AFRICAN UNION SUMMIT

The 2008 Summit of the African Union Assembly was held from 30 June - 1 July 2008 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. The Summit was preceded by the 16th Ordinary Session of the Permanent Representatives Council (PRC) from 24-25 June 2008 and the 13th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council from 27-28 June 2008.

Many of the issues that will be discussed at the G-8 Summit were discussed at the African Union Summit and this would give some direction to the African representatives that will be in Japan.

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Zimbabwe

This was discussed extensively during the meeting of the Executive Council of Ministers, the Peace and Security Summit which preceded the Summit of the African Union and indeed, after extensive discussions, a resolution was unanimously adopted. I believe this gives us the direction within which we have to move to resolve the Zimbabwean issue.

The Assembly urged all parties to the Zimbabwean crisis to, without delay and under the current mediation, resume talks that should lead to a Government of National Unity.

Resolution on Zimbabwe

The African Union Assembly, meeting in its 11th Ordinary Session held on June 30 to July 1, 2008 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt,

DEEPLY CONCERNED with the prevailing situation in Zimbabwe;

DEEPLY CONCERNED with the negative reports of SADC, the African Union and the Pan-African Parliament observers on the Zimbabwean Presidential run-off election held on June 27, 2008;

DEEPLY CONCERNED about the violence and the loss of life that has occurred in Zimbabwe.

CONSIDERING the urgent need to prevent further worsening of the situation and with a view to avoid spread of conflict with the consequential negative impact on the country and the sub-region;

FURTHER CONSIDERING the need to create an environment conducive for democracy, as well as the development of the people of Zimbabwe;

EXPRESSING its appreciation to SADC, and its Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Co-operation, as well as the Facilitator of the intra-Zimbabwe dialogue, His Excellency Thabo Mbeki, President of the Republic of South Africa, and His Excellency Jean Ping, Chairperson of the African Union Commission for the ongoing work aimed at reconciling the political parties;

RECOGNISING the complexity of the situation in Zimbabwe;

NOTING the willingness of the political leaders of Zimbabwe to enter into negotiations to establish a Government of National Unity;

NOTING FURTHER the preparatory discussions on this matter had already started, under SADC facilitation;

Hereby decide:

1. TO ENCOURAGE President Robert Mugabe and the leader of the MDC Party Mr Morgan Tsvangirai to honour their commitment to initiate dialogue with a view to promoting peace, stability, democracy and the reconciliation of the Zimbabwean people;
2. TO SUPPORT the call, for the creation of a Government of National Unity;
3. TO SUPPORT the SADC Facilitation, and to recommend that SADC mediation efforts should be continued in order to resolve the problems they are facing. In this regard SADC should establish a mechanism on the ground in order to seize the momentum for a negotiated solution;
4. TO APPEAL to states and all parties concerned to refrain from any action that may negatively impact on the climate of dialogue;
5. In the spirit of all SADC initiatives, the AU remains convinced that the people of Zimbabwe will be able to resolve their differences and work together once again as one Nation, provided they receive undivided support from SADC, the AU and the world at large.

This is very important because there is now an African Union decision the way forward and all other parties (the United Nations or any other international organisations) must respect the will on the African Union Summit and indeed, do nothing that will impact negatively on efforts by the African Union, through the SADC mediation to find a solution to the Zimbabwean crisis.

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Questions and Answers

Question: Deputy Minister, the United States has introduced a draft resolution in the UN Security Council calling for mandatory sanctions against Zimbabwe. The matter will come before the Council on Tuesday next week. Will South Africa oppose this resolution? What is our stand on this resolution?

Aziz Pahad: Let me reiterate what I have just said, it is my view that there is an African Union Summit decision taken a few days ago. It is my view that the African Union Summit came to that conclusion based on a concrete understanding of the realities on the ground. They debated this matter for many hours - in the Executive Council and in the Summit and indeed, the resolution that emerged is the only way forward to finding a solution on the Zimbabwean crisis.

Any other interventions that go against the gist of what the AU Summit resolution presents, I believe, will not be off assistance. It will only go towards preventing a solution that is so dearly needed. Why a chapter 7 resolution, the contents of which we are discussing, at this stage? That is another process that is going on.

As the AU Summit resolution says, we call on all other organisations and the international community to not do anything that will jeopardise what the SADC Facilitation, on behalf of the African continent, is trying to achieve. We therefore hope that those who have proposed this draft will seriously consider what the Summit decisions were and allow Africans to solve Africa's problems.

