Published by the government of Zimbabwe
Itai Musengeyi
20 June 2009
Johannesburg — President Mugabe arrived here yesterday to join other Sadc leaders at an extraordinary summit the regional bloc has convened to tackle the crisis in Madagascar.
Vice President Joice Mujuru will be Acting President during the President's absence.
President Mugabe and his entourage arrived at OR Tambo International Airport yesterday evening and was welcomed by Zimbabwe's Ambassador to South Africa Simon Khaya Moyo.
The special summit focusing on the Indian Ocean island was convened after the suspension of international mediation efforts, AFP reported.
"We believe there is no other solution for Madagascar except for a political solution and we think that can only be found through this process and hence us hosting the extraordinary summit," South Afri-can Foreign Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane said on Thursday.
The Madagascar crisis erupted in March when President Marc Ravalomanana was ousted by opposition leader Andry Rajoelina in an army-backed takeover that followed weeks of street protests.
Sadc has already suspended Madagascar over the ouster while Ravalomanana -- who now lives in exile in South Africa -- has been lobbying regional leaders to press for his return.
He attended current Sadc chairman President Jacob Zuma's inauguration last month and was invited to the 13th Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa summit, hosted by Zimbabwe early this month, where he was recognised as the leader of Madagascar.
The outside world also recoglnises him as the lawful leader of the island.
Comesa leaders resolved at their summit to support military intervention to restore Ravalomanana's rule and called for the total isolation of the Rajoelina regime.
"There is no recognition of Rajoelina who was assisted by the army to take power. It's non-negotiable," Nkoane-Mashabane told journalists in Cape Town.
"Having said that, we cannot stand by as the chair of Sadc and watch the country falling apart . . . The information we are getting from Madagascar is that all is not well on the ground."
The summit was announced two days after talks sponsored by the African Union and the United Nations were suspended, with no date set for resumption.
"We have decided to observe a break in order to ponder our strategy and give the Madagascan players the time needed to make concessions," AU envoy Ablasse Ouedraogo of Burkina Faso told reporters on Tuesday.
"We were quite close to a breakthrough, but we are now facing stumbling blocks caused by stiffening positions and preconditions," he said.
Talks were launched on April 8 between Rajoelina's transitional authority and supporters of Ravalomanana.
The consultations are aimed at striking an agreement on the modalities of the transition and eventually a return to constitutional order.
Rajoelina, who is 35 years old, which is five years below the stipulated constitutional age for eligibility to stand for the presidency, seized power with the backing of the army in March and promised to hold elections next year.
Ravalomanana on Thursday hailed Sadc leaders' decision to hold the summit.
"Sadc has consistently called for the immediate return of constitutional order and democratic rule in Madagascar," Ravalomanana said in a statement.
"Clearly urgent action is required to achieve those goals," he said, adding that he looked forward to attending the summit.
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