Zimbabwe opposition won't meet with mediator Mbeki
The Zimbabwean opposition said today that no one from the party would meet with visiting South African President Thabo Mbeki, who it says should be replaced as mediator in the country's political crisis.
President Robert Mugabe met Mbeki at the airport today as the South African leader arrived for his third visit as mediator on behalf of the Southern African Development Community.
The two men, wearing flower garlands, laughed as they walked hand-in-hand from the aircraft. They did not speak with reporters, but later posed for photographs in Mugabe's residence, State House, where they held a meeting lasting nearly four hours.
Mbeki was expected to leave Zimbabwe later today.
But opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai will not be sitting down with Mbeki, whom he sees as biased toward Mugabe, opposition spokesman George Sibotshiwe said.
Tsvangirai "has no confidence in Mbeki," and has called for him to step aside and allow Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa to take over mediation, Sibotshiwe said.
Mwanawasa has been more critical of Mugabe, while Mbeki -- believing Mugabe would not respond to confrontation -- has stuck to "quiet diplomacy" on Zimbabwe.
Mugabe and Tsvangirai have been in a tense political standoff. The opposition leader insists he won March 29 presidential elections outright.
The electoral commission said last week that Tsvangirai had won the most votes but failed to win the simple majority required for a first-round victory, and so would have to face Mugabe again in a runoff.
Mugabe has been accused of orchestrating violence against the opposition since the first round, raising questions about whether a runoff would be free or fair.
Tsvangirai's party, the Movement for Democratic Change, is expected to make an announcement Saturday in South Africa on whether it will take part in a runoff.
No date has been set for the vote, although Mugabe has already begun campaigning.
Meanwhile, opposition party supporters are increasingly under attack.
The Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights said 22 people had died and 900 were tortured in postelection violence.
But "violence is now on such a scale that it is impossible to properly document all cases," the association said in a statement today, citing a "dramatic increase" in violence since the start of May.