Question: Deputy Minister, where do we stand on Zimbabwe - in terms of the process - is there any process, mediation, dialogue? People are talking of different things - a government of national unity, a transitional government, a government of healing?

Aziz Pahad: Given the mandate of the Summit to the Facilitation to now urgently implement what the resolution says - it has been that both sides are already, and even during the Summit, were engaged in discussions - it is now up to the Facilitation to ensure that steps are urgently taken for this process to really begin to be operationalised.

We do hope that given the circumstances of the pressure and we have just come from the African Union Summit, that the parties, despite what they have been saying publicly are now making preparations for serious discussions on the establishment of what the African Union calls a government of national unity, what others are calling for a reconciliation government. The nature of extent of this can only emerge from discussions undertaken and agreed to by the Zimbabweans themselves.

We ourselves, are not at this stage able to dictate what it should be called - a transitional government or long term agreement. This is a matter that the Facilitation must be able to encourage the Zimbabweans to agreed upon.

As I said, all the observer missions reported on the problems in Zimbabwe. The African Union Summit has expressed deep concern about the situation in Zimbabwe. Now, it is up to the Zimbabweans, understanding the feelings of the African continent about the need to find a solution, under the Facilitation to find a solution as soon as possible.

Question: Deputy Minister, government has been asked this Question: but we are hoping for some frankness and openness: does the South African government recognise President Mugabe as the legitimate President of Zimbabwe?

Aziz Pahad: I think this is an academic discussion. President Mugabe attended the Summit, he headed the Zimbabwean delegation. I think the challenge, as the African Union resolution adopted unanimously refers to, is to look at the future now. We have understood and analysed the past. Let us now move forward to finding this solution that the region, the continent and in fact the people of Zimbabwe demand. Our approach now is to not be diverted on discussions of legitimacy or not. The reality is that on the ground, the inauguration has taken place and what we now have to do is to get the two sides, as equal partners, to meet to find a solution to the situation in Zimbabwe. The AU will fully support this and we hope it will be supported by the international community.

The challenge now is to get the Zimbabwean parties - government and the opposition - to start preparing for discussions on the way forward.

Question: Deputy Minister, we are fully aware that the AU has endorsed the mandate given to President Mbeki but the MDC has said they are not happy with the mediation because they believe he is supportive of Zanu-PF and President Mugabe. What is the response of the South African government to this?

Aziz Pahad: I think what we need to work on is the Summit, having listened to many Heads of State who had also interacted with the Zimbabwean parties, came to this conclusion and endorsed the progress made by the SADC Facilitation led by President Thabo Mbeki and mandated the SADC Facilitation to continue.

I believe that the public statements must be seriously considered and my view is that we cannot ignore a Summit decision. The Summit has endorsed the facilitation and therefore all Zimbabwean parties must accept this decision and start dealing with the Facilitation. We are wasting time and whoever is challenging the Summit decision is wasting valuable time. I think we cannot now look for new mediation because it has reached a certain stage and as the Summit has endorsed and mandated, the Facilitation must continue.

There is nothing that prevents the Facilitation from seeking assistance of others. South Africa is not mediating as South Africa. South Africa, under the mandate of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Co-operation, is facilitating on behalf of SADC and therefore on behalf of the Continent and accordingly the President has to be in touch with the President of Angola who is the Chair of the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Co-operation and indeed with the Chair of SADC which is President Manawasa as well as the Chair of the African Union President Kikwete. There is some suggestion that South Africa's mediation is solely limited to South Africa and the Facilitation is not consulting with all the other relevant institutions in Africa, including, as the AU says with the Chairperson of the AU Commission Mr Ping.

There are lots of briefings and consultations with each other with this understanding of how the mediation must move forward. I do believe that the time has now come, as has been expressed in the Summit resolution, where we are at a very critical stage on finding a long lasting solution in Zimbabwe.

We must not lose this opportunity and it is in the interests of the Zimbabwean people for the political leaders of go into these negotiations as determined by the AU and within the context of the discussions look at all the issues each side is raising and see how the Facilitation, in consultation with the relevant SADC institutions, and if need be with the relevant AU institutions, can help resolve any of these outstanding issues on the agenda.

All of the parties, prior to the run-off elections, have committed themselves to some form of a unity structure. Now the time has come, given the AU resolution for them to implement what they have publicly said. Our view would be that this is what must happen and if there are issues to be raised, it should be done within the context of the mediation.

