US calls for sanctions on Zimbabwe, concerns for Tvangirai (Roundup)

Jun 24, 2008, 17:27 GMT

President of Zimbabwe Robert Mugabe addresses more than fifteen thousand supporters at an election rally in the town of Banket, Zimbabwe, 24 June 2008. Mugabe said the run-off elections on June 27 will go ahead as scheduled. EPA/STR

Washington - The US ambassador to Zimbabwe Tuesday called for the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to take 'firm and hard-hitting' moves against the government of Zimbabwe to curtail pre-election violence against the opposition, and warned opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai to use caution before leaving his refuge at the Dutch embassy in Harare.

In a telephone conference from Harare with reporters, Ambassador James McGee suggested that SADC sanctions, including border closings against the landlocked country, could be the only effective move remaining for the international community before Friday's run-off vote between Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe and Tsvangirai, who withdrew from the election on Sunday.

'SADC needs to make a clear statement that this is an illegitimate regime and it is conducting an illegitimate election,' McGee said.

Mugabe has vowed to stay in power at all costs amidst the most serious challenge to his position in nearly three decades.

McGee said that Mugabe's government had given assurances that Tsvangirai 'could leave the country if he so desired' and that it would not raid the Dutch embassy in the capital, where the leader of the Movement for Democratic Change has been holed up since Sunday.

The assurances came from a Zimbabwe permanent secretary to the Dutch ambassador, McGee said, but the US official warned that one can no longer 'take the Zimbabwe government at its word.'

'Right now, I don't have a lot of faith in anything this government says,' McGee said. 'I would urge Mr Tsvangirai to take a careful look at the analysis taken by his security people.'

McGee pointed out that the government had confiscated the opposition leader's passport when he returned from self-exile in South Africa. It was not clear if Tsvangirai would be allowed to leave the Dutch embassy and remain inside the country, McGee said.

The call to SADC is the latest in ongoing efforts to get the regional economic consortium to put pressure on Mugabe through weeks of political violence that have seen at least 85 MDC supporters killed and thousands wounded and dispossessed. Tens of thousands of Zimbabweans have sought refuge in South Africa.

But South African President Thabo Mbeki, the lead power broker in SADC, has refused to criticize Mugabe despite pressure even from within his own party, and most other SADC members have followed suit.

The frustration in the international community over SADC's failure to act came through in comments by McGee, who was speaking a day after the United Nations condemned the Zimbabwe government for the violence and said the abuse would make it impossible for Friday's vote to be free and fair.

He mentioned several times the need for SADC to take firm steps.

'I think Mr Mugabe would listen much more ... to a statement from SADC,' McGee said. 'Zimbabwe is landlocked, surrounded by (SADC) members.'

'Very simple pressure can be brought to bear on Zimbabwe' that would have a 'tremendous and immediate impact,' he said.

McGee also noted that another 2,000 MDC supporters had sought refuge by Monday at MDC's Harvest House headquarters from physical attacks by Mugabe's supporters.

The diplomatic community was able to warn them of a police raid headed their way, and 'most left and dispersed.' But police had arrested about 30 people who were 'too old or infirm to get out in a hurry,' McGee said.

The refugees were filtering back and have been promised shelter and food by the United Nations and International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) as internally displaced people, McGee said. The conditions were 'horrible', with one toilet and 'so many people living in the stairwells' that it was impossible to move up and down, he added.

He said the diplomatic community was working with local church groups to find placements, but Mugabe supporters had started threatening them with consequences if they continued to do so.

McGee, who has been out viewing some of the violence, said there was little indication that there were moderate factions of the Zimbabwe military or Mugabe's party, Zanu-PF, who might try to stop the violence.

Many such moderates were already on Mugabe's 'sanctions list,' the ambassador said.

McGee said there were reports that Zanu-PF will 'force people to vote on Friday and also take action against those who refuse to vote.' He said Tsvangirai's decision to withdraw was 'understandable' because his people 'were being massacred.'

'We still see large amounts of violence. We just hope the situation will calm down in the next coming days,' McGee said.

SADC and the African Union had a total of 500 election observers around the country, McGee said, and many had started to report on intimidation and violence.

'We're hoping these people will stay in the country,' he said.

McGee noted that African diplomats had also started observing first hand what was going on, and that the Tanzanian ambassador had been stopped several times on a trip to Mutare, east of Harare near the border with Mozambique.