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Urgency needed from Zim parties
07/06/2007 16:18 - (SA)
Cape Town - Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad says it is vital to see urgency from all sides in Zimbabwe to get talks between the parties started.
Speaking to reporters at Parliament, Pahad would not confirm or deny reports of meetings scheduled to be held in Pretoria between Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu-PF and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
Pahad said: "Until there is a decision to officially indicate what meetings are planned and what meetings have already taken place, I would not be able to comment on any reports that have already appeared."
Several newspaper and online news reports suggested that Zanu-PF and both factions of the MDC, one led by Morgan Tsvangirai and the other by Arthur Mutambara, had been scheduled to meet President Thabo Mbeki's mediation team.
Some reports suggest the prospective meeting was snubbed by Zanu-PF, while others indicated the meeting would take place in Pretoria next week.
"It's obvious that we have to move decisively and urgently because the election is already scheduled for next year," was all Pahad was prepared to say.
The Southern African Development Community appointed Mbeki as a facilitator to try to get the Zimbabwean parties to resolve their differences ahead of next year's election.
- SAPA
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