Question: Deputy Minister, according to the MDC, torture camps are still in operation and at least 10 of their members have been killed since 27 June. How realistic is it, within such a climate, to have both sides sitting around a table to talk?

Aziz Pahad: There is no question o realism or not. It is question of necessity. The Zimbabweans, in line with the decisions of the African Union must meet and deal with all these issues including the issue of violence.

I have already said that all the observer mission reports, including SADC, the AU and the Pan African Parliament, have reflected concerns about the violence post the harmonised elections in March. So there is no debate about the extent of the violence in Zimbabwe.

The question is: given all these factors, given the reality on the ground, all the votes indicate a very divided (sometimes down the middle) society. The African Union Summit then concluded that the best way forward would be for the Zimbabweans to meet and begin to form a government of national unity - that is the terminology used by the African Union. For me, the terminology is not important - what is important is the content of what they have agreed to.

The issue of the violence - if the violence continues or increases, we believe these issues must be raised with the mediation as was done in the past. These matters were then dealt with by the mediation. I believe that the run-off is over now, any continuing violence can only be an impediment to the decision of the AU and is therefore not in the interests of the Zimbabweans or the African continent and we would therefore urge, as the AU has done, that all violence be stopped immediately. The processes of facilitation must be operationalised.

The matter of the violence was thoroughly discussed. If you read the three reports to which I have referred as well as other reports, all these things have been documented and discussed. If acts of violence continue, it is up to the Zimbabweans to take the necessary action, dependent on the decision of the African Union, to take immediate action to stop the violence.

If it continues, we must take action - whatever action is possible - to put a stop to it so that a conducive climate can be created for negotiations to start. It is of no use harping on something that has been going on for so long and our reports indicate this. The AU resolution also indicates its deep concern about the violence so we do not want to keep harping on something that has been dealt with. Let us now emphasise the way forward rather than go back to the issue of violence. We have dealt with this.

Question: Deputy Minister, is South Africa opposed in principle to the draft resolution currently before the United Nations? Do you think that you would be able to find some common ground on Zimbabwe when the British Foreign Secretary is in South Africa? Is South Africa concerned that the Zimbabwe Question: will overshadow the G-8?

Aziz Pahad: I did say when I introduced the topic and in response to an earlier question that the draft resolution proposed by the United States is a matter that is now being discussed by all members of the Security Council - permanent and non-permanent. It is work in progress.

It is my view that the drafters should take note of the AU resolution which calls on the international community, at this very crucial stage, not to take initiatives that can impact negatively on what the AU processes are, through the SADC facilitation.

So, I do sincerely hope that in our discussions we can convince the relevant drafters that we are at a very very decisive moment and to come in with a chapter 7 resolution that will lead to lots of discussion will impact negatively on the processes that are being undertaken. They should rethink this and if necessary, at some stage, when they have come to the conclusion that the recent decision of the AU is not succeeding, come back to this resolution which can be looked at in the context of what has and what has not been achieved through the AU processes. I would hope they would not proceed with this.

Regarding the British Foreign Secretary: I cannot expect such a senior delegation from the UK, coming to South Africa within the context of our broad discussions, to not discuss the Zimbabwean issue and I think we will openly and frankly exchange views and I hope we will come to some consensus on the way forward because all of us, the whole of Africa as well as the European Union, the United States and indeed the broader international community wants a solution. I don't believe our discussions can be antagonistic - it is between two partners who have a longstanding relationship, strong economic and cultural ties, and like all other discussions, this will be one of the issues on the agenda - there are many other issues - we have to discuss Darfur, the Ethiopian-Eritrean border issue, the Sudan-Chad issue, indeed the Middle East issue which remains the greatest threat to international peace and security. The former British Prime Minister is now, on behalf of the Quartet, dealing with the reconstruction of the Occupied Palestinian Territories so all of this will be on the agenda; the Iranian nuclear issue - there are lots of warning signs of the possible attack against Iran; the situation in Afghanistan and in Iraq, so all of these meetings are excellent opportunities for our foreign ministers to sit down and discuss these issues. There are no restrictions on what can be on the agenda. The G-8 will also be taking place while we are meeting with the British delegation and all the issues at the G-8 - the African Action Plan, food and energy crises, are all on the agenda. We look forward to this meeting where our foreign ministers can assess where we are in our relations and how we can move forward. It is now time that our 53 countries, which consists the largest number of countries in the UN, to now get the world to understand that we are as concerned as the rest of the world and we want solutions but solutions that emerge from discussions.

