'Zim not a priority for SADC'

2005-08-15 07:57

Carole Landry

Harare - President Robert Mugabe heads to a summit of Southern African leaders this week, seeking support from friends to fend off mounting calls for political change in Zimbabwe.

Mugabe is under pressure to open talks with the opposition on charting a new course for Zimbabwe following a disastrous government demolitions campaign that has been condemned by the United Nations for leaving hundreds of thousands homeless and destitute.

Presidential spokesperson George Charamba expressed confidence that leaders of the 14-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC) meeting in Botswana on Wednesday and Thursday would not add their voice to the outrage over Zimbabwe.

"Zimbabwe is a priority for the western media but not for SADC leaders," said Charamba. "They are very clear about the situation in Zimbabwe. They are under no illusions as to the state of affairs."

"A domestic issue'

He said Zimbabwe would not be singled out by SADC, which in March endorsed elections that handed victory to Mugabe's Zanu-PF party, despite opposition claims that the vote was rigged.

Charamba said political talks were "a domestic issue and not an international issue".

In the run up to the summit, Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo ratcheted up the pressure on Mugabe when he, as chair of the African Union, appointed former Mozambican president Joaquim Chissano as mediator.

Chissano travelled to Zambia and Namibia for high-level talks ahead of the summit, stressing he was "ready" to help broker negotiations between the government and the opposition "if they wish to talk".

Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has said he is ready to sit down with Mugabe, who has been in power for 25 years, but the president has stuck to his refusal to hold negotiations on a new constitution that would pave the way to fresh elections.

'Misdirected efforts'

"I am aware that there are shrill calls from many quarters including those which we expect to know better for so-called talks with the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)," said Mugabe.

"Today we tell all those calling for such ill-conceived talks to please stop misdirecting their efforts."

MDC spokesperson Paul Themba Nyathi said he expected "not much" from the SADC summit "because there are too many divided opinions on Zimbabwe" within the regional grouping.

"If anything, SADC is just hoping the Zimbabwe situation will resolve itself or disappear," he said.

A key player in SADC's response to the Zimbabwe crisis will be South Africa, which is negotiating a loan of up to $500m to Harare on condition that it agrees to talks "with all stakeholders" from civil society and from the political arena.

The UN report compiled by special envoy Anna Tibaijuka during the controversial demolition blitz, recommended that the UN, working with the AU and SADC "at the highest levels, should assist the government of Zimbabwe to promote real internal dialogue".

- AFP