Zimbabwe deal could see Tsvangirai in charge with amnesty for Mugabe

ZIMBABWE’S opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai will run the country under a mooted draft agreement while President Robert Mugabe will become ceremonial president, a South African newspaper reported yesterday.

The Star newspaper said a draft document circulated among negotiators in Zimbabwe’s power-sharing talks in South Africa also proposed an amnesty for Mugabe and others implicated in political crimes.

The paper said there was no agreement yet, but quoted unnamed sources as saying the rival parties were receptive to the draft document. The Star said the draft settlement would be the basis for talks between Mugabe and Tsvangirai in Harare today.

According to the draft, Tsvangirai would head the government as executive prime minister during a transitional period, appointing two deputies, one from Mugabe’s Zanu-PF and one from the opposition MDC.

But the report said the MDC wants a 24-30 month transitional period while Zanu-PF prefers a five-year period.

Meanwhile, Zimbabwe’s rival parties issued a joint statement yesterday calling on their supporters to halt all political violence in a sign that power-sharing talks may have moved closer to an agreement.

After more than two weeks of negotiations in South Africa, the parties vowed “to eliminate all forms of violence”.

Zanu-PF and the MDC acknowledged their supporters had carried out violence following the March 29 first-round presidential election.

The statement said the parties “call upon all our supporters and members and any organs and structures under the direction and control of our respective parties to stop and desist the perpetration of violence in any form”.

Power-sharing talks mediated by South African President Thabo Mbeki began after the two sides signed an agreement on July 21 laying the framework for discussions.

The negotiations followed Mugabe’s re-election in a one-man run-off poll in June that Tsvangirai boycotted, citing rising violence against his supporters that had killed dozens and injured thousands.

Sources close to the South African presidency have said that Mbeki, who has been heavily criticised in the past over his quiet diplomacy approach, had recently increased pressure on Mugabe to accept a deal. The report could not be confirmed.

In a further sign the talks may be moving ahead, UN troubleshooter Haile Menkerios has also flown back to South Africa to monitor the discussions, UN spokeswoman Michele Montas said.

Menkerios, a UN assistant secretary general for political affairs, was first heading to Pretoria for consultations on the mediation process, but also planned to visit Zimbabwe before returning to New York this weekend.