knows his time is up, he continued. "It is obvious. We are trying to give him ways to make an honourable exit. He cannot sacrifice the future of our country on the basis of his own struggle for personal survival," said Tsvangirai. He also said that, regardless of the timing of the stay away, the Zanu PF congress would be a critical defining moment for Mugabe: "That Congress will be critical in deciding what the future of the country will be: down the drain or saved." Tsvangirai also reacted strongly to the question of Speaker of Parliament Emmerson Mnangagwa's partiality, and effectiveness as a speaker. After the MDC initiated impeachment proceedings against President Mugabe, Mnangagwa addressed a rally of Zanu PF supporters and told them that there was no way that the impeachment proceedings would succeed. "This statement is very dubious. It challenges the credibility and impartiality of the Speaker. The legal committee is going to examine this statement, and decide what that means for Parliament," he confirmed.
Source: Based on Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
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