EPD supports the candidature of Mr. Tsvangirai for the Sakharov Prize 2008
The negotiation process between the parties ZANU-PF, MDC Tsvangirai and MDC Mutambara hosted by the South African president Thabo Mbeki has had no results so far. The latest proposal for a power sharing deal between Mr. Mugabe and Mr. Tsvangirai, in which Mr. Mugabe remains the Head of State, Head of Government and the Commander of the armed forces in Zimbabwe and offers Mr. Tsvangirai a Prime-Minister position without any responsibilities. The absence of any tangible outcome has not prevented Mr. Mugabe to inaugurate the Parliament on 26 August, in which the MDC remained the biggest faction and even won the Speaker of the House elections, in the person of MDC’s Lovemore Moyo. This happened despite of the arrest of 2 MDC MPs and attempts to bribe other MDC MPs. The MDC MPs snubbed Mr. Mugabe by staying firmly in theirs seats when he walked into the Parliament, they furthermore booed, heckled and sang through his speech.
On the same day Portuguese MEP Louis Quiero called a
meeting in the European Parliament to inform MEPs about the current situation
in Zimbabwe, pledging that Mr. Tsvangirai should be nominated for this years
Sakharov Prize by the EP. Zimbabwe experts Jan Tuit of the Netherlands
Institute for Multiparty Democracy (NIMD) and Björn Hultin and the MDC
representative in London Hebson Makuvise (by phone) supported the nomination
for Mr. Tsvangirai. The speakers in this meeting praised the MDC
representative’s perseverance, courage and willingness to work towards a
peaceful power transition and an economic recovery of the country. The MEPs
present at the meeting were requested to support the struggle by Mr. Tsvangirai
and his party for democracy by signing up for his nomination for the 2008
Sakharov Prize after the meeting. Since the EPD is starting up its support programme for Zimbabwe under the Hard Case Countries, it supports Mr. Tsvangirai's nomination. EPD is currently in the process of consulting European and African organisations on the most pressing needs and effective channels through which EPD could work.