s against the west and the independent media.
“There is hope in all of us but even Tsvangirai himself is not sure about what is in Mugabe’s mind and whether this will work or not. The same scepticism is shared by Mbeki and his colleagues because Mugabe is capable of repeating his habit of indicating right but turning left,” said a senior MDC source.
Amid continued official silence, which has fuelled widespread speculation about the progress of the talks, President Thabo Mbeki met MDC leaders Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara in Pretoria last week.
The talks are believed to have focused on the Mugabe regime’s controversial 18th Amendment to the Constitution, expected to be tabled in Parliament this week. Mbeki apparently has persuaded Zanu (PF) to redraft the amendment, removing the more offensive sections pertaining to his continued grip on power.
But a senior ruling party official denied this. “As Zanu (PF) we are not aware of any changes. The reports of changing our laws to please the MDC we only read from you journalists but what we know is the bill will soon be coming for debate in parliament in the form we agreed at our politburo meetings,” said the official on condition of anonymity.
Legal affairs minister, Patrick Chinamasa, told The Zimbabwean: “The contents of the bill will be revealed at the appropriate time and sorry I cannot speak on behalf of the opposition.” – Itai Dzamara
Post published in: News