Opposition Leader Becomes Prime Minister of Zimbabwe in Historic Power Sharing Agreement

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The New York Sun

Harare, Zimbabwe — Morgan Tsvangirai was cheered by thousands of dancing supporters yesterday as he signed a power-sharing agreement with President Mugabe and became Zimbabwe’s new prime minister.

Nine years after founding the Movement for Democratic Change and enduring the murder of hundreds of his supporters, along with the impoverishment of Zimbabwe’s people, he finally entered the corridors of power.

The agreement leaves Mr. Mugabe as president — but in a weaker position than at any time in his 28-year rule.

The MDC’s two factions will have a majority in the new 31-member cabinet — they have already won a majority in parliament. But Mr. Mugabe signaled that he would not retreat into the background. In a belligerent speech, he blamed British “interference” for all Zimbabwe’s problems and pointedly gave warning that the unity agreement would only be “preserved” if all parties upheld the country’s “sovereignty.”

Inside a packed conference center in Harare, a smiling Mr. Tsvangirai received louder cheers than the president, whose wife, Grace, looked on from the floor, her mouth turned down in apparent fury. Quoting Mr. Mugabe’s speech at independence in 1980, Mr Tsvangirai said: “Let us turn our swords into ploughshares. If you were my enemy yesterday, today we are bound by the same patriotic duty and destiny.”

Mr. Tsvangirai has suffered arrest, assault, attempted assassination, and trial on charges of treason, all at the hands of Mr. Mugabe’s regime. But he said: “I have signed this agreement because my belief in Zimbabwe and its peoples runs deeper than the scars I bear from the struggle. I have signed this agreement because my hope for the future is greater than the grief I feel for the needless suffering of the past years. We deserve a better life, we deserve a life without fear, hunger, poverty, and oppression.”

Mr. Tsvangirai said that the “road ahead is long and it will not be easy” adding: “Let us not be divided by the past but united by hope for the future.”

In contrast, Mr. Mugabe’s speech was almost entirely about the past, and a demonstration that despite Zimbabwe’s economic meltdown, he still believed that all his decisions were justified.

Flanked by his generals, he gave a history of the anti-colonial struggle and delivered a trademark denunciation of Britain. “Why, why, why the hand of the British? Why, why, why the hand of the Americans here?” he said.

As Mr. Mugabe spoke these words, Mr. Tsvangirai visibly winced and covered his face with one hand. President Mbeki of South Africa, who mediated the agreement and can take much of the credit, looked uncomfortable.

Tensions undoubtedly remain between the MDC and Mr. Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party — at one point during the ceremony, rival groups outside broke into a stone-throwing exchange.

In the comment that perhaps unveiled most about his inner feelings, Mr. Mugabe said: “Democracy in Africa is a difficult proposition, because always the opposition will want much more than what it deserves.”


The New York Sun

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