Civil Society Leader Calls Agreement Illegitimate

Posted to the web 22 July 2008 Violet Gonda Outspoken civil leader Dr Lovemore Madhuku regards the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding by the main political parties in the country as "illegitimate," saying it does not take an all stakeholders approach. The leaders of ZANU PF and the two MDC formations on Monday signed an agreement on a framework for negotiations leading towards a political settlement. Madhuku said: "I think as civil society our reaction is very clear. We believe that the approach taken by the political parties is illegitimate. It is illegitimate because they believe that as political parties on their own they have the responsibility to resolve the crisis and they are excluding the rest of society generally, and not just civil society." "It is simply based on an understanding that once the political... [read full story]