President Zuma Tells Lesotho leaders to renew peace talks

President Jacob Zuma, right, speaks to Lesotho's King Letsie during a visit on Monday. 

PRESIDENT Jacob Zuma will spend Tuesday in Lesotho battling to prevent the political peace deal he brokered last week from unravelling.
Prime Minister Tom Thabane and his rivals in the quarrelsome kingdom are threatening to tear up the compromise they reached in Pretoria on September 1 with Mr Zuma and the Southern African Development Community (Sadc).


Mr Thabane said on Monday in Maseru that a de facto mutiny by Gen Tlali Kamoli, who had seized army weapons, made it impossible to reopen parliament, even though that was a fundamental part of the deal. "The situation in the country is not stable — how do we reopen parliament under these conditions?
"We have a renegade army general who has gone rogue with some weapons from the country’s armoury and refuses to submit to authority. This is not the time to reopen parliament."

During his one-day visit, Mr Zuma would consult Lesotho’s King Letsie as well as the prime minister and leaders of the coalition government he headed, SA’s Department of International Relations and Co-operation said on Monday.
In reality, the king is a constitutional monarch who is respected by the great majority of his 2-million subjects but whose powers are close to nonexistent.

Mr Thabane’s coalition exists only in name and he is at daggers drawn with his deputy prime minister, Mothetjoa Metsing.
To make matters worse, Gen Kamoli is said to be holed up in Lesotho’s mountains with a group of army supporters, and Mr Thabane’s security is in such doubt that he agreed to go home last week only with a South African police escort.

This is the hostile environment that Mr Zuma and International Relations and Co-operation Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane will enter "to assist the kingdom to restore peace and stability", according to the department. Whether Mr Zuma — in his role as chairman of Sadc’s organ on politics, defence and security — can make any headway in Maseru must be in considerable doubt.
The meeting on September 1 concluded with a "road map" that itself was a confirmation of an earlier Windhoek declaration to "ensure good governance, strengthened regional capacity, and durable peace and security in the region". None of the agreements has stuck.

Mr Thabane, through King Letsie, dissolved parliament in June for up to nine months. Basotho analysts and diplomats say this was to prevent his deputy, Mr Metsing, from convening a parliamentary session, mustering a majority and immediately removing him from the premiership and replacing him.
The paper-thin coalition that followed the dissolution of parliament collapsed 10 days ago with a virtual coup by sections of the army.

The soldiers disarmed the police — a move that helped Mr Thabane as well as some of his supporters to cross the border to safety in SA. Most of the short-term exiles have now returned to the mountain kingdom and the only confirmed fatality so far has been a policeman.

But a lasting solution to the political crisis appears distant and the potential involvement of military forces is worrying in a poor country whose fortunes have recently been on the rise because its abundant water now supplies SA’s economic heartland of Gauteng.

Any thought of military action comes with the baggage of 1998 when Sadc troops — led by South Africans — marched into downtown Maseru, ostensibly to tame post-election violence. Heavy-handedness led to more than 60 deaths and vast property destruction.
Despite this recent memory, Mr Thabane has argued strongly for a Sadc military intervention force to restore his authority. So far, Mr Zuma’s government has ruled out that option.

Source-AFP

ival Lesotho leaders vowed to resolve an 11-day crisis that has spurred calls for regional military intervention in the tiny African nation, after South Africa brokered talks on Tuesday.
The sparring factions agreed to hold further negotiations and present a concrete date for reopening Lesotho's parliament to South Africa's President Jacob Zuma on Friday.
- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/world/article/zuma-prods-lesotho-leaders-to-renew-peace-talks#sthash.37k0nZYr.dpuf

Rival Lesotho leaders vowed to resolve an 11-day crisis that has spurred calls for regional military intervention in the tiny African nation, after South Africa brokered talks on Tuesday.
The sparring factions agreed to hold further negotiations and present a concrete date for reopening Lesotho's parliament to South Africa's President Jacob Zuma on Friday.
"We had very frank and good kind of discussions," said Zuma after the three-hour meeting, aimed at keeping a week-old peace deal alive.

