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SA body, diplomats� plot to oust President exposed THE Southern African Institute for International Affairs (SAIIA) recently held a secret meeting with business people and some diplomats accredited to South Africa and Zimbabwe whose agenda was to mobilise efforts towards the removal of President Mugabe from power. The meeting, which was held on December 9 last year, was co-hosted by SAIIA and Africa Matters, an organisation that the former British Foreign Minister of State Baroness Lynda Chalker of Britain heads. Diplomats who attended the meeting included the British High Commissioner to Zimbabwe Mr Brian Donnelly, US ambassador to Zimbabwe Mr Joseph Sullivan, US Assistant Secretary of State Mr Walter Kansteiner and Nigerian High Commissioner to South Africa Prince Obinde. Zimbabweans � Barclays Bank South Africa executive Mr Isaac Takawira and Econet Wireless chief Mr Strive Masiyiwa � also attended the meeting. The spokesperson for the British High Commission Ms Sophia Honey confirmed the presence of Mr Donnelly at the meeting. "He attended the meeting organised by the SAIIA in December but there was nothing extraordinary in that. It is part of his job to maintain contacts with a wide range of people and organisations with different views on the situation in Zimbabwe," she said. Efforts to contact US ambassador Mr Sullivan, Mr Takawira and Mr Masiyiwa were futile. Although the meeting was said to be strictly off the record, the national director of SAIIA, Mr Creg Mills, wrote an opinionated article in the Business Day, a South African newspaper just three days after the meeting of December 9. Titled "South Africa should move from a strategy that has failed," Mr Mills cited the same recommendations that came out at the SAIIA meeting as possible ways that could force President Mugabe to leave office. He, however, did not state that his views were part of the conclusions reached at the secret meeting. "SA should consider a combination of raising the rhetorical tempo against Harare and simultaneous engagement with international partners and the MDC," wrote Mr Mills. Diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity said it was regrettable that a South African-based institute perceived to be an independent body had organised such a meeting whose sole agenda was to use subversive means to oust a democratically elected president. "It is unfortunate that SAIIA has turned itself into a subversive organisation whose aim is to galvanise support to oust Southern Africa governments seen by the organisation as undemocratic," said one diplomat. Other participants in the meeting were South African-based diplomats who included Mr Billy Williams of Australia, Mr Isaac dos Anjos of Angola, Mr John Bech of Norway, National Party representative Roelf Meyer and Jonathan and Jennifer Oppenheimer who represented De Beers company. Participants agreed that past initiatives to remove President Mugabe had failed and that there was need to come up with new strategies that could undermine and make unpopular the Zimbabwe government. Papers on the theme, "Reflecting on Past and Future Strategies" were presented by UNDP senior political advisor Mr Mark Suzman, Mr Rogier van Brink of the World Bank, Mr Kansteiner, Ann Grant of UK and Mr Michael Lake of the European Union. After deliberations that lasted for more than 10 hours, some of the conclusions that came out of the meeting were the need for the legitimisation of the MDC by distancing the populace from President Mugabe and the Government, casting governance crisis through sanctions and urging the re-run of the presidential election. However, any change of government in Zimbabwe was seen as impossible without the involvement of the local people. Mr Mills told participants that one of the ways that could be used to remove President Mugabe was through the instigation of divisions within the ruling Zanu-PF party. "This could involve change within Zanu-PF or a spontaneous people-based revolution within Zimbabwe. The former would have to involve a change of political leadership; the latter the support of the army and paramilitary forces and support of the regional/international community," he said. Other options in the execution of the grand plan was for NGO�s to use food to popularise the MDC, campaign for the opposition party in Sadc and the West, manipulation of civil society including business and labour, enhance subversive activities and use of media propaganda to spruce up MDC�s image. The opening up of old wounds on the Matabeleland dissidents issue, manipulating the Commonwealth troika decision on Zimbabwe, encourage Sadc to dialogue with the MDC and infiltrate the country�s security forces were cited as some of the ways that could bring the MDC to power. After brainstorming on several options, the meeting then devised ways that could be used by non-governmental organisations and other multilateral institutions to enter and effectively entrench themselves in the affairs of the country. It was agreed that the delivery of food aid was one way in which subversive elements could enter the country while pressure should be exerted in the manipulation of fuel supplies. South Africa and Britain were supposed not to take a leading role in the campaign against President Mugabe. Instead, aid agencies were tasked to take a long-term view of their relationship in removing and distorting popular accountability from the Zimbabwe government. "Although South Africa is often mentioned as a conduit or key partner for engagement, a number of difficulties exist, first, Pretoria is not trusted by either Zanu-PF or the opposition MDC, for different reasons. "Zanu-PF suspects the hidden hand of business and the UK behind its actions; while the MDC feels let down by Pretoria over the elections and subsequent events. Conversely, there are costs in making Zimbabwe�s South Africa�s sole responsibility, and constrains its ability to reform at home and to progress in terms of its own challenges." The meeting concluded that political and economic problems facing Zimbabwe are largely as a result of international conspiracy aimed at removing President Mugabe from power. However, this international conspiracy had failed to remove President Mugabe from power and thus the need for other new strategies involving non-governmental organisations working with the local people. This is not the first time that the British High Commissioner Mr Donnelly has been linked to some clandestine activities aimed at creating disharmony in the country. He allegedly directed some non-governmental organisations distributing food in Matabeleland not to give the food to Zanu-PF supporters in the run-up to the Insiza parliamentary by-election last year. The Mulindwas
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