Posted on 23-1-2004
Mugabe
to enter crisis talks with opposition
Robert Mugabe, the president of Zimbabwe, has agreed to enter
formal negotiations with opposition politicians aimed at ending
the country's long-running political and economic crisis, his
South African counterpart, Thabo Mbeki, said today.
"I am happy to say that in the end ... they have agreed
that they will now go into formal negotiations," Mr Mbeki
told a joint press conference with the visiting German chancellor,
Gerhard Schröder, adding that Pretoria had been "engaging
both sides for a very long time".
Mr Schröder said that South Africa had "not been
as outspoken and as hard as one might have expected" with
Zimbabwe.
"I made myself very clear as far as the unacceptability
of that regime is concerned, especially the political practices
of that regime," Mr Schröder said after a two-hour
meeting with Mr Mbeki, who responded that "strong statements
cannot be an aim in itself".
"Our task is to see what we can contribute to make sure
that the situation is changed as quickly as possible for the
better," Mr Mbeki said.
Government and opposition officials in Zimbabwe could not immediately
be reached for comment. Mr Mbeki's policy of "quiet diplomacy"
toward Zimbabwe has earned him criticism at home and abroad.
Last month he protested a decision to prolong Zimbabwe's suspension
from the Commonwealth as undemocratic and unhelpful, while brushing
off concerns about human rights abuses in the country.
Mr Mugabe withdrew his country from the Commonwealth in protest.
Zimbabwe faces its worst political and economic crisis since
independence in 1980, with soaring inflation and acute shortages
of food, fuel and essential goods. Mr Mugabe has also stepped
up a crackdown on dissent, arresting opposition leaders and
journalists.
Mr Mbeki said he had secured the commitment to begin talks
during a one-day visit to Zimbabwe's capital, Harare, last month,
when he met separately with Mr Mugabe and opposition leaders.
Talks between Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF party and the opposition broke
down last year after the president demanded that the opposition
recognise his disputed victory in the country's March 2002 presidential
election.
|