Summit to pressure Mugab
Jul 01,2008 00:00
SHARM EL-SHEIKH, EGYPTZimbabwean President Robert Mugabe came under pressure at an African Union summit on Monday to negotiate with the opposition after being re-elected in a one-candidate election condemned by regional monitors.
Mugabe, 84, flew to the summit in Egypt overnight soon after being sworn in for a new term, extending his unbroken rule since independence from Britain in 1980.
As Mugabe arrived, the African Union's own monitors said Friday's election did not meet their standards. They were the third African observer group to condemn the poll.
Regional power South Africa, a key player in the Zimbabwe crisis, called for Mugabe's ZANU-PF and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC to enter talks on a transitional government. Tsvangirai withdrew from the ballot because of attacks on his supporters.
Pretoria is the designated southern African mediator in Zimbabwe although President Thabo Mbeki has been widely accused of being ineffective and too soft on Mugabe.
The statement was the first time South Africa has publicly called for a unity government and could indicate the line that the African Union will take.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi took a similar stance on Sunday. "There has to be some sort of negotiations between the parties," he said. "If not, polarization will be the result."
Zimbabwe's crisis has ruined a once prosperous country, saddling it with the world's worst hyper-inflation and straining neighboring nations, especially South Africa, with a flood of millions of economic refugees.
The summit appeared opposed to a push by Western countries at the United Nations for hefty sanctions to punish Mugabe but was moving towards a clear consensus on negotiations to end a deep and violent crisis in the ruined country.
Regional power South Africa, a key player in the Zimbabwe situation, called for Mugabe's ZANU-PF and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC to enter talks on a transitional government. Tsvangirai withdrew from the ballot because of attacks on his supporters.
Pretoria is the designated southern African mediator in Zimbabwe although President Thabo Mbeki has been widely accused of being ineffective and too soft on Mugabe.
The statement was the first time South Africa has publicly called for a unity government and appeared to indicate the line that the African Union will take. Any stronger measures are likely to be blocked by divisions at the summit.
The United States has drafted a United Nations resolution calling for the Security Council to impose an arms embargo on Zimbabwe and freeze the assets of Mugabe's inner circle.