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Crisis? What crisis?
The Sunday Argus (SA)
April 13, 2008

Mbeki drops in for Harare handshake
The handshake and the warm smiles appeared to say it all, and President Thabo Mbeki's words after his meeting in Harare yesterday with Robert Mugabe confirmed it: in Mbeki's view there is "no crisis" in Zimbabwe. Regional leaders opened the emergency SADC summit in Lusaka yesterday to discuss Zimbabwe's disputed elections, but Mbeki's statement dented hopes of a tough stand. One African ambassador in Lusaka described it as "more of his quiet diplomacy", adding: "There is no point in us coming here today to address a crisis if Mbeki is going to play messenger boy and deliver Mugabe's verdict." But Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa, who chaired the summit, said it would be wrong to turn a blind eye. "This summit . . . should focus on helping Zimbabwe to find an answer that generally reflects the will of the Zimbabwean people," he said.

Mbeki stopped in Harare on his way to the summit for his first face-to-face talks with Mugabe since the elections, and ignored pleas for outside pressure to be exerted on the Zimbabwean leader, insisting that things be allowed to run their course. "There is no crisis in Zimbabwe," he told journalists. "The body authorized to release the results is the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, let's wait for them to announce the results." Mugabe, alongside him, made no mention of the election, but denied he was snubbing the SADC summit. "We are very good friends and very good brothers. Sometimes you attend, sometimes you have other things holding you back," Mugabe said. But sources in the Zimbabwean capital said Mugabe had angrily rebuffed the international attempts to end the crisis, accusing Britain of interfering and swatting aside calls from Prime Minister Gordon Brown to release the results of last month's presidential elections. The Zimbabwean president had flown into a rage during the meeting with Mbeki, sources said, calling the summit "a show staged by Britain".

Mbeki's comments are likely to anger ANC leaders who want him to push a tougher line. Officially, the ANC supports Mbeki's softly-softly stance but behind the scenes there is a feeling that quiet diplomacy has failed, embarrassing South Africa internationally and that, if necessary, the president should quit as mediator if the SADC summit produces more of the same. The head of Mugabe's delegation in Lusaka had earlier dismissed the summit as unnecessary and angrily denounced the invitation granted to MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who has claimed outright victory over Mugabe in the March 24 presidential election. "There is no need to regionalise the Zimbabwean crisis," said Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa. "Inviting an opposition leader to a heads of state meeting is unheard of. We will not accept Tsvangirai to be part of this meeting." Tsvangirai, the first delegate to arrive, was greeted by ironic chants of "President, President" but made no comment to reporters.

Zambian Foreign Minister Kabinga Bande played down Tsvangirai's presence, saying he had not been "invited to attend the summit per se" and was only there in case SADC wanted to hear his side of the story. Mugabe sent three ministers from his outgoing Cabinet, a major snub to his regional counterparts. Mwanawasa insisted the meeting was not intended to put Mugabe on trial, and said the Zimbabwean president could not attend because of "circumstances beyond his control". SADC leaders have been heavily criticised over their traditional reluctance to speak out against Mugabe, who with 28 years at the helm is the longest-serving of them all. Nevertheless, many in SADC are fed up with the economic mess on their doorstep. Southern African speakers of parliament earlier issued a statement urging the regional leaders meeting to use their influence to pull Zimbabwe out of its political quagmire. Britain's Brown said on Friday he was "appalled" by signs Mugabe was using violence in the wake of the elections and warned that the patience of the international community "is wearing thin".

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