Mugabe, foe shake hands, will hold talks
The Zimbabwean leader and opposition chief Tsvangirai give themselves two weeks to solve the political crisis.
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA — President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe and his bitter rival, opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, shook hands for the first time in a decade Monday, agreeing to settle the country's violent political crisis.
The handshake in Harare, the Zimbabwean capital, came after 120 opposition activists were killed in recent months in state-sponsored violence, thousands were jailed and tens of thousands of opposition supporters were driven from their homes.
The framework for talks between the two men provides a two-week window to reach a viable solution to the crisis despite the deep-seated differences between the sides.
The agreement commits the ruling ZANU-PF party, the opposition Movement for Democratic Change and a breakaway faction of the MDC to work toward an agreement on an "inclusive government," but includes no specifics.
The two men met briefly in 1998, a year before Tsvangirai formed the MDC, which went on to become the biggest threat to Mugabe and ZANU-PF.
Mugabe, who clung to power in a widely condemned one-man presidential runoff election June 27, demands recognition as president; the opposition, however, says Tsvangirai won the first-round election between the two March 29.
The West has rejected Mugabe's victory, and three teams of African election observers condemned the runoff.
The agreement on talks calls for an end to continuing political violence, a key opposition demand, and for a new constitution. It also calls for a sustainable solution to the country's protracted political crisis.
It comes less than two weeks after the United Nations Security Council rejected tough sanctions on top regime figures, with Russia and China vetoing the resolution.
The March election saw ZANU-PF lose control of parliament for the first time since Zimbabwe's independence from Britain in 1980.
Mugabe also polled worse than Tsvangirai in the presidential vote, according to official results, with about 43% to his rival's 48%.
The opposition claimed the official count was fraudulent and insists that Tsvangirai won 50.3% of the vote, enough to have won the presidency in the first round, eliminating the need for a runoff.
Monday's meeting was a landmark event partly because of the vehemence with which Mugabe has rejected Tsvangirai, whom he calls a puppet of the West. The president has repeatedly said Tsvangirai will never be allowed to rule the country.
- Zimbabwe hopes hinge on regional Africa meeting Aug 15, 2008
- Mugabe: From Hero to Thug Mar 08, 2002
- Zimbabwe Prime Minister Tsvangirai says Mugabe can't be prosecuted Sep 17, 2008
