200807021847 | AU less tough on Mugabe calling for Unity Government

AU less tough on Mugabe calling for Unity Government

Sharm El-Sheikh - The African Union called on Tuesday for a national unity government in Zimbabwe after the widely-condemned re-election of President Robert Mugabe in a poll scarred by violence.

A summit of the pan-African body, which had been divided over what to do about Zimbabwe, adopted a resolution calling for Mugabe to enter negotiations with opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who withdrew from the election because of violence.

The resolution fell short of the much tougher statement wanted by some African nations but it was a rare AU intervention in an internal political dispute and an unprecedented rebuff to Mugabe, previously feted as a liberation hero.

Zimbabwe's neighbour Botswana called for Mugabe to be barred from both the AU and southern African regional body SADC.

Strong words

It was the toughest public statement from one of Zimbabwe's neighbours since Mugabe was sworn in on Sunday following a one-candidate election condemned by monitors.

"In our considered view... the representatives of the current government in Zimbabwe should be excluded from attending SADC (Southern African Development Community) and AU meetings," Botswana Vice President Mompati Merafhe said.

Botswana said Mugabe's participation in African meetings "would give unqualified legitimacy to a process which cannot be considered legitimate". It said the government and opposition must be treated as equal in any mediation.

Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga has also called for Mugabe, 84, to be suspended from the AU after the election.

The Botswana statement underlined the deep rifts both within Africa as a whole and among Zimbabwe's neighbours.

Summit divided

Regional power South Africa, the designated mediator in Zimbabwe, has resisted open condemnation of Mugabe. The summit called for SADC mediation to continue.

Summit delegates said earlier the leaders were divided between those who wanted a strong statement about Zimbabwe and others who were reluctant to publicly censure Mugabe.

The adopted resolution was submitted by a security troika of SADC comprising Tanzania, Swaziland and Angola, which had called for the vote to be postponed.

Negotiations will likely be difficult despite the pressure applied by the summit, which called on the two sides to refrain from action that "may negatively impact on the climate of dialogue".

Mugabe's spokesperson rejected ideas being floated for a Kenyan-style power-sharing deal and opposition Secretary-Tendai Biti, who was jailed for two weeks before the vote, said earlier there was no chance of negotiations.