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ANC: End violence in Zim
24/04/2008 07:56 - (SA)
Johannesburg - The ANC and Britain's Labour Party called on Wednesday for an end to violence and intimidation in Zimbabwe.
In a statement issued by ANC president Jacob Zuma and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, the parties said they had resolved to "redouble" their efforts to secure the publication of Zimbabwe's March 29 election results.
"We resolved on the crisis in Zimbabwe to redouble our efforts to secure early publication of election results. We call for an end to any violence and intimidation and stressed the importance of respect for the sovereign people of Zimbabwe and the choice they have made at the ballot box," the two party leaders said.
Zuma paid a courtesy visit to Brown while in London meeting business leaders. He led a delegation comprised of his party deputy Kgalema Motlanthe, ANC treasurer Mathews Phosa, head of international relations, Ebrahim Ebrahim, and National Executive Committee member Maite Nkoane-Mashabane.
According to reports, before his visit with Brown, Zuma refused to condemn Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe for failing to make the election results known. He blamed the nearly month-long delay on the Zimbabwean Electoral Commission instead.
He also defended SA President Thabo Mbeki's mediation in Zimbabwe, saying Mbeki as a mediator could not "take sides" and could not "stand and criticise people" he was trying to mediate between.
The Movement for Democratic Change, Zimbabwe's opposition party is claiming post-election violence has displaced 3 000 people, injured 500 and left 10 dead.
As leaders of the Labour Party and the African National Congress, Brown and Zuma also agreed on the need for co-ordinated global action to deal with the food crisis faced by millions worldwide.
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