Yet another toothless Troika meeting

A meeting of the toothless Troika has been schedule for March 31 in the Zambian border town of Livingstone. Officials said the summit would attempt to persuade President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu (PF) to stop violence, arbitrary arrests and proscription of public meetings that are threatening the inclusive government.

Analysts point out that previous summits have dismally failed to secure a breakthrough. Every time the Troika has met it has set a timetable for progress in implementing the outstanding issues of the GPA. But the deadlines have come and gone with the Troika impotent to enforce its decisions upon Zanu (PF).

Tsvangirai launched a diplomatic offensive over the past fortnight to force implementation of an election roadmap, widely seen as vital to any effort to hold a free and fair election. He has met the chairperson of the SADC Troika Organ on Politics, Defence and Security, as well as the leaders of Zambia, Mozambique, Swaziland, Botswana, Angola, Namibia, the DRC and Tanzania.

Yesterday Saturday, the PM was scheduled to meet SADC’s key facilitator in the Zimbabwe dialogue, President Jacob Zuma, in Durban. A time-bound roadmap is expected to be hammered out, with a clear role for SADC, ahead of the next election.

Tsvangirai said he had told the leaders he had met that, as guarantors of the global political agreement, they had to play a critical role in ensuring that all parties respect their signatures.