ZIMBABWE:Botswana's president will boycott a weekend summit of southern African leaders because the country does not recognise Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe's re-election, the foreign ministry said yesterday.
President Seretse Khama Ian Khama's decision not to attend the summit in South Africa underlines growing pressure from regional leaders on Mr Mugabe and Zimbabwe's opposition to agree on sharing power to end post-election turmoil.
Power-sharing negotiations began last month after Mr Mugabe's unopposed re-election in June, which was condemned around the world and boycotted by opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai because of attacks on his supporters. Three days of marathon meetings in Harare this week failed to reach an overall deal.
Botswana's foreign ministry said in a statement Zimbabwe's government should not be represented at a political level of the 14-member Southern African Development Community (SADC).
"Botswana does not accept the result of the June 27th run-off election in Zimbabwe as it violated the core principles of SADC, the African Union and the United Nations," the statement said.
Botswana has taken the toughest stand among Zimbabwe's neighbours but all fear the consequences if its worsening economic decline leads to total meltdown. Millions of Zimbabweans have fled across its borders.
Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu-PF and the opposition will resume power-sharing talks at the summit, Zanu-PF's chief negotiator, Patrick Chinamasa, was quoted as saying by state-owned Heraldnewspaper. He said Zanu-PF sought a quick end to the stalemate.
South African president Thabo Mbeki, mediating in the talks, was to meet the three main participants in the negotiations late last night. "There is a meeting with president Mugabe, thereafter Arthur Mutambara, thereafter Morgan Tsvangirai," Mr Mbeki's spokesman Mukoni Ratshitanga said.
Mr Mutambara leads a breakaway faction of the MDC.
Nic Borain, political consultant to HSBC Securities, said behind-the-scenes manoeuvring may be the biggest obstacle: "You have Tsvangirai's backers who are playing hardball and insisting on the virtual disappearance of Robert Mugabe, and you've got Robert Mugabe's backers insisting he remains maintains some kind of executive powers."
Mr Chinamasa said there was pressure to convene parliament and form a government. Zanu-PF lost its majority in the elections for the first time since independence but is eyeing a possible alliance with opposition defectors. "We cannot continue wandering around without direction, hence the need to swear in parliamentarians and open the house . . ." he said.
The MDC condemned what it called "corrosive" attempts by ministers and intelligence agents to recruit some of its members to join Mr Mugabe's government. "These are the actions of a desperate and cornered regime," it said. Mr Tsvangirai's absence from a new government would do nothing to dispel investors' concerns about a country facing economic ruin, with the world's highest inflation of 2.2 million per cent, chronic food and fuel shortages, and high unemployment.
- (Reuters)