Zimbabwe opposition sets conditions for talks

Zimbabwean government and opposition officials met in South Africa today to try to find a way out of their country’s deadly crisis.

Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai said he sent a team to Pretoria led by his deputy Tendai Biti not to open negotiations, but to lay down conditions for talks.

Chief among his conditions is an end to violence blamed on Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe’s supporters.

“At present the state-sanctioned violence and repressive legislation employed by the regime is designed to silence the Zimbabwean people,” Mr Tsvangirai said in a statement.

His Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) is “committed to finding a peaceful, negotiated solution to the Zimbabwean crisis and we will take every opportunity to clarify our position and to allow the voice of the Zimbabwean people to be heard.”

The opposition has said more than 90 of its supporters have been killed since Mr Tsvangirai won a first round of presidential elections in March.

Mr Tsvangirai beat Mr Mugabe and two other candidates, but did not win the 50% plus one vote necessary to avoid a run-off against second-place finisher Mr Mugabe.

Zimbabwe’s crisis has deepened since Mr Mugabe claimed victory in a widely denounced June 27 presidential run-off in which he was the only candidate. Mr Tsvangirai pulled out days before the race because of the violence.

Besides an end to the violence, opposition conditions for holding talks include a mediator to be appointed alongside South African President Thabo Mbeki, who has overseen talks on and off for more than a year. The opposition has accused Mr Mbeki of bias in Mr Mugabe’s favour.

Mr Tsvangirai also called for the release of political prisoners, allowing humanitarian organisations to resume work in Zimbabwe and convening parliament.

Mr Tsvangirai’s supporters won control of parliament in legislative elections held alongside the presidential vote. As president, Mr Mugabe has to convene parliament, but he has not done that yet.

Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf lent her support today to the opposition’s stand on mediation.

Ms Sirleaf said Mr Mbeki’s efforts on behalf of the main regional group, the Southern African Development Community, should continue, but “we hope they will welcome another outside mediator to work with them.” She said such a mediator should be “high profile.”

Ms Sirleaf, among the most respected of a new generation of leaders in Africa, later this week will deliver the annual lecture marking former President Nelson Mandela’s birthday. She spoke today at a news conference in Johannesburg.

She also said Zimbabwe’s June 27 presidential run-off was not free and fair. Other African leaders, including Mr Mbeki, have not been so blunt in their criticism.

Zimbabwe’s opposition has been denying reports that talks were set to resume - even after a court hearing yesterday at which Mr Biti’s lawyer told a judge that Mr Biti needed to have his passport returned so he could go to South Africa for the talks.

The judge ordered the return of the passport, which Mr Biti had been forced to surrender when he was arrested during Zimbabwe’s recent run-off election campaign and charged with treason.

Recently, Mr Mugabe’s party has shown increasing eagerness to start talks, apparently in the hope of persuading UN Security Council members to reject a US-drafted resolution to impose sanctions on Mr Mugabe and some of his top political and security officials. The council is expected to vote on the resolution this week.

Both sides say they are willing to form a coalition government, but they differ on who should lead it.

Mr Mugabe’s ZANU-PF wants Mr Mugabe at the head, something the opposition and Mr Mugabe’s critics in the West have rejected.

Mr Tsvangirai bases his claim to leadership the results of the first round of presidential voting.

Zimbabwean government spokesman Bright Matonga made clear today its position on Mr Mugabe had not changed, saying: “President Mugabe is the president of Zimbabwe for the next five years.”

Today, a South African policy group said Zimbabwe’s opposition was increasingly striking back at ZANU-PF with violence, creating a “recipe for civil war.” The study was based on analysis of documents, interviews with government officials across Africa, research in Zimbabwe and other sources.

Peter Kagwanja, who wrote the Human Sciences Research Council report called Saving Zimbabwe, said opposition attacks have gone from spontaneous to organised and called for intervention from the African Union and Mr Mbeki’s mediation team.

Opposition spokesman Nelson Chamisa said the group’s members have never been violent.