We want to emphasise what has emerged from the Summit: that Africa is committed to dealing with all the challenges that are of concern to others but we have African positions on many of these issues and I did mention to you that the EPA partnership agreements are key on the agenda. We have to move on the inability of the WTO to find solutions to these talks. So, there are many issues to discuss.

Question: Deputy Minister, is there a programme from the Facilitation team henceforth?

Aziz Pahad: I am assuming that the Facilitation team has to date been working according to some plan and programme. I am not privy to what the Facilitation's team programme post-Summit is but I believe that the Facilitation team can sooner or later brief the media about what the programme will be within the context of the AU resolution. Our view remains that as the Facilitation team we cannot negotiate through the media and/or publicly. I know that the media is receiving leaked information but we cannot help this. As the facilitation team they have to adhere to their brief and not hinder the facilitation process.

Aziz Pahad: Deputy Minister, what is the news of President Manawasa?

Answer: This is very unfortunate and now I see that the Zambians are becoming quite agitated because they say that some sources have come from South Africa. As Foreign Affairs we immediately checked with the Zambian High Commission in Pretoria who also informed us that they had been inundated with 100s of calls and they confirmed to us that this rumour has started in South Africa and are not true. Our Mission in Zambia confirmed that this was not true.

The President, as he was entering the memorial service was informed by a very high ranking SADC official that President Manawasa had died so he was working on the basis that this was the latest information given to him by this senior official and he had to take it as being the truth.

Foreign Affairs quickly issued a statement retracting this.

The Zambian government has issued a statement saying the President is ill in hospital. We do apologise to the Zambian government and people, as well as the South African people that these stories have emanated from South Africa.

Question: Deputy Minister, could you help me to understand why putting a little more interest on President Mugabe is not in the interest of achieving a solution?

Aziz Pahad: There is no question of applying pressure - pressure has been applied for the last 7 or 8 years. Smart sanctions are in place, the economy is in a state of serious crisis. Pressure has been put on President Mugabe. Nobody has said that pressure has not been applied. We are referring specifically to a chapter 7 resolution proposed by the United States in the UN Security Council. We believe, as the Summit has said, that at the moment, such a resolution will assist the process and therefore why do we not wait to see how the decision of the African Union is operationalised before we jump to hasty decisions of a chapter 7 resolution.

It is very difficult to see, how in the wake of the AU resolution, how a chapter 7 resolution will assist the process. What is the objective of this resolution given that there is a decision by the African Union on the way forward. What other pressure can be applied? If the pressure you are referring to is going to create the conditions where negotiations based on the AU resolution cannot proceed, then we are all in trouble.

Question: Deputy Minister, you said, "If acts of violence continue, it is up to the Zimbabweans to take the necessary action, dependent on the decision of the African Union, to take immediate action to stop the violence. If it continues, we must take action - whatever action is possible - to put a stop to it so that a conducive climate can be created for negotiations to start." I was wondering if you have a plan B?

Aziz Pahad: I said this before, it is our considered view, and I did say this matter was thoroughly discussed at three levels during the Sharm El-Sheikh meetings - the Permanent Representatives, the Executive Council, a scheduled Peace and Security Summit, and finally, the views from every sector, taking into account the observer missions reports which guided many of the discussions, we went to the Summit where there was very intensive discussions involving many many Presidents speaking on the topic and after that, the conclusion reached was that we are in a very difficult and complex situation and that the AU, therefore, calls on the Zimbabwean parties to take measures to begin the processes of discussions. If there is anything that impacts negatively on this, then it is clear that the Facilitation would have to take this up because you cannot expect negotiations to take place where increasing levels of violence are prevalent. So, we believe that logically, an important element of getting the Zimbabweans to sit down and seriously talk is to create the necessary conducive environment in which this can happen and that includes all these aspects - the violence, the humanitarian situation, the issue of arrests, etc. I am also sure that if you want these discussions to succeed then you would have to create the conducive climate. So we are therefore not looking at any contingency plans. We have an A plan that is determined by the AU and it is this that will drive us. We also have the mandate of 53 countries on our continent and given this unanimous support it is incumbent upon SADC to carry out its task to find a regional solution to a regional problem.

These are extracts from the transcript of a briefing to the media by Aziz Pahad, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Union Buildings, Pretoria, July 4 2008. Issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs July 4 2008