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Last Updated: Jul 21, 2008 - 9:34:27 AM |
In his separate meeting with
each of the party leaders, Ping appealed to them to sign a memorandum
of understanding that will guide a two-week round of intensive talks to
negotiate a political solution to the crisis. The signing ceremony
would take place in Harare and pave the way for the talks to move
immediately to a secret location in South Africa. Although Zanu PF and
the Mutambara faction of the MDC reiterated their willingness to sign,
Weekend Argus understands Tsvangirai outlined a number of concerns that
continue to pose problems for his participation. "There are still a
number of things we asked for that aren't there," he said. However, he
would not say when he would be in a position to join his rivals at the
table.
Ping told the party leaders he was meeting with them in his capacity as
AU commissioner and as the AU representative to the newly-appointed
reference group which Thabo Mbeki constituted on Friday. The group is
also made up of special representatives from the SADC and the UN and is
intended to interact with Mbeki's facilitation at a strategic level on
an ongoing basis as talks proceed. Should the talks produce a
negotiated settlement, Harare stands to attract billions of rand in the
near future from Zimbabwe's main donors. Weekend Argus understands
Britain has committed R15 billion, America has pledged R11,4-billion,
the United Nations Development Plan a further R6bn and the European
Union R3-billion, with more in the offering from a number of other
sources, all under the guise of a rescue plan. From those four sources
alone, Harare stands to attract at least R35-billion in the near
future, an enormous amount of money for a country that has been
miraculously staving off economic collapse for a number of years.
It is a sum that will be hard to ignore in the future talks. The bulk
of the money carries stringent conditions, however, and the ultimatum
that it will not be released until Mugabe steps down. US officials have
repeatedly said they are only willing to lend a hand in a post-Mugabe
Zimbabwe. When the EU chief for Development and Humanitarian Aid, Louis
Michel, announced his package some weeks back, he stipulated a similar
condition, saying that while the money would be available, it would
only be committed vis-a-vis "a post-Mugabe assistance plan in union
with our African partners". However, it remains to be seen whether the
world's superpowers would consider a power-sharing authority of some
sort, which seems increasingly likely, rather than veto the prospect of
stability. What is also unclear are the intentions of the incoming US
administration and whether the future US president would be willing to
assist Zimbabwe, even with Mugabe in some ceremonial role.
Source:Ocnus.net 2008
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