Mbeki, Mugabe meet in Zim

2008-05-09 17:18

Harare - SA President Thabo Mbeki on Friday held intensive talks with veteran counterpart Robert Mugabe over Zimbabwe's post-election crisis as doctors reported a dramatic rise in violence.

Mbeki, the southern African region's chief mediator on Zimbabwe, went straight into talks with Mugabe after arriving in Harare for his first visit since the announcement of presidential election results.

The talks at State House lasted for more than three hours before Mbeki left for the SA embassy in Harare without making any comment to reporters.

He was not due to meet any other Zimbabwean officials or opposition representatives.

The opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), which won control of parliament and whose leader won a first-round victory against Mugabe at general polls on March 29, has called for Mbeki to be axed as a mediator over his softly-softly approach towards the Zimbabwean leader.

Zimbabwean authorities dispute figures

The MDC has said 30 of its supporters have been killed in attacks by Mugabe followers since election day and thousands more have been tortured or injured.

Those figures have been strongly disputed by the Zimbabwean authorities who have accused the opposition of being behind violence, such as arson attacks.

The authorities have been rounding up an increasing number of high-profile opponents, including the veteran editor of one of the country's few remaining independent newspapers on Thursday.

Although there was no immediate confirmation from the police, a spokesperson for the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) said its president Lovemore Matombo and secretary-general Wellington Chibebe were in custody.

"They were arrested yesterday for inciting people to rise up against the government" during anti-government speeches made to supporters on May Day, ZCTU spokesperson Last Charabuka told AFP.

No date for the run-off

Tsvangirai has yet to declare whether he will participate in the run-off, insisting he won an absolute majority on March 29 and arguing that the violence and intimidation preclude the possibility of a free and fair election.

The electoral commission, which took nearly five weeks to announce the results of the first round, has yet to set a date for the run-off which in theory should be held in a fortnight.

Tsvangirai has been out of Zimbabwe for several weeks, meeting with African leaders and diplomats in an effort to step up pressure on the 84-year-old Mugabe to step down after 28 years in power.

Mbeki however has consistently refused to publicly criticise Mugabe, even though South Africa has paid a high price for the economic meltdown across its northern border.

- AFP