Tsvangirai to address Zimbabweans in London Saturday

By Tichaona Sibanda
19 June 2009

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai is expected to address thousands of Zimbabweans at Southwark Cathedral in London on Saturday.

This will be the first time that the MDC president will be coming to the UK as Prime Minister, since joining the inclusive government in Ferbruary.

The United Kingdom is home to close to a million Zimbabwean exiles, many of them active members of the MDC. In the past, Tsvangirai has been to the UK to drum up support for his party and solely to address party activists.

Matthew Nyashanu, spokesman for the MDC in the UK, told us Saturday’s rally will be for all Zimbabweans, regardless of their party affiliations.

‘He’s coming to address us as the Prime Minister of Zimbabwe and not president of the MDC. So the meeting is open to anyone wishing to get an update of what is happening in the unity government,’ Nyashunu said.

Tsvangirai has been in Brussels, Belgium since Wednesday night and is expected to fly into London Friday evening.

Bjorn Hultin, a Zimbabwean lobbyist based in Brussels, said Tsvangirai has had a successful trip to the home of the European Union.
‘He and his delegation have had a fantastic working visit to Brussels. They’ve also had fruitful discussions with officials here,’ Hultin said.

These were the first official talks between the EU and Zimbabwe in seven years. The EU delegation was headed by Javier Solana, Secretary-General of the Council of the European Union, and included several commissioners.
Tsvangirai will be in the UK for five days and Conservative MP Sir Nicholas Winterton, vice-chairman of the all-party group on Zimbabwe, told Parliament on Thursday that the ‘courageous’ politician would be visiting the House Commons next week to meet MPs and peers from the group on Tuesday.
Tsvangirai will also have meetings with Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Chancellor Alistair Darling as he seeks humanitarian aid and financial support for Zimbabwe.