JOHANNESBURG (AFP) — South African President Thabo Mbeki said Saturday a deal to end Zimbabwe's crisis could be reached this weekend during a regional summit with the country's political rivals in attendance.
Speaking at the summit's opening in Johannesburg, Mbeki said finalising talks would allow the country to "extricate the masses of the people from the dire straits in which they find themselves".
"This summit affords us the possibility to assist the Zimbabwean parties to finalise their negotiations so that together they can engage the work to achieve national healing and reconciliation," said Mbeki, the mediator for the Zimbabwe talks.
Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe entered the summit with the heads of other southern African nations, while his arch-rival, opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, took a seat in the front row of invited guests.
The audience rose as Mugabe and the other leaders walked in, but the 84-year-old Zimbabwean president did not receive a loud ovation as he had at a previous summit of the 14-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC).
Mugabe's attendance was controversial, with Botswana's president snubbing the gathering after his government said it did not recognise his re-election.
Zambian Foreign Minister Kabinga Pande, speaking at the summit, harshly criticised Mugabe's re-election in a widely condemned June run-off poll, calling it a "blot on the culture of democracy".
Pande was speaking on behalf of Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa, who remains hospitalised after suffering a stroke in June. Mwanawasa has previously said it was "scandalous for SADC to remain silent on Zimbabwe".
Hundreds protested in a march by regional trade unions on Saturday, handing over a memorandum to SADC's executive secretary saying Mugabe "cannot claim any legitimacy to rule."
Tsvangirai meanwhile held meetings on the summit sidelines, including with Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos.
Zimbabwe's crisis -- which intensified following Mugabe's re-election in the June run-off poll -- was high on the summit's agenda.
Leaders retreated for closed-door talks after the opening ceremony, and a dinner was set for the evening.
Tsvangirai, as well as Arthur Mutambara, who heads a smaller faction of Zimbabwe's opposition, had been invited to the dinner, according to a South African government source.
SADC's troika on security issues agreed late Friday that a deal to resolve the crisis should be signed during the summit, a foreign minister who attended the meeting told AFP.
"We agreed at the (security) organ that the agreement should be signed within the period of the summit," said the minister, who declined to be named.
The body includes Angola, Tanzania and Swaziland.
A South African official close to the negotiations said remaining sticking points included whether Mugabe would retain the right to hire and fire ministers and how long a transitional government would remain in place.
The opposition Movement for Democratic Change wants a clause stating that if one of the parties pulls out of the government of national unity, elections would be held within 90 days, according to the official.
Power-sharing talks stalled when three days of negotiations adjourned on Tuesday after Tsvangirai said he needed more time to consider a deal agreed by Mugabe and Mutambara.
Tsvangirai believes he has the right to the lion's share of power since he finished ahead of Mugabe in the March first round of the presidential election.
The ruling ZANU-PF party argues Mugabe must be recognised as president in any deal, as he won the June vote in which he was the only candidate after Tsvangirai boycotted the polls.
The opposition leader pulled out of the race after saying dozens of his supporters had been killed and thousands injured in the run up to the election.
Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved. More »