"We're just about to get there," said Lesotho Prime Minister Thomas Thabane, who suspended parliament in June and has struggled to preserve his coalition government – a rarity in African politics. But the parties remained silent on how to tackle the "renegade" Lesotho military commander Lieutenant General Tlali Kamoli, who is accused of triggering the crisis on August 30, one day after he was fired by Thabane.
Kamoli allegedly attempted an early morning coup, including the botched abduction of Thabane and an assault on several police stations. Thabane fled to South Africa in the aftermath.
The general has refused to step down and last week led a circle of army loyalists in looting an armoury. Reports suggest he has hunkered down in military barracks outside the capital.
Zuma has refused Thabane's request to deploy troops from the 15-member Southern African Development Community.
"President Zuma is here to remind everyone of their political commitments from last week," South African government spokesman Clayson Monyela. "Let's give diplomacy a chance."
Any thought of military action comes with the baggage of 1998, when SADC troops led by South Africa marched into downtown Maseru, Lesotho's capital, ostensibly to tame post-election violence.
That led to more than 60 deaths and vast property destruction.
Thesele Maseribane, a junior leader in Lesotho's coalition government, said he was cautiously optimistic after Tuesday's meeting.
"I can now see a light, that this can be done without bloodshed," he said. "Kamoli must calm down, come to his senses - and we'll listen to him too."
A statement from the party of former prime minister Pakalitha Mosisili, a Kamoli ally, ratcheted up tension, warning of "atrocities and bloodbath" should the general be arrested.
"General Kamoli is quite literally and without exaggeration, the last thread by which Lesotho's democracy is hanging," read the statement. "Mark our words."
Even if the talks lead to a concrete date for re-opening parliament, Kamoli remains a wild card.
"We can't talk about moving forward politically when we have this prevailing security situation," Home Minister Joang Molapo told AFP.
"We hope (Zuma) will help us return our military command to civilian control. Until then, we can't take the option of military intervention off the table." – AFP, September 10, 2014.
- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/world/article/zuma-prods-lesotho-leaders-to-renew-peace-talks#sthash.37k0nZYr.dpuf

South Africa's President Jacob Zuma said there was a frank and good discussion with Lesotho leaders, with the aim of keeping a week-old peace deal alive. – Reuters pic, September 10, 2014.Rival Lesotho leaders vowed to resolve an 11-day crisis that has spurred calls for regional military intervention in the tiny African nation, after South Africa brokered talks on Tuesday.
The sparring factions agreed to hold further negotiations and present a concrete date for reopening Lesotho's parliament to South Africa's President Jacob Zuma on Friday.
"We had very frank and good kind of discussions," said Zuma after the three-hour meeting, aimed at keeping a week-old peace deal alive.

