Talks Reportedly Stall in Zimbabwe

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MICHEL MARTIN, host:

I'm Michel Martin, and this is Tell Me More from NPR News. Just ahead, she found out that her ancestors brought thousands of men and women and children into this country in chains. We find out what she decided to do about it.

But first, we focus on Zimbabwe, and for just four days, power-sharing negotiations are off. The talks were arranged to find a solution to the bloody conflict between supporters of Zimbabwe's long time president, Robert Mugabe, and members of the opposition, the Movement for Democratic Change.

Mugabe was declared the winner of a sixth term earlier this month after standing unopposed in a run-off election marked by what most observers considered an open campaign of state-sponsored violence of supporters of opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who had beaten Mugabe in the original election. Mr. Tsvangirai pulled out of the run-off after dozens of supporters and family members were harassed, beaten, and driven out of their homes. To find our more, we turn to Peta Thornycroft. She's Zimbabwe's correspondent for the Daily Telegraph. Hello, thanks for speaking with us.

Ms. PETA THORNYCROFT (Correspondent, Daily Telegraph): Hello there.

MARTIN: Peta, not much is known about what's been going on inside the negotiations since both parties agreed to a media blackout. So the first thing I want to know is, how did both parties come to the table to begin with after so much animosity between the two?

Ms. THORNYCROFT: For Morgan Tsvangirai, who had a significant victory over Robert Mugabe in the presidential poll on March 29, and for the NDC, which saw Zanu-PF lose its parliamentary majority, there was really no other way out. Mr. Mugabe would not allow the run-off election to take place except accompanied by such enormous violence. When I say enormous violence, it was really in parts of the country, no go areas, curfews, people were not only being killed, but in fact, many more people were injured than were killed, villages burned at a time of no food.

Morgan Tsvangirai really had no alternative but to withdraw from that election, and so Mugabe proceeded to hold the election. People then went to vote. Some people went to vote just to get the red ink on their finger so that they would be able to prove that they had voted. Despite all of that, of course, there was a substantial boycott of the poll, but obviously, Mugabe was the only candidate. And he won, and he was sworn into six years in power. There was really nothing else for the NDC but to go into the negotiations.

MARTIN: But what about the - what about Mugabe's party? He's demonstrated his imperviousness to outside pressure and, apparently, to the suffering of his own people. Why did he agree? And what do you think has happened since?

Ms. THORNYCROFT: I think he's run out of cash. I think the Southern African Development Community has divided significantly over the case of Zimbabwe, and they put pressure on him. And the African Union had significant numbers to also say to Mr. Mugabe that at the end, you know, something had to be done about this.

And the observers, who were all African observers, all three groups issued statements ahead of the one candidate poll saying that the situation for an election was neither free nor fair. In other words, they backed Morgan Tsvangirai's interpretation of the political climate in Zimbabwe at the time. And perhaps Mugabe, the pressure on him was intense from Thabo Mbeki, the South African President. Thabo Mbeki, who was appointed as the facilitator for the Southern African Development Community to try and find a solution.

Last year there had been negotiations. There were some few alterations to repressive laws and better electoral laws which came out of those negotiations, but the big picture, a new constitution, a time frame for a transition failed. Both negotiations were never completed, so, for Thabo Mbeki, it was unfinished business, and he put on significant pressure onto Mr. Mugabe. And Morgan Tsvangirai did a lot of diplomacy around Africa, and you suddenly, for the very first time, and had presidents, like, of Zambia, of Botswana, even of Tanzania.

MARTIN: Peta, we only have about a minute left. So I wanted to ask that South Africa's President, Thabo Mbeki, as you mentioned, the lead mediator in the talks, is presenting this breakdown after four days as a temporary pause. Do you think that that's accurate, as best as you can determine?

Ms. THORNYCROFT: Well, they seem to have only got down to serious negotiations on Saturday, and they then got into the bit of the key position of executive power. And it seemed to have fallen down on the very first attempt at executive power. From what we understand, the Zanu guest negotiator offered Morgan Tsvangirai a third vice presidency, which has no executive powers attached to it at all. And he did win the elections, and so his negotiators turned around and said, no, that's simply not good enough. And (unintelligible) have to go back to Harare to consult Mugabe, and that seems to be the position that the talks have reached at this moment. Mbeki saying, however, they'll be finished within two weeks.

MARTIN: And finally Peta, what are conditions, as best you can determine, in Zimbabwe at the moment? You mentioned a horrific campaign of violence. It seems to have calmed down in the wake of discussions. What are you hearing now about circumstances there?

Ms. THORNYCROFT: Yes, the violence has calmed down, although there are bases, Zanu-PF bases in many parts of the country, which we have seen with, you know, first hand. And the worst situation is the food situation, especially in southern and eastern Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe and Mr. Mugabe banned all food aid ahead of the elections, and he has not yet lifted that ban. It was one of the questions meant to be discussed at the negotiations.

So humanitarian agencies are not allowed to do emergency feeding programs, and there are many people literally on the point of starvation. It was the worst crops ever last summer season. There's no food security. You have got millions percent of inflation. The numbers mean nothing, and there's a shortage of cash.

MARTIN: Peta, forgive me, Peta, