/ 24 October 2008

Tsvangirai to attend Zim crisis summit

Zimbabwe’s opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai will attend a summit next week aimed at saving a troubled power-sharing accord, his party’s spokesperson said on Friday.

“We are not boycotting Monday’s meeting,” said Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) spokesperson Nelson Chamisa.

“It is our hope that this meeting will bring closure and finality to this issue of power sharing and enable Zimbabwe to respond to the dire situation which the people are facing,” he added.

Tsvangirai had refused to go to Swaziland for a meeting with Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe and four other regional leaders on October 20, in protest that he was only given emergency travel documents at the last minute.

Earlier in the week, Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party had hinted he could also skip next week’s summit in Harare.

The two rivals on September 15 agreed on the outlines of a power-sharing accord that would keep 84-year-old Mugabe as president and make Tsvangirai the prime minister.

But negotiations over who is to control key ministries have stalled, with the MDC accusing Mugabe’s party of insincerity in the talks.

Chamisa said the opposition hopes the summit will be able to break through the deadlock.

“Monday’s platform gives us a special window of opportunity to state our compelling case for the equitable distribution of key ministries under the power sharing agreement,” he said. – AFP