Mbeki was met by Mugabe at Harare International airport, stopped off at a hotel amid an unusually heavy presence of Mugabe’s presidential guard, armed with automatic rifles, and drove off for formal discussions at the president’s official residence, State House.
“They (the talks) have gone very well. I came to Harare today to see the president and the leadership of the MDC so we can reflect on where we are and to report to them as facilitator how the talks have gone,” Mbeki said
after meeting the two sides. He later proceeded to the Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOGM) summit in Kampala, Uganda, where he report on progress in the talks.
A spokesperson for the main MDC led by Morgan Tsvangirai, who met Mbeki at South African ambassador Mlungisi Makhalima’s residence, said his party remained fully committed to the talks despite the process’s challenges and its slowness.
As a party we believe he (Mbeki) is an honest broker and a genuine African with genuine concern about the suffering of Africans, Biti told a press briefing after the talks.
He said the MDC had raised its concerns about political violence against its members with Mbeki.
But Mugabe dismissed the violence charges, alleging Tsvangirai was attempting to pacify his alleged Western handlers by lying about violence. Â
It’s the usual accusation which the MDC makes, Mugabe told reporters after his meeting with Mbeki at State House. It is one basis they have for raising allegations against us and informing their friends, whoever they are. I suppose he wanted to inform his friends that these are some of the matters they (the MDC) are talking about during the dialogue process. I wonder if he also raised the matter of the violence in his party.
Professor Welshman Ncube, the secretary general of the Arthur Mutambara-led MDC, who is also the faction’s emissary to the talks, said in statement issued Friday there had been tremendous progress on the talks.
We have noted with deep concern the various external forces which appear to have been mobilised and are in turn mobilising internal forces to derail the successful conclusion of the SADC dialogue Ncube said.
Political analysts said that Mbeki’s successful brokerage in the resolution of the Zimbabwe crisis will be determined by even-handedness and the willingness to hear both sides
of the Zimbabwe political equation.
Mbeki’s office said earlier on Friday there would be no change in his controversial policy of quiet diplomacy over Zimbabwe.
The Zimbabwean heard that Mbeki returned from the CHOGM summit enraged after failing in his bid to get the body to have Zimbabwe readmitted to the organisation, and shocked many colleagues in South Africa when he accused Britain of opposing Zimbabwe’s return so that it could protect its white, colonial kith and kin.
He also said Western nations’ demand for democratic reform in Zimbabwe was a disguised bid for regime change to get rid of Mugabe.
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