Do you think that the current problems of Zimbabwe can be blamed entirely on Mr Mugabe and his regime? Can they be tackled while he remains in any position of power?
The problems that we have in Zimbabwe today are largely a result of Robert Mugabe; it's a man-made disaster. There is no room for Robert Mugabe in the future. His expertise in violence is not good for Zimbabwe, it's not good for the region and it's not good for Africa.
During the meeting with MEPs you called Zanu-PF (the ruling party in Zimbabwe) a "mafia" and Mugabe "a leader of thieves and gangsters". How has he been able to hold on to power for so long when things have become so bad?
Mugabe has been assisted by the gang of so-called service chiefs - heads of the army, police, prisons and the air vice-Marshall who protect him. This is why he managed to stay in power even after the MDC was formed. These people are also beneficiaries of the policies of patronage. But that's just 5 individuals. The soldiers and police officers want to see change, but they have to vote in front of their bosses and cannot express their free will.
Is home-made repression harder to get rid of than foreign repression?
I don't think dictators are different. The tactics are the same - violence, politics of patronage, political rhetoric. If you look at all the dictatorships in the world, you will notice that they have a lot of similarities. Robert Mugabe knows his days are numbered and I believe we are slowly getting there. We are getting regional and international support, even though there are still a few regional leaders that still look upon Mugabe as a hero. Minds are changing in the region and in Africa.
Robert Mugabe is going to go whether he likes it or not, because Zimbabweans have decided that it is time and they voted for the MDC and Morgan Tsvangirai. That election is what made Robert Mugabe brutalise, rape women, torture and kidnap. He realized that Zimbabweans had rejected him.
How can the Zimbabwean opposition manage to speak with one voice and avoid fragmentation? Are the Shona and Ndebele (two peoples of Zimbabwe) people united? How do you imagine the process of national reconciliation?
The MDC is a democratic party that does not function because of tribalism or colour. We are one peace loving people - white, black, Shona and Ndebele speaking - who have been betrayed by Robert Mugabe wanting to stay in power.
Before and after 29 March elections, if Robert Mugabe had considered defeat, people admitted they were going to forgive Mugabe and allow the country and the people to move on. But now some people think that maybe Mugabe and his regime need to go to the Hague. Nevertheless, Zimbabweans are a peace loving people, and MDC President Morgan Tsvangirai was always talking of the government of national healing. So I believe that he is going to give an amnesty to Robert Mugabe and his cronies and allow them to leave the country.
How can outside players - like South Africa, the African Union, the South African Development Community, the EU, USA and the UN - assist Zimbabwe in the transition process?
We need all their support. We value the support that the international community - especially the EU - has always given for Zimbabweans in the creation of the rule of law in their country. That is why the MDC managed to get where it is today. That support encourages Zimbabweans to fight a dictatorship. The African Union and the SADC are our brothers, with the exception of problems with some of the leaders. Minds are changing, many countries in Africa already admitted that Mugabe has to go and Morgan Tsvangirai won the elections.
The MDC has always said it will support South African President Thabo Mbeki and the mediation process. It is only now that we raise our concerns when we see he is not showing impartiality, after he kept quiet about Robert Mugabe's political rhetoric on not stepping down even if he looses the election.
We are saying to the UN and African Union that we need a permanent representative in Harare, so that he can assist in the mediation process.
MEPs call for tighter sanctions
On 10 July MEPs adopted a resolution calling for tighter sanctions against Harare, including an arms embargo and the freezing of assets held by the leadership.
Source: European Parliament
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