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Zimbabwe govt says coalition talks reach milestone
Angus Shaw, Associated Press
August 09, 2008

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/349/story/434510.html

The Zimbabwean government said a visit Saturday by South African President Thabo Mbeki marked a "milestone" in the power-sharing negotiations he is mediating between President Robert Mugabe's party and the opposition.

The South African government had said Mbeki would fly to Harare on Saturday for meetings with Mugabe, main opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara, leader of a smaller opposition faction. Mbeki was to return to South Africa on Sunday.

Mbeki "is going to meet the principals, basically to update them on the progress so far and to consult on how to take the dialogue forward," Mugabe's spokesman George Charamba said, according to Zimbabwe's state-run Herald newspaper.

"This is an important milestone that has been registered in the interparty dialogue," Charamba was quoted as saying, without elaborating.

The Herald said negotiators of Mugabe's party and the opposition returned from South Africa, where the talks began, after a memorandum of understanding was signed July 21 setting out a framework for meetings between Mugabe's ZANU-PF, Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change and Mutambara's faction of the Movement for Democratic Change.

South African mediators have said the talks are aimed at reaching some kind of power-sharing deal to tackle the nation's deepening political and economic crisis.

Bitter rivals Mugabe and Tsvangirai met face-to-face for the first time in a decade at the Harare signing on July 21.
Mbeki has imposed a news blackout on the ongoing talks, which have been held at an undisclosed location in the South African capital. The blackout has made it difficult to determine if any progress is being made, though sticking points have appeared to be over who would lead a unity government and whether Mugabe would have any role.

Both Mugabe and Tsvangirai claim to be Zimbabwe's legitimate leader - Tsvangirai based on placing first in a field of four in March presidential elections; Mugabe based on a widely denounced June runoff in which he was the only candidate.

Tsvangirai - who withdrew from the runoff because of attacks on his supporters blamed on Mugabe's party militants and security forces - has said he would not share power with Mugabe but could work with ZANU-PF moderates.

The talks broke down July 28, with officials saying the problem was Mugabe's insistence that he be the president of any new government. Talks resumed Sunday, and there was an indication Wednesday that both sides were determined to work together toward a solution: the Movement for Democratic Change and ZANU-PF issued their first joint communique condemning violence.

Mbeki is under pressure to show results before a mid-month summit of the Southern African Development Community, the body that appointed him to mediate the Zimbabwe political crisis.

Zimbabwe's economic meltdown has also threatened regional security and added urgency to finding a political settlement.

Western nations urged Zimbabwe's government Friday to lift restrictions on aid agencies and charities. The government imposed the restrictions June 4, accusing the groups of favoring opposition supporters in the distribution of food aid.

"The June 4 suspension of humanitarian operations is estimated to have affected more than 1.5 million Zimbabweans already," said a statement issued in Harare and signed by Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom, the United States and the European Commission.
It expressed concern that the restrictions were still in place two weeks after the July 21 agreement, which pledged that humanitarian assistance would be restored.

"This year's poor harvest means that 5 million Zimbabweans will face a severe food crisis," it said. "Without the immediate resumption of food aid across the country, widespread hunger and worsening malnutrition are unavoidable."

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