UK calls for tough action against Mugabe

The UK called for tough action in the face of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe’s defiance and signs of disunity among his opposition.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband urged South Africa and the rest of the international community today to “unite behind a tough, strong, clear (UN) Security Council resolution” calling for international sanctions against Mr Mugabe.

Mr Miliband spoke to reporters after visiting a central Johannesburg church that is a refuge for Zimbabweans fleeing their homeland’s political and economic crises.

South Africa, though, has said the proposed resolution could undermine President Thabo Mbeki’s attempt to mediate between Mr Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai.

The US-drafted resolution backed by Britain would require nations to freeze the financial assets of Mr Mugabe and 11 of his officials, and to restrict their travel to within Zimbabwe.

Mr Miliband said such targeted sanctions would spare the majority of Zimbabweans, already suffering in a collapsed economy, and could result in those closest to Mr Mugabe pressuring him to yield at the negotiating table. Mr Mugabe is accused of holding onto power through violence and fraud.

Mr Miliband also said he supported Mr Tsvangirai’s calls for the African Union to appoint a mediator to work with Mr Mbeki. Mr Tsvangirai accuses the South African leader of siding with Mr Mugabe, who has extolled Mr Mbeki’s role.

“There has got to be a clear mix of diplomacy and sanctions,” Mr Miliband said, adding the suffering that Zimbabweans described to him during his tour of the Central Methodist Church would spur anyone to try to find a solution.

“I’ve seen the human toll and the human face of the catastrophe,” Mr Miliband said.

Church officials say thousands of Zimbabweans have found a temporary haven at the church over the past four years, and the numbers coming have increased in recent weeks.

Around 2,000 Zimbabweans, double the usual number at any one time, were sheltering in the church’s hallways, stairwells and storerooms today.

The main chapel has been kept clear for services, and some worshippers wearing their church best paused to greet Mr Miliband.

Church officials said despair over the impasse in Zimbabwe was resulting in more people crossing the border.

They also said Zimbabweans were coming after fleeing areas elsewhere in South Africa where immigrants were attacked by poor South Africans who accused them of taking scarce jobs and housing – an example of the far-reaching impact of Zimbabwe’s troubles.

Mr Mbeki, in his role of mediator, made a brief, unannounced visit to Zimbabwe on Saturday. His spokesman, Mukoni Ratshitanga, said Mr Mbeki met Mr Mugabe and Arthur Mutambara, leader of a small faction of Mr Tsvangirai’s party, but not with Mr Tsvangirai.

Mr Mutambara’s meeting with Mr Mbeki could signal dissension within the opposition, complicating already dim prospects for the success of mediation.

Nelson Chamisa, spokesman for Mr Tsvangirai, said that Mr Tsvangirai wanted a negotiated settlement, but did not meet Mr Mbeki because of questions over how “the process will proceed”. Mr Chamisa accused Mr Mugabe of giving “conflicting messages” about his readiness to talk.

Zimbabwe’s Sunday Mail newspaper, a government mouthpiece, quoted Mr Mugabe as calling Mr Tsvangirai’s failure to meet with Mr Mbeki “a show of utter disrespect”.

Mr Tsvangirai beat Mr Mugabe and two other candidates in a first round of presidential balloting in March. But he failed to win the 50% plus one vote needed to avoid a runoff against the second-place finisher, Mr Mugabe.

International observers said the run-off, held June 27, was not free or fair, largely because of violence against opposition supporters. The attacks were so intense Mr Tsvangirai pulled out of the race in protest days before the vote. Mr Mugabe went ahead, keeping Mr Tsvangirai’s name on the ballot.

Mr Mugabe was declared the winner June 29 and took the oath of office for a sixth term within hours of the release of results. He has since said he would only negotiate if he were recognised as Zimbabwe’s legitimate president.

At Johannesburg’s Central Methodist Church, Zimbabweans offered a range of opinions on resolving their crisis. Wellington Sithole, a 20-year-old tiler who has been at the church for four months, called on South Africa to send in troops to topple Mr Mugabe.

Kudakwashe Mirandu, a 30-year-old electrician, agreed with Mr Sithole that Mr Mugabe’s tenacity was a challenge, but said there must be a peaceful way out. She called on the UN to send a mediator, someone “who could talk to Robert Mugabe, so that we can have free elections .... Then when he loses, he can give up power.”