Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
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August 17, 2008

Opposition: No Deal Reached Between Zimbabwe Parties
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=1DBCD48:A6F02AD83191E1602D8AC0E6BAA2EBFE2E7CA1C1B166B639&
 
South African President Thabo Mbeki, says some regional leaders will
continue talks on Zimbabwe's crisis after summit closes 
A Zimbabwean opposition official says no deals have been reached in the
party's power-sharing talks with the ruling party of President Robert
Mugabe. George Sibotshiwe, a spokesman for Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai, refused to give further details
of the talks. Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe (R) walks beside South
African President Thabo Mbeki (L) at Harare international airport
(File)Tsvangirai and Mr. Mugabe have been meeting on the sidelines of a
regional summit in South Africa. Leaders from the Southern African
Development Community were calling on the men to strike an agreement
before the summit's end Sunday. The talks are believed to be stalled
over the distribution of power between Mr. Mugabe and Tsvangirai in a
national unity government. South African President Thabo Mbeki, the
chief mediator of talks, says that some regional leaders will continue
talks on Zimbabwe's crisis after the summit closes. On Saturday,
Tsvangirai told The New York Times that he would not agree to any deal
that does not give him the authority to rule his homeland. He says in
the newspaper interview published Sunday, "It is better not to have a
deal than to have a bad deal." Three marathon sessions last week failed
to produce an agreement. Mr. Mugabe was declared the winner of a June 27
runoff election that many international observers dismissed as a sham.
Opposition leader Tsvangirai pulled out of the election, citing
state-sponsored attacks against his supporters. Zimbabwe's neighbors
fear the consequences if its political stalemate and economic decline
lead to total meltdown. Millions of Zimbabweans have fled across the
borders to escape the country's two million percent inflation rate, as
well as very high unemployment and shortages of food and fuel. Some
information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.


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