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ANC statement on Zimbabwe welcomed
Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU)
Extracted from COSATU Weekly
Januray 21, 2005

http://www.cosatu.org.za/news/weekly/20050121.htm#2

The Congress of South African Trade Unions said this week that it was heartened by the statement made by African National Congress Secretary General, Kgalema Motlanthe, on Zimbabwe and the ANC Lekgotla's statement on the political situation in the neighbouring country.

The federation said the statements, which comes few weeks before the March Parliamentary elections in that country, will go a long way to closing the gap between COSATU and the ANC that seemed to exist over Zimbabwe towards the end of last year - especially in the debate being conducted in ANC Today following the deportation of COSATU's fact-finding mission.

Motlanthe's expressed the need to level the playing field, the removal of restrictions on opposition parties and the call for the police to behave in an impartial manner ahead of the elections. The remarks, carried in The Star and Business Day, complemented ANC Lekgotla statement, which said: "The immediate challenge is to work with all groups within Zimbabwe to ensure that the forthcoming parliamentary elections are free and fair, and result in the free expression of the will of the Zimbabwean people. The meeting noted with appreciation that this was an objective to which the country's main political organisations had committed themselves. It called on the SADC community, within the context of the SADC principles and guidelines governing democratic elections, to play a leading role in providing whatever support is required".

COSATU however rejected to Motlanthe's comment that the federation's trip to Zimbabwe last year was motivated by the desire attract headlines in the media. This uncharacteristic comment, it said, bordered on the attack on COSATU's integrity when it addresses these important issues.

COSATU has always been concerned about defending the human rights and economic well-being of its fellow workers in Zimbabwe and to show solidarity with its counterpart, the Zimbabwean Congress of Trade Unions.

The federation has also written to the Zimbabwean Minister of Labour, Paul Mangwana, about the fact finding mission that it intends sending to that country. Although the federation has not received any response yet, the Daily Mirror quoted the Minister recently saying that "if the COSATU delegation bulldozed its way into the country, it was going to meet the same fate as in October last year and that they are unwanted people. Unwanted people are thrown away. If they come we will force them into the next Kombi."

He also suggest that COSATU should be working through a bilateral structure which did not exist.

Meanwhile, the general secretaries of COSATU and the ZCTU are to meet in Cape Town tomorrow. The two leaders will discuss the current situation in that country, the forthcoming elections and a way forward.

"In the meantime we shall continue to organize pickets of the Zimbabwe High Commission and, together with the ZCTU, are looking at other possible actions including a blockade of the border. We invite those who said we acted irresponsibly by sending a fact-finding mission to Zimbabwe last year to tell us what we should do now, in face of the intransigence of the Zimbabwe Labour Minister. Under the current political climate, conditions for free and fair elections do not exist. The challenge is to assist in ensuring that the playing field is levelled. We pledge that we will work with the ANC and the ZCTU ensure that our demands for democratic elections are addressed by the Zimbabwe government and that human rights and civil liberties are restored in that country," said COSATU.

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