"We're just about to get there," said Lesotho Prime Minister Thomas Thabane, who suspended parliament in June and has struggled to preserve his coalition government – a rarity in African politics. But the parties remained silent on how to tackle the "renegade" Lesotho military commander Lieutenant General Tlali Kamoli, who is accused of triggering the crisis on August 30, one day after he was fired by Thabane.
Kamoli allegedly attempted an early morning coup, including the botched abduction of Thabane and an assault on several police stations. Thabane fled to South Africa in the aftermath.
The general has refused to step down and last week led a circle of army loyalists in looting an armoury. Reports suggest he has hunkered down in military barracks outside the capital.
Zuma has refused Thabane's request to deploy troops from the 15-member Southern African Development Community.
"President Zuma is here to remind everyone of their political commitments from last week," South African government spokesman Clayson Monyela. "Let's give diplomacy a chance."
Any thought of military action comes with the baggage of 1998, when SADC troops led by South Africa marched into downtown Maseru, Lesotho's capital, ostensibly to tame post-election violence.
That led to more than 60 deaths and vast property destruction.
Thesele Maseribane, a junior leader in Lesotho's coalition government, said he was cautiously optimistic after Tuesday's meeting.
"I can now see a light, that this can be done without bloodshed," he said. "Kamoli must calm down, come to his senses - and we'll listen to him too."
A statement from the party of former prime minister Pakalitha Mosisili, a Kamoli ally, ratcheted up tension, warning of "atrocities and bloodbath" should the general be arrested.
"General Kamoli is quite literally and without exaggeration, the last thread by which Lesotho's democracy is hanging," read the statement. "Mark our words."
Even if the talks lead to a concrete date for re-opening parliament, Kamoli remains a wild card.
"We can't talk about moving forward politically when we have this prevailing security situation," Home Minister Joang Molapo told AFP.
"We hope (Zuma) will help us return our military command to civilian control. Until then, we can't take the option of military intervention off the table." – AFP, September 10, 2014.

- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/world/article/zuma-prods-lesotho-leaders-to-renew-peace-talks#sthash.37k0nZYr.dpuf

South Africa's President Jacob Zuma said there was a frank and good discussion with Lesotho leaders, with the aim of keeping a week-old peace deal alive. – Reuters pic, September 10, 2014.Rival Lesotho leaders vowed to resolve an 11-day crisis that has spurred calls for regional military intervention in the tiny African nation, after South Africa brokered talks on Tuesday.
The sparring factions agreed to hold further negotiations and present a concrete date for reopening Lesotho's parliament to South Africa's President Jacob Zuma on Friday.
"We had very frank and good kind of discussions," said Zuma after the three-hour meeting, aimed at keeping a week-old peace deal alive.

"We're just about to get there," said Lesotho Prime Minister Thomas Thabane, who suspended parliament in June and has struggled to preserve his coalition government – a rarity in African politics. But the parties remained silent on how to tackle the "renegade" Lesotho military commander Lieutenant General Tlali Kamoli, who is accused of triggering the crisis on August 30, one day after he was fired by Thabane.
Kamoli allegedly attempted an early morning coup, including the botched abduction of Thabane and an assault on several police stations. Thabane fled to South Africa in the aftermath.
The general has refused to step down and last week led a circle of army loyalists in looting an armoury. Reports suggest he has hunkered down in military barracks outside the capital.
Zuma has refused Thabane's request to deploy troops from the 15-member Southern African Development Community.
"President Zuma is here to remind everyone of their political commitments from last week," South African government spokesman Clayson Monyela. "Let's give diplomacy a chance."
Any thought of military action comes with the baggage of 1998, when SADC troops led by South Africa marched into downtown Maseru, Lesotho's capital, ostensibly to tame post-election violence.
That led to more than 60 deaths and vast property destruction.
Thesele Maseribane, a junior leader in Lesotho's coalition government, said he was cautiously optimistic after Tuesday's meeting.
"I can now see a light, that this can be done without bloodshed," he said. "Kamoli must calm down, come to his senses - and we'll listen to him too."
A statement from the party of former prime minister Pakalitha Mosisili, a Kamoli ally, ratcheted up tension, warning of "atrocities and bloodbath" should the general be arrested.
"General Kamoli is quite literally and without exaggeration, the last thread by which Lesotho's democracy is hanging," read the statement. "Mark our words."
Even if the talks lead to a concrete date for re-opening parliament, Kamoli remains a wild card.
"We can't talk about moving forward politically when we have this prevailing security situation," Home Minister Joang Molapo told AFP.
"We hope (Zuma) will help us return our military command to civilian control. Until then, we can't take the option of military intervention off the table." – AFP, September 10, 2014.

- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/world/article/zuma-prods-lesotho-leaders-to-renew-peace-talks#sthash.37k0nZYr.dpuf