Momentum is building to start South African-brokered talks to resolve Zimbabwe’s deepening crisis, opposition officials said on Wednesday.
But the opposition Movement for Democratic Change has again refused demands that before talks proceed, it recognise President Robert Mugabe as the nation’s legitimately elected leader. That condition stalled two previous initiatives.
The opposition alleges it has been robbed at parliamentary and presidential by violent intimidation of voters and ballot rigging.
The opposition also has demanded the repeal of sweeping media and security laws, electoral reforms and an end to state-orchestrated political violence.
Both main opposition parties were now considering setting aside their demands in a bid to get to the negotiating table, where the demands could likely be tackled later, said opposition officials.
”There must be an environment where there are no conditions and no issue is taboo in negotiations,” said one official who asked not to be identified.
South Africa has insisted none of any likely participants in talks, including representatives of civic groups, air their negotiating positions through the media and has enforced a news blackout, saying the new initiative will not be conducted through the media.
President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, appointed in March by the Southern African Development Community to mediate on Zimbabwe, was given until the end of June to return with concrete proposals on narrowing the wide differences between President Robert Mugabe’s ruling party and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change.
”The pressure is on. The situation here is impacting on the whole region and President Mbeki has a deadline to meet,” said the official.
Mugabe’s fellow African leaders have heard repeated calls to do more to press Mugabe to embark on reforms. But at the summit at which Mbeki — who has longed advocated quiet diplomacy over confrontation with Mugabe — was appointed to mediate, the Southern African Development Community voiced full support for Mugabe.
At another regional summit in Kenya on Wednesday, Mugabe had harsh words for his opposition and his critics in the West, and was applauded by fellow African leaders.
Earlier this month, Mbeki sent a delegation headed by Sydney Mufamadi, a Cabinet minister, to Harare for talks with Mugabe.
Mufamadi did not meet with opposition leaders in Harare, but several top aides of Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of one opposition faction, and rival faction leader Arthur Mutambara have shuttled to and from South Africa in recent weeks.
Mutambara, his secretary general Welshman Ncube and Ncube’s opposite number in the Tsvangirai group, Tendai Biti, have met with South African officials in South Africa.
In line with the South African news blackout, no-one has confirmed reports of a meeting in South Africa with Mugabe’s Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa, the ruling party’s chief negotiator in previous failed inter-party talks, when he was en route to the just-ended gathering of the continent wide African Union in the West African nation of Ghana.
Opposition officials dismissed as ”rubbish” media reports that secret talks were already on track.
But ”something has to be done to find a way forward and it has to be done urgently” said one official.
There were suggestions for at least initial talks in June for Mbeki to deliver to regional leaders, he said.
No comment was immediately available from Chinamasa or the ruling party.
Ronnie Mamoepa, South African Foreign Affairs spokesperson, would not confirm any details of the mediation process.
”There will be to-ing and fro-ing between Pretoria and Harare. Mediation is a process not an event. We are not going to comment except to say that mediations remain on course,” he said.
Zimbabwe’s economic meltdown worsened this month as inflation spiraled out of control to a record 3 714%, the highest in the world.
Consumer prices doubled in April, according to the official Central Statistical Office, putting many basic goods out of the reach of ordinary Zimbabweans.
In formal businesses, unemployment has soared to more than 80%. Scores of businesses have closed down and most main factories operate at around or less than 30% of their capacity.
Power failures and water shortages occur daily and shortages of food, hard currency, gasoline, medicines and other essential goods are acute.
Health and social services have crumbled in a nation with one of the world’s highest rates of HIV/Aids infection. An estimated 3 000 people die each week from Aids-related illnesses.
Mugabe blames the crisis on successive years of drought and Western economic sanctions, but critics say corruption, mismanagement and the often-violent seizures of thousands of white-owned commercial farms since 2000 disrupted the agriculture-based economy in the former regional breadbasket. ‒ Sapa-AP