US and Britain meet resistance over Zimbabwe

US and Britain meet resistance over Zimbabwe

Arms Embargo. Fat lot of good that does. The whole of Africa being flooded with cheap arms from the east.

Low-level civil war...
:mad:
Zimbabwe In 'Low-Level Civil War,' Says South African Think Tank
10 July 2008 : A South African research institute said Thursday that a “low-intensity civil war” is unfolding in Zimbabwe as members of the embattled opposition Movement for Democratic Change fight back against alleged ruling ZANU-PF perpetrators of post-election political violence.

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But the Human Sciences Research Council report added that a full-scale civil war is unlikely as President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU-PF holds a “virtual monopoly over coercive power." A senior MDC official dismissed the report, saying the party was committed to non-violence and was not organizing retaliation for attacks that have killed some 112 MDC members. Human Sciences Research Council Researcher-Director Peter Kagwanja, an author of the report, told reporter Patience Rusere of VOA’s Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that South African-led mediation should be stepped up to keep Zimbabwe from sliding into wider conflict.

Deputy Organizing Secretary Morgan Komichi of the MDC formation of Morgan Tsvangirai said the party remains committed to nonviolence whatever the provocation. The report emerged amid news reports and rumors that the ruling party and military were preparing for an even harsher crackdown on opposition leaders to pressure the opposition to accept its terms for a government of national unity led by Mr. Mugabe.

The Los Angeles Times quoted ZANU-PF sources as saying the violence is likely to mount as the regime boosts pressure on the opposition. The state-controlled Herald newspaper quoted Dixon Mafios, ZANU-PF youth chairman for Mashonaland Central province, as urging militants there to remain vigilant against Western enemies seeking to control the country.

Security and Intelligence Secretary Giles Mutsekwa of the Tsvangirai MDC formation told reporter Jonga Kandemiiri that the opposition has obtained evidence that ZANU-PF has developed what he called “hit squads” to eliminate senior opposition figures. Sources in Mashonaland Central province reported renewed violence in the Shamva South and Shamva North constituencies, saying hundreds of MDC supporters have fled their homes. They said a woman severely burned four weeks ago when ZANU-PF militia pushed her into a fire on which she was preparing her supper died in Harare yesterday from her injuries.

[url:
http://www.voanews.com/english/Africa/2008-07-10-voa49.cfm[/url]

Mugabe to be ceremonial head...
:cool:
Mugabe offered amnesty and ceremony
August 06, 2008 - 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 today.

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The Star newspaper said a draft document circulated among negotiaters in Zimbabwe’s power-sharing talks in South Africa also proposed an amnesty for Mr 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. Zimbabwean government and MDC officials were not immediately available for comment.

Mr Mugabe’s ruling ZANU-PF began power-sharing talks with Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change(MDC) two weeks ago following Mr Mugabe’s re-election in a widely condemned poll boycotted by the Opposition. The Star said the draft settlement would be the basis for talks between Mr Mugabe and Mr Tsvangirai in Harare tomorrow. According to the draft, Mr Tsvangirai would head the government as executive prime minister during a transitional period, appointing two deputies, one from ZANU-PF and one from the MDC. But the report said the MDC wants a 24-30 month transitional period while ZANU-PF prefers a five-year period.

The two sides are under heavy international pressure, including from within Africa, to resolve a crisis that has ruined the once prosperous economy and flooded neighbouring states with millions of refugees. The Opposition says only Mr Tsvangirai can lead a new government because he won a first-round presidential vote in March before pulling out of the June 27 run-off because of violence he says killed 122 of his supporters. ZANU-PF has said it will not accept any deal that fails to recognise Mr Mugabe’s re-election.

[url:
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,24138182-23109,00.html[/url]