Tsvangirai meets Mutambara

BY WILSON BUTETE
HARARE - The leaders of MDC's two feuding factions, Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara, met on Saturday for the first time since the opposition party split last year over differences on participation in senatorial polls convincingly won by President Robert Mugabe's ruling Zan

u (PF).
The duo met under a tree on the sidelines of an indaba organized by the Christian Alliance to discuss problems afflicting Zimbabweans under Mugabe’s administration.
Journalists who drew close to the meeting were immediately asked by security personnel to leave the two politicians alone so that they could discuss MDC’s internal issues in privacy.
Sources close to the brief meeting told The Zimbabwean that the two leaders discussed issues related to re-uniting the MDC into the formidable force that it was in 2000 when it nearly wrestled power from Mugabe.
Tsvangirai, who leads the MDC’s anti-senate faction reportedly told his pro-senate counterpart, Mutambara, that there was “only one enemy – Mugabe”. According to highly placed sources, Mutambara concurred.
“President Tsvangirai told Mutambara that he has established a committee that will engage leaders of the pro-senate faction in efforts to mend relations and how they can resume working as a united front,” said another source.
If these efforts are successful, the fight over the MDC name, logo and slogan might not spill into the courts as widely expected and could deal a body blow to Mugabe who is at pains to choose his successor come the next presidential ballot.
Both men refused to discuss details of their meeting. Mutambara had earlier told gathering: “I am prepared to step down in pursuit of the democratization of Zimbabwe.”
He added that Zimbabwe was seeking leaders who could deliver and who had a vision for economic recovery.
The gathering called for the establishment of a united front of all political parties, civic society and churches. Delegates agreed to take the proposed Democracy Charter to their various organizations and ordinary people for perusal prior to adoption. The document gives Zimbabweans an opportunity to decide their future through participation in decision-making processes.
They also resolved to engage outgoing United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan’s appointed mediator between Zimbabwe and Britain, Benjamin Mkapa – the former Tanzanian president – to ensure that he dealt with issues affecting all Zimbabweans.

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