ZimVigil petitions UN for transitional authority in Zimbabwe

Exiled Zimbabweans are to appeal to the United Nations to prepare to intervene in Zimbabwe as the bankrupt regime teeters on the verge of violent unrest.

The Vigil today launched the following petition to the UN Secretary-General: With mounting unrest in Zimbabwe, we urge you to appoint a Special Representative to prepare the ground for a UN Transitional Authority to take over from the failed Mugabe regime. We look to the Special Representative to initiate comprehensive negotiations so that the UN Transitional Authority can assume control of Zimbabwe's administrative structures - foreign affairs, defence, security, finance and communications - to ensure a level playing field conducive for credible national elections.

The petition is the fruit of the late Vigil supporter Clifford Mashiri, an academic and former diplomat whose funeral took place in London on Tuesday.

Clifford said ‘Arguably, governance would change in Zimbabwe by virtue of a UN Security Council resolution giving mandate to the UN Transitional Authority in Zimbabwe (UNTAZ) which will only withdraw after free and fair elections have been conducted.'
 
Clifford said the proposed Transitional Authority would be similar to that created in Cambodia. Acknowledging the wide range of political opinions in Zimbabwe, Clifford argued that, in order to wiggle out of the current economic crisis, Zimbabwe must eat humble pie.

In recent months there have been proposals from various quarters in Zimbabwe for some kind of transitional authority and – in the absence of any initiative by the Southern African Development Community – the Vigil believes Clifford's ideas offer a way forward.