Mosisili lashes out at Tsvangirai

MASERU – Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili yesterday lashed out at Morgan Tsvangirai accusing the Zimbabwe opposition leader of constantly shifting goal posts.
Mosisili said Tsvangirai was “double-tongued and thick” which made it difficult for regional leaders to press for a solution to Zimbabwe’s nine-year crisis.
Mosisili’s remarks came a day after Southern African Development Community (SADC) leaders said Tsvangirai had agreed to a power-sharing deal with Robert Mugabe.
Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party immediately issued a statement denying that it had sealed any deal with Mugabe.
The MDC said it had not agreed to go into government of national unity adding that the party’s national council would meet in Harare tomorrow to decide their next step.
Mosisili said the MDC’s public pronouncements were in sharp contrast to what was agreed at the SADC summit in Pretoria on Monday.
“I was quite stunned by Tsvangirai’s denial that there was no deal at all,” Mosisili said.
“In our meeting in Pretoria he kept on saying that we were making progress. But once he was out of the conference hall he makes a complete turn against all that was agreed upon,” Mosisili said.
In a communiqué issued after the summit, SADC leaders said the parliament of Zimbabwe should pass a constitutional amendment allowing for the creation of the post of prime minister to be held by Tsvangirai.
Tsvangirai and his deputies should be sworn-in on February 11 while ministers and deputy ministers should be sworn in on 13 February, according to the communiqué.
The MDC said the conclusions of the summit “fall short of our expectations.”
The party said the summit had failed to address its concerns over the equitable sharing of key government ministries and halting the harassment of its supporters by state security agents.
Mosisili said the power sharing deal was the only way out for the troubled southern African country.
 ”The only solution to the problems of Zimbabwe is the inclusive government,” said Mosisili.
Mosisili also attacked Graca Machel, Nelson Mandela’s wife, who last week condemned SADC leaders for failing to act against Mugabe. She said SADC leaders were insensitive to the plight of Zimbabweans.
He said it was wrong for Machel to seek to portray herself as the only one who is seeing the plight of the Zimbabwean people while the rest of the SADC leaders were blind.
 ”If she could see those sufferings and she feels we are insensitive to the plight of Zimbabweans why can’t she take her much respected husband and fly to Zimbabwe where Mandela would tell Mugabe to step down?”
“They are of the same age and they attended school together at Fort Hare,” Mosisili said.
Asked if Mugabe should be hauled to The Hague in the Netherlands for human rights abuses, Mosisili said it is unfair to look for atrocities committed in Africa while neglecting abuses happening in the West.
He cited the atrocities committed at the Guantanamo Bay by the United States.
“How can these Americans say they can teach us about human rights when they are violating those same human rights at Guantanamo Bay?” he said.