S Africa Pressures Zimbabwe on Unity Deal

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Johannesburg: South African President Kgalema Motlanthe urged Zimbabwe's political leaders to show "maturity" and end their feud over cabinet posts as they entered crunch talks on Sunday to save a power-sharing deal.

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai signed a unity accord on September 15, but disputes over which party will control the most powerful Ministries now threatens to sink the deal.

The emergency summit of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) is seen as a make-or-break effort to salvage the accord and end the turmoil that erupted after Tsvangirai defeated Mugabe in presidential elections in March.

"The political leadership in Zimbabwe owes it to the people of Zimbabwe and the region to show political maturity," Motlanthe said at the opening of the summit in Johannesburg.

"The historic power-sharing agreement remains the only vehicle to help extricate Zimbabwe from her socio-economic challenges," Motlanthe said.

"It is two months since the signing of the agreement and parties have still been unable to conclude the discussions on the formation of an inclusive government," he added.

Under the agreement, the 84-year-old Mugabe would remain as President while Tsvangirai becomes Prime Minister.

But the two have failed to agree on a cabinet and the entire deal threatens to collapse over who will take the Home Affairs Ministry, which controls the police.

Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) accuses the regime of orchestrating attacks against his supporters following the election in March, when Mugabe failed to secure an outright majority and was forced into a runoff.

The opposition leader pulled out of the runoff because of the violence, which Amnesty International says has left 180 dead and 9,000 injured since March.

Tsvangirai argues that his party should oversee the police to reassure his supporters against the threat of new violence. Mugabe has already claimed the defence ministry for his ZANU-PF party.

Both sides have taken a tough line ahead of the summit, with the MDC accusing the regime of stepping up its repression, and ZANU-PF blaming the opposition for its failure to agree to joint control of home affairs.

About 300 people gathered for a prayer vigil in Harare, under the watch of a dozen riot police, to urge the leaders to break the deadlock.

Bishop Tudor Bismark of the New Life Covenant Church called on the politial leaders to "set aside their personal or partisan interests and conclude the formation of an appropriate government."

In Johannesburg, about 500 supporters of Tsvangirai protested near the convention centre where the leaders were meeting, waving placards that read: ‘Mugabe must go!’

Across the street, a smaller group of Mugabe supporters waved the national flag and chanted in support of the long-time leader.

The unity deal brokered by former South African president Thabo Mbeki had been hailed as an end to the political turmoil and a step toward healing Zimbabwe's shattered economy, with inflation estimated at 231 million percent.

Days after the accord was signed, South Africa's ruling party forced Mbeki to resign over an entirely separate issue, but he remains SADC's official mediator in Zimbabwe.

South Africa's new leadership has taken a much tougher line on Zimbabwe, in a sharp contrast to Mbeki's so-called "quiet diplomacy," which avoided overt criticism of Mugabe -- an approach that Tsvangirai criticised on several occasions.

Leaders from five of SADC's 15 members showed up for the summit. Aside from Mugabe and Motlanthe, the Presidents of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique and Namibia were seen at the opening ceremony.

The other 10 countries sent representatives to the talks.




Via news