Zimbabwean PM seeks talks freeze

• Party is to refer dispute to SA president amid row on posts

HARARE, Tuesday

Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s party wants to declare a deadlock in its negotiations with President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu PF so that their dispute can be referred to regional leaders.

The three governing parties last week suspended the talks to resolve a range of issues threatening the unity government and the negotiators were expected to regroup on February 8.

But the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) led by Mr Tsvangirai now says there is no movement in the dialogue because Zanu PF does not want compromise.

The party has stood firm on its demands that Mr Mugabe must reverse the appointment of his cronies to head the central bank and the attorney general’s office.

Despite a plea

This is despite a plea by South African President Jacob Zuma who is the mediator in the talks that the MDC must be flexible.

Mr Zuma had suggested that the parties should suspend discussions on the divisive issues and focus on preparations for fresh elections next year.

MDC spokesman Mr Nelson Chamisa said his party was now seriously considering referring the dispute to Mr Zuma.

“As MDC, we cannot accept any further delay or procrastination in the interest of the people of Zimbabwe who have been subjected to uncertainty and unnecessary anxiety over the talks about the talks,” he told The Standard newspaper.

The Southern African Development Community and the African Union are the guarantors of the power sharing agreement that saw Mr Mugabe forming a unity government with his former rivals last February.

In October last year, the MDC temporarily withdrew from the unity government citing Zanu PF’s reluctance to fully implement the deal.

But the party was persuaded to return to the government three weeks later by regional leaders.