Negotiations in South Africa between Zimbabwe’s ruling party and the opposition were progressing well on Saturday, mediators said.
”The talks are proceeding well. They’ll aim to be concluded in two weeks time,” said Mukoni Ratshitanga, spokesperson for South African
President Thabo Mbeki.
Ratshitanga did not reveal any details regarding the contents or tone of the negotiations, which began on Thursday.
Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe’s ruling Zanu-PF party has said its leader’s re-election in a June 27 presidential run-off has to be
recognised for the talks, teed up by an agreement signed with Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai on Monday, to succeed.
Tsvangirai’s camp has been advocating a transitional government, with a view to fresh elections, rather than a unity government solution
along the lines of that negotiated in Kenya.
There, the main opposition figure, Raila Odinga, was appointed prime minister by President Mwai Kibaki earlier this year following a wave of
political and ethnic violence that killed some 1Â 500 people.
Tsvangirai pushed Mugabe into second place in the first round of voting on March 29 but the MDC leader pulled out of the run-off after a
wave of deadly attacks against his supporters.
Tsvangirai believes the outcome of the March ballot should be the starting point for any negotiations on power-sharing.
The Zimbabwean government, meanwhile, refused to comment on increased sanctions applied by the United States on Friday.
US President George Bush said he had ”signed a new executive order that expands our sanctions against the illegitimate government of
Zimbabwe”, targeting entities and individuals linked to repression and corruption carried out by Mugabe’s government.
But a Zanu-PF official, who requested anonymity, said: ”We don’t want to comment on the sanctions (while) the talks are still ongoing.”
The European Union also stepped up sanctions last week, although French President Nicolas Sarkozy — representing the EU presidency at a landmark EU-South Africa summit — on Friday showered Mbeki with praise for his mediation efforts.
Sarkozy stressed that the talks — understood to be taking place in Pretoria — were the only viable forum for a solution to the Zimbabwe political crisis.
Invitation to Mugabe
Meanwhile, Swaziland has invited Mugabe to attend a royal day of celebration marking 40 years of independence from Britain and King Mswati III’s 40th birthday, media reported.
Weekly newspaper Swazi News reported that Mugabe was one of 13 Southern African Development Community leaders invited to attend the day of royal festivities.
”The invitations were sent before the Zimbabwean presidential run-off. We are looking forward to hosting the one who is president of that country if he accepts our invitation,” Foreign Ministry Principal Secretary Clifford Mamba told the weekly.
The cost of the festivities would cost close to 50-million
emalangeni (about $6,5-million).
An official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that a fleet of new German-made cars were on their way to Swaziland and would be unveiled during the double celebrations, popularly known as 40/40.
”New cars for the King, the Queen Mother, his wives and other senior royal family members have already been ordered and they should be arriving mid-August,” the source said.
Mswati offended Mugabe when he chaired a meeting of regional leaders who called for the run-off election to be postponed.
Addressing a rally just before the run-off, Mugabe told thousands of his supporters that leaders like Mswati cannot teach him anything about multiparty elections. – AFP
