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Mugabe rival ‘barred from travel’
Zimbabwe’s main opposition party says authorities have confiscated travel documents from its leader and other officials ahead of a regional summit. The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said the documents were taken at the airport in the capital, Harare. MDC leaders were due to travel to South Africa this weekend after power-sharing talks in Zimbabwe were adjourned. The MDC has been negotiating with President Robert Mugabe in efforts to end Zimbabwe’s post-election crisis. The BBC’s Jonah Fisher in Johannesburg says MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai and two senior colleagues were planning to fly to South Africa for talks with President Thabo Mbeki, who has been the chief mediator at the negotiations.
Speaking from Harare airport, MDC General Secretary Tendai Biti said this incident showed that the talks with Mr Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party were a farce and a sham. “We can’t travel without passports. There’s no point. In any case the plane has left and Tsvangirai has already gone back. He has no patience for this,” Mr Biti is quoted by Reuters news agency as saying. According to Mr Biti, the MDC delegation were also planning to attend a summit of the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) in Johannesburg this weekend at which Zimbabwe is expected to be top of the agenda. Zimbabwe’s information minister refused to comment, saying he blamed the Western media for the breakdown of negotiations. On Wednesday, Mr Tsvangirai said he remained committed to discussing power-sharing after talks with the ruling Zanu-PF were adjourned the night before. The negotiations have involved Zanu-PF, Mr Tsvangirai’s MDC and a breakaway MDC faction led by Arthur Mutambara. ‘Reflection’ Mr Mbeki, the regionally appointed mediator on the Zimbabwe crisis, has been under pressure to make progress on the negotiations ahead of the Sadc summit.
But talks adjourned on Tuesday to allow Mr Tsvangirai time for reflection, Mr Mbeki said. He also denied that there was a breakdown in negotiations after reports that Mr Mutambara had signed a seperate deal with Mr Mugabe. Mr Mutumbara said the report was “totally false and baseless”. “We knew negotiations would be difficult, but a resolution that represents anything other than the will of the Zimbabwean people would be a disaster for our country,” Mr Tsvangirai in a statement. Sticking points in the power-sharing talks are reported to include:
Mr Tsvangirai won the first round of Zimbabwe’s presidential election in March, before pulling out of a June run-off citing a campaign of violence against his supporters. In parliamentary elections, his party took 100 seats, Mr Mutambara’s faction took 10 and the ruling Zanu-PF 99. Mr Mutambara did not stand in the presidential poll, backing independent former finance minister Simba Makoni - a strong proponent of a unity government. |
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Morgan Tsvangirai was to attend a summit of regional leaders
We knew negotiations would be difficult, but a resolution that represents anything other than the will of the Zimbabwean people would be a disaster for our country 
Power-sharing talks brokered by Mr Mbeki adjourned after three days
Source: BBC
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