Mediation can work - Mbeki

2007-03-31 15:59

Johannesburg - President Thabo Mbeki said he was confident that new mediation could resolve Zimbabwe's political crisis, but warned that neither the government nor opposition should attach conditions to the talks.

Mbeki, named last week by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to promote dialogue between President Robert Mugabe and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), told the SABC that Western calls for tougher moves on Zimbabwe were misplaced.

"As a region we are quite convinced that the only way to solve the problem is the direction we have taken," Mbeki said in an interview broadcast on Saturday.

The United States has said that African nations "fell short" in putting pressure on Mugabe at a summit in Tanzania last week, which saw SADC call for an end to sanctions on Mugabe's government and a new political dialogue.

Tensions in Zimbabwe have risen sharply in the past two weeks after police arrested and beat MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai and other activists in a move that spurred widespread international condemnation.

All sides 'would agree' on talks

Mugabe's ruling Zanu-PF party on Friday formally endorsed the 83-year-old leader as its candidate for presidential elections next year, a move which could see him extend his rule over the country into a third decade.

Talks were the best way

Mbeki, who has tried and failed to facilitate dialogue between Mugabe and the MDC in the past, said he believed all sides in Zimbabwe would agree that political talks were the best way to address the crisis.

"Both MDC groups - the one led by (Morgan) Tsvangirai, and the other by (rival MDC faction leader Arthur) Mutambara - have not complained to us. Mugabe and Zanu-PF have not complained," Mbeki said.

Tsvangirai's MDC has warned that it may not participate in the 2008 elections if Mugabe is a candidate, accusing him of rigging a series of previous elections.

But Mbeki said such pre-conditions would do little to improve the situation in Zimbabwe, where an accelerating economic collapse was increasing political tensions.

"If people have issues to raise, they should raise it in the context of discussion," he said.

- Reuters