Mbeki says Mugabe will step down peacefully: paper

[maddezmom]

Source: Reuters

LONDON (Reuters) - South African President Thabo Mbeki was quoted on Tuesday as saying he believed Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe would peacefully renounce power at some point.

"I think so. Yes, sure," Mbeki, appointed by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to mediate over Zimbabwe, said in a Financial Times interview when asked whether he thought such a move would ever happen.

"You see, President Mugabe and the leadership of (the ruling) Zanu-PF believe they are running a democratic country," said Mbeki.

"That's why you have an elected opposition, that's why it's possible for the opposition to run municipal government (in Harare and Bulawayo)," he said.

The SADC appointed Mbeki to act as mediator between Mugabe and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) when it held a summit in Tanzania last week after the Zimbabwean government's violent March 11 crackdown on political opponents.



Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070403/wl_nm/zimbabwe_opposition_mbeki_dc

[arcos]

1. LOL... "at some point"...

That's great news, huh! At least he is not planning to stay for decad... oh wait.... :eyes:

[Javaman]

2. Yeah, and I'm going to win the lottery tonight because I say so. nt

[BayCityProgressive]

3. haha

yeah it is a pretty week argument. Mbeki is a good guy though. He is trying to hold the African nations together, foster positive growth for the region AND keep out colonial powers. He has to play the game sometimes. The ANC gets a lot of respect from me as one of the most progressive majority parties in the world.

[President Kerry]

4. why are they all so scared shitless of Mugabe?

There are no more colonial powers, that argument has outlived itself. I wish Mbeki and his government got some fucking backbone, and apply some pressure on the thug.

[w4rma]

5. That's good news. (nt)

[Eugene]

6. Zimbabwe general strike fails in face of police action

Source: The Guardian

Zimbabwe general strike fails in face of police action

· Confidence wanes in ability to oust Mugabe
· Discontent rises in armed forces as families suffer

Chris McGreal, Africa correspondent
Wednesday April 4, 2007
The Guardian

Thousands of troops and police were deployed across Zimbabwe's cities
and townships yesterday to discourage demonstrations as trade unions
failed to bring the country to a halt with a general strike that is seen
as a test of the opposition's ability to mobilise ordinary people against
Robert Mugabe's rule.

The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions called the two-day strike to
demand pay increases for workers hit by hyperinflation, but it was also
viewed as part of the wider campaign to force Mr Mugabe from office
after 27 years. The ZCTU wants a minimum wage of a million Zimbabwe
dollars a month - about £25 at the black market rate of exchange
which dictates prices in the shops.

Some factories and shops closed in Harare and other cities but most
were open as people turned up for jobs they can ill afford to lose
in a country with 80% unemployment. Buses were operating as normal
although many people can no longer afford the fare to get to work.
The ambivalent support for the strike also appeared to reflect a
widely held loss of confidence in the opposition's ability to
challenge Mr Mugabe's rule.

The ZCTU called on people to stay at home for fear the government
would unleash the security forces or the ruling Zanu-PF party militia
against protesters. Hundreds of opposition activists have been
abducted and severely beaten, and often left with broken bones, in
recent weeks as Mr Mugabe increasingly relies on violence to deter
dissent.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/zimbabwe/article/0,,2049639,00.html