Re the Southwark message from the diaspora that all is not well.  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYsf9dsNIjM

Statement from the Information & Publicity Department, MDC Pressroom – 29^th June 2009. (http://www.swradioafrica.com/Documents/khyupe290609.pdf) 

Full text of Acting President, Hon Thokozani Khupe’s speech after MDC Ministers walked out of Mugabe’s “Cabinet” meeting 

"For a long time the MDC has made issue of the unequivocal lack of paradigm shift on the part of ZANU PF as an actor in the Transitional government. For a long time we have remained the polite and subservient Upholders of the GPA against clear evidence of the absence of a reliable & honest partner. 

At the epicenter of our disappointment has been the unwillingness of ZANU PF to timeously resolve the unfinished issues of the inclusive government under the GPA. In particular, despite five months of endless meetings amongst the Principals ,the central issues of the Reserve Bank Governor, The Attorney General, the Provincial Governors, the swearing in of Roy Bennett and the appointment of ambassadors remain unresolved as such the inclusive government is yet to be fully constituted. 

These issues continue to affect the health of the GPA. They are structural issues that are at the root of the GPA. Any breach of the same and any failure to resolve the same is fundamental .Part of the problem lies in the fact that ZANU PF has not woken up to the reality of the MDC as an equal partner in the agreement following the March 29 result .More importantly they have not accepted that in the constitution, the GPA, Mr Mugabe and President Tsvangirai are placed on par and that the former cannot do anything without the latter. 

Further evidence of the lack of a paradigm shift, is the deliberate refusal to convene the National Security council. The National Security Council became law in February 2009 and demands that the Security council meets once every month. Four months later, it has not met simply because a few elite securocrats do not recognise the authority of the new order. 

The lack of recognition of the fundamental principle of equality has given rise to a persistent and corrosive culture of unilateralism. That unilateralism includes unlawful redefinition of the mandate of ministries, executive appointments and a pervasive reproduction of a business-of-the old order mentality. The same unilateralism is being reflected in the nascent constitution making process where suddenly and contrary to the provisions of the GPA, the Kariba draft constitution is now being sought to be imposed lock stoke and barrel on the people of Zimbabwe. 

Over and above this we have protested at the persistent abuse of the rule of law, the cynical disrespect of the countrys’ laws and flagrant insensitivity to the multiplier effect of all acts of lawlessness. We remain concerned about the persistent victimization, arrest and violence against our MPs, activists, civil society members, and members of staff. We have remained abhorred by the continuous incidents of farm invasions and virile prosecution of farmers. We have remained abhorred at the selective application of the rule of law. Equally of concern is our disenchantment at the continued frustration of the democratisation agenda by ZANU-PF. Media reforms remain aborted whilst state media, in particular the Herald and ZBC continue to churn out vitriol and propaganda. Equally, there is no movement on key legislation on fundamental issues such as the promotion of freedom of speech, assembly and expression. 

This morning, we were advised that Cabinet had been shifted from its mandated day of Tuesday to Monday at 10am. Innocent and innocuous as this decision may be, the fact of the matter is that it underpins everything wrong about the present agreement. The decision seeks to deny the recognition of the Prime Minister as chair of Cabinet when the President is away. Mr Mugabe has indicated that he will not be present on Tuesday and hence the unilateral decision to move Cabinet forward to today. This reflects unilateralism, disrespect, contempt and refusal to recognise reality and the letter and spirit of the GPA, the reality of 29 March 2009 and the reality of now to the extent that Cabinet is held on Tuesday, we will not attend an informal unilateral meeting. 

However whilst we remain fundamentally committed to the GPA in the interests of our people, it is our constitutional right to consider disengagement. It is time that for Christ’s sake toxicity and insanity are removed from the GPA. It is time that the irreversibility of our change became a living reality not just to ZANU-PF but to the people of Zimbabwe at large.

Thank you"

In the humid heat it was tempting to slope off from the Vigil and find a television to watch the second rugby test match between South Africa and the British Lions in Pretoria to see whether the Zimbabwean Tendai Mtawarira, known as ‘the Beast’, could repeat his heroics when he won the first test for the host country. 

But Vigil supporters were too fired up about another matter – the silly allegations on some loud-mouthed Zimbabwean exile websites that the Vigil and ROHR were behind the booing of Morgan Tsvangirai when he spoke to the UK diaspora in Southwark Cathedral last week. Anyone looking at videos of the occasion will see that the angry response was prompted by Mr Tsvangirai’s remarks and was spontaneous and could not possibly have been planned. 

The meeting’s organisers also sought to blame asylum seekers, accusing them of being selfish and not being up to date with the situation on the ground in Zimbabwe – the 'progress' that has been made. Well, frankly, with the abundant access to information that we have in the UK we sometimes feel that we have to tell people at home what is going on – that, for instance, the MDC Deputy Minister for Mines, Murisi Zwizwai, seems to have been co-opted by Zanu-PF in claiming that there is no evidence of killings in the Marange diamond fields.  

What upset the Zimbabwean exiles at Southwark Cathedral was this type of half truth being peddled by the MDC leadership.  We are not convinced that everything is ok, that Mugabe’s grip on power is being loosened or that human rights violations and farm invasions are not happening. 

The Vigil went ahead with our human rights demonstration outside the cathedral despite an extraordinary e-mail to us from an MDC organiser talking about possible violence. What was this about? The Vigil has been staging demonstrations at least once a week for seven years without any trouble.   

Among the efforts to destabilise the Vigil are predictable allegations of the misuse of money, most recently accusations of ‘selling’ letters to support asylum claims.  We have spelt out our policy before but here it is again:
1.       We do not have membership fees.
2.       We do not make any charge to committed supporters of the Vigil for letters.
3.       To people who have come less than 10 times but more than 5 (out of 350!) there is a fee of £10 to cover administration expenses for a detailed letter.
4.       To those who have come less than 6 times we are reluctant to say they are supporters but will write a one-line letter confirming they have attended. We charge £20 to discourage this.  

Now what happens to this money? No one draws a salary. Some of the money goes on administration expenses, some of it goes on fares and welfare expenditure for our supporters. The bulk goes to help ROHR and other Zimbabwean human rights causes as agreed by the finance committee and Vigil management team.   

The role of the Vigil and ROHR was discussed extensively at our very well-attended monthly forum held after the Vigil. Ephraim Tapa, President of ROHR, said the organisation was non-party political and was working with many partners on various platforms in Zimbabwe, South Africa and the UK. For further information see the ROHR press statement (see previous posting on this website). Vigil Co-ordinator Dumi Tutani was warmly applauded when he said we were being targeted for telling the truth but we would continue our demonstrations for free and fair elections for as long as it takes.  

Thanks to Jonathan Kariwoh for helping the management team with the register. Thanks also to Pamela Dunduru, Chair of ROHR West Bromwich branch and Diana Mtendereki also of West Bromwich for supplying soft drinks for Vigil supporters.

For latest Vigil pictures check: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zimbabwevigil/ 

FOR THE RECORD:  167 signed the register.