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Zim conditions 'not yet right'
02/07/2008 14:45 - (SA)
Harare - Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai on Wednesday spurned a call from African leaders for talks with President Robert Mugabe on forming a unity government, saying conditions were not yet right.
Tsvangirai, who boycotted a widely criticised June 27 election run-off, said Mugabe must first stop attacks on opposition supporters and demanded that negotiations take place on the basis of a March 29 first round vote, which he won.
"Significantly the conditions prevailing in Zimbabwe are not conducive to negotiations. If dialogue is to be initiated, it is essential that Zanu-PF stops the violence, halts the persecution of Movement for Democratic Change leaders and supporters," he said.
Tsvangirai said his MDC, which defeated Mugabe's Zanu-PF in parliamentary election, should be recognised as Zimbabwe's legitimate government.
'We are committed to talk'
Mugabe's officials earlier welcomed the call from African Union (AU) leaders at a summit on Tuesday to join talks with the opposition on a joint administration to end the crisis in Zimbabwe, whose economy was ruined.
"The AU resolution is in conformity to what President Mugabe said at his inauguration, when he said we are prepared to talk in order to resolve our problems," Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu said.
"We are committed to talk, not just with Tsvangirai but to other parties as well."
Tsvangirai said talks would be meaningless unless the AU sent a permanent envoy to expand mediation efforts by President Thabo Mbeki, criticised for being too soft in his diplomacy with Mugabe.
Despite the AU support for a power-sharing deal modelled on the one that ended post-election violence in Kenya earlier this year, disagreement over who should lead the government could prove an insurmountable obstacle.
MDC 'puppet of Britain, US'
Mugabe, 84, was sworn in for a new five-year term on Sunday after election authorities announced he had won about 85% of the vote in a run-off, which was condemned by monitors and much of world opinion as violent and unfair.
Mugabe had branded the MDC a puppet of former colonial power Britain and the United States and vowed to never let it rule Zimbabwe. Western countries were discussing whether to toughen sanctions on Zimbabwe's leaders.
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, whose country had taken over the European Union presidency, said on Tuesday the EU would only accept a government led by Tsvangirai. The European Commission repeated that line on Wednesday.
"Any transitional government must include Morgan Tsvangirai as prime minister or head of government," Commission development spokesperson John Clancy said.
Zimbabwe's once prosperous economy was racked by the world's highest rate of hyper-inflation, food and fuel shortages and 80% unemployment.
- Reuters
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Zimbabwe Special Report
