Mugabe rejects coalition government with rival

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Mugabe rejects coalition government with rival

Aide says crisis will be solved the 'Zimbabwean way' as pressure intensifies
SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt - Zimbabwe on Tuesday dismissed calls for a Kenya-style grand coalition government to resolve its election crisis, saying the way out would be decided the "Zimbabwean way".
President Robert Mugabe, 84, was sworn in for a new five-year term on Sunday after election authorities announced he had won a landslide victory in a one-candidate presidential run-off ballot that was boycotted by the opposition.
"Kenya is Kenya. Zimbabwe is Zimbabwe. We have our own history of evolving dialogue and resolving political impasses the Zimbabwean way. The Zimbabwean way, not the Kenyan way. Not at all," Mugabe's spokesman George Charamba told journalists at an African Union summit in Egypt.

"The way out is a way defined by the Zimbabwe people, free from outside interference, and that is exactly what will resolve the matter," he said.
Power-sharing deal?
The comments came as African leaders discussed the Zimbabwe crisis at the AU summit in Sharm El-Sheikh amid calls for the continent to condemn Mugabe for holding the election, which was marred by violence.
African leaders are expected to push for talks on a power-sharing deal between Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF and Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change.
Meanwhile, Tsvangirai has left the Dutch Embassy in Harare, officials said Tuesday.
Dutch Foreign Ministry spokesman Rob Dekker said the opposition leader departed Monday after he decided the situation in Zimbabwe was calm enough for him to return to his home.
Dekker said embassy staff would remain in close contact and that Tsvangirai was welcome to return if he felt unsafe again.
Tsvangirai won the opening round of Zimbabwe's elections, but withdrew from the runoff June 22 because of state-sponsored violence against his supporters.
Peacekeepers
Tsvangirai wants the African leaders to guide negotiations on forming a coalition government to oversee a transition to democracy in Zimbabwe. While some leaders have publicly endorsed that idea, it is unclear how hard they will or can push Mugabe, who has ruled since independence in 1980.
Tsvangirai wants the African Union to send in peacekeepers. That, too, is unlikely, given the difficulties the body already is having with its stalled mission in Sudan's Darfur region, undertaken jointly with the United Nations. AU peacekeepers also are struggling in Somalia.
Tsvangirai, a 56-year-old former trade union leader, is on sensitive ground when he proposes outside help, as shown by his repeated clarifications that peacekeepers would not be tantamount to a military intervention. He risks being labeled a traitor at home, and leaders elsewhere in Africa might bristle at his perceived lack of sufficient nationalist sentiment.

While under pressure from Western governments and human rights activists to take a hard line, African leaders have long had close ties with the 84-year-old Mugabe, renowned as a campaigner against white rule and colonialism. Even those who can claim to be champions of democracy are reluctant to be seen as backing the West against a fellow African.
'Not a true reflection'
In an example of the lack of consensus, election observers sent by the main regional bloc, the Southern African Development Community, could not agree on how strongly to word their assessment of Friday's presidential runoff.
The bloc's statement said only that the latest vote was "not a true reflection of the will of the Zimbabwean people." Lawmakers who observed the vote under the auspices of the Pan-African Parliament, however, had no trouble declaring it not free, fair or legitimate.
Tsvangirai has called on the African Union to take over mediation that the southern bloc placed in the hands of South African President Thabo Mbeki more than a year ago. Tsvangirai says Mbeki's refusal to publicly criticize Mugabe betrays bias in Mugabe's favor.
While some African leaders have called for a change from Mbeki's "quiet diplomacy," it is unlikely that the African Union will show Mbeki disrespect by stripping him or the southern bloc of the mediation role.
Mugabe has said he is open to talks, and referred glowingly to Mbeki's efforts. Mugabe could be hoping any progress will be stalled in talks about how to hold talks.
Looking West doesn't bode much better for Tsvangirai.
President Bush wants the U.N. Security Council to impose an arms embargo on Zimbabwe and ban travel by Zimbabwe government officials, but building consensus could be difficult.
Diplomats do not expect the Security Council to go much further than last week's nonbinding resolution condemning violence against Zimbabwe's political opposition. South Africa, China and Russia oppose taking any further action.
The U.S., European nations and Australia have imposed limited sanctions on Zimbabwe, and they may strengthen them, though there are concerns tougher measures could hurt ordinary Zimbabweans already struggling with economic collapse. There is little sign of broader economic boycotts or the grass-roots campaigns that pressured apartheid-era South Africa.
Still, in a weekend interview, Tsvangirai argued it is Mugabe who is against the wall, saying the longtime leader's only choice amid international condemnation and Zimbabwe's dire economic woes is to negotiate a power-sharing deal.
"Where does he go from here?" Tsvangirai said. "He cannot solve the economic problem. He cannot solve 8 million percent inflation by continuing to be in this intransigent mood."