Zimbabwe’s unity government pulled back from the brink on Thursday night when Morgan Tsvangirai, the prime minister, called off his boycott of power sharing with president Robert Mugabe.
“We have suspended our disengagement from the government with immediate effect,” said Tsvangirai after an emergency regional summit in Maputo, Mozambique.
But he presented Mugabe with a new ultimatum. “We will give President Robert Mugabe 30 days to implement the agreements on the pertinent issues we are concerned about,” he said.
His announcement came after talks with Mugabe and heads of state, including South African President Jacob Zuma, aimed at ending the political stalemate in Zimbabwe.
Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change party boycotted the inclusive government on October 16, raising fears that the eight-month-old power sharing agreement was heading for collapse.
The walkout followed MDC claims that Mugabe’s Zanu-PF had repeatedly flouted the power-sharing agreement and committed human rights abuses. The issue came to a head after the detention of a senior MDC aide, Roy Bennett, on terrorism charges.
The MDC said there had been “increased violent” attacks on party members by militants from Zanu-PF. Zanu-PF described the comments as “cheap propaganda”.
The Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) security troika was made up of Mozambican President Armando Guebuza, Zambian President Rupiah Banda and Swaziland’s King Mswati III. Zuma also attended Thursday’s meeting.
SADC, which is the guarantor of last year’s power-sharing agreement, instructed the parties that they have 15 days to resolve outstanding issues.
It said that Zimbabwe’s political parties should prevent the situation in the country from deteriorating further. Tomaz Salomao, its executive secretary, said the parties should “engage in a dialogue to find a lasting solution to the outstanding issues”.
SADC, which has been criticised by sceptics as ineffective, also reiterated its call for Western sanctions on Zimbabwean political leaders to be lifted. Accusations of human rights abuses and vote rigging in past elections have led the European Union and US to impose travel bans and asset freezes on Mugabe and his allies.
The next Zimbabwe Cabinet meeting is on Tuesday, and the MDC spokesperson, Nelson Chamisa, said his party’s ministers would attend.
Mugabe, who has ruled since 1980, declined to comment after the Maputo meeting.
Some MDC supporters had applauded Tsvangirai’s decision to disengage as evidence that he will stand up to Mugabe. Others regarded it as an empty gesture that left him little room for manoeuvre.
Civil society organisations said there has been a subsequent increase in political violence.
Sydney Chisi, spokesperson for the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, said this week: “Since the disengagement two weeks ago of Morgan Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change from contact with Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF within the government of national unity, there has been widespread political violence and intimidation.”
He added: “There have also been reports of abductions of youth who are again being detained in Zanu-PF training camps … preparing them to perpetrate violent acts against enemies.”
Kerry Kay of the MDC said: “The situation in Zimbabwe is very, very precarious. There are crimes against humanity taking place all day every day. The region, the world turn their back on it. The animal has been let out now and it’s going to bite hard.” – guardian.co.uk