PM Tsvangirai’ Shock Reception at London’s Southwark Cathedral

From Kubatana-

Nothing could have prepared me, or, indeed I believe, Prime Minister Tsvangirai and his entourage, for the shock reception and outright rejection of his message to Zimbabwean exiles living in the United Kingdom. Like the more than 1 000 Zimbabweans who turned up at the Anglican cathedral to listen to the Prime Minister, by 11am l was already at London Bridge, frantically asking for directions to the famous cathedral, not wanting to miss the opportunity to hear Morgan speak. I saw and greeted numerous familiar faces from home, and eagerly joined a group of women who spontaneously broke into song and transformed the meeting into a rally of sorts. Although invitations to the meetings had indicated that the meeting would start promptly at 12, when the clock struck 1 with evidence that Morgan had arrived, no-one complained.

When the Prime Minister arrived people packed in the cathedral jostled to catch a glimpse of Morgan and his team, and to snap away a photo or two on their mobile phones. The Prime Minister was scheduled to address the people and then have a question - and - answer session, all in time for meeting to end at 3pm. However, just ten minutes into his prepared speech, the Prime Minister was forced to abandone his speech and the pulpit due to jeering and booing from the crowd. The shock treatment of he received was triggered by his bold declaration that the unity government had brought “peace and stability” to Zimbabwe in the last four months. He went on to say, “let me state it here boldly that Zimbabweans must come home!”

His call on Zimbabwean exiles to come home was greeted by an uproar and spontaneous chants of “Mugabe Must Go!” To his credit, the Prime Minister attempted some damage control and said, “I did not say pack your bags and come home tomorrow, but I said you must begin to think about coming home.” But the damage had already been done. He further tried to portray the unity government as a success stating matter-of-factly that schools are open, hospitals have re-opened and, again, my favourite, inflation has come down from 500 billion percent to just 3 percent. In the brief question and answer session that, was also aborted, one woman asked the Prime Minister where ordinary people are getting the foreign currency to buy goods that are supposedly now in abundance in Zimbabwe. If the meeting had not degenerated into utter chaos forcing the PM and his team to leave prematurely, I would have wanted to pose this question to the PM: ” What is happening to MDC Director-General Toendepi Shonhe - who is languishing in remand prison?”

More here-

http://www.kubatanablogs.net/kubatana/?p=1858

Tsvangirai booed by exiles in London

From Nehanda Radio

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai was booed during a speech to exiles in London after he urged them to come back home and rebuild the country.
The message did not go well with the 1000 plus crowd in the Anglican Cathedral in Southwark who felt it was still not safe to go back to Zimbabwe even under the unity government with Robert Mugabe.

Tsvangirai’s appeal was greeted by boos and chants of “Mugabe must go,” referring to 85-year-old President Robert Mugabe.

When Tsvangirai could not make himself heard above the crowd, he left the pulpit for two minutes before returning to face questions.

He added: “I did not say ‘pack your bags tomorrow,’ I said ‘you should now start thinking about coming home’.”

Spurred on by the Zimbabwe Vigil and Restoration of Human Rights in Zimbabwe (ROHR), two groups accused of exploiting asylum seekers, the crowd reminded Tsvangirai of the continued violations of the unity deal by Zanu PF and Mugabe.

One MDC official told Nehanda Radio the fault lay with the MDC structures in the United Kingdom who failed to advise Tsvangirai of the ‘anti-unity government’ feeling in the diaspora.

More here-

http://nehandaradio.com/2009/06/20/tsvangirai-booed-by-exiles-in-london/comment-page-1/

Morgan Tsvangirai to appeal for his people’s return to Zimbabwe

From the London Times-

Morgan Tsvangirai will deliver a passionate appeal this week to Zimbabwe refugees and asylum seekers living in Britain to return home to help to rebuild their shattered country.

In a two-hour address at Southwark Cathedral before evensong on Saturday afternoon, the Prime Minister of Zimbabwe will argue that his country has made important progress towards democracy and stability.

He will tell the thousands of Zimbabweans who have fled during Robert Mugabe’s rule that their country needs their skills, youth and vigour to help it move further along the path to recovery.

Mr Tsvangirai, who is on a three-week world tour to boost his country’s standing in the West, will also meet Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling in an effort to secure financial support for Zimbabwe and political support for his party, the Movement for Democratic Change.

(snip)

Mr Tsvangirai has chosen Southwark Cathedral to deliver his message because the diocese is linked to four of the five Anglican dioceses in Zimbabwe, with the cathedral itself linked to a diocese of its own. Anglicans in Zimbabwe have suffered terrible privations in an episcopal power struggle that has seen worshippers locked out of churches and intimidated and persecuted by the regime.

A former Anglican bishop of Harare, the disgraced Nolbert Kunonga, an ally of Robert Mugabe, attempted to split the church and set up his own province with himself as archbishop, taking funds and property from the legitimate church.

Church doors have now been opened, however, and the new bishop, Sebastian Bakare, who keeps the chains that were used to lock the door of Harare Cathedral in a bag in his office, led Anglicans in Easter celebrations in the building this year for the first time in two years.

An appeal set up by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, Dr Rowan Williams and Dr John Sentamu, has raised £300,000 to help the churches provide food and health care for the victims of the nation’s crisis.

Its all here-

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/africa/article6513748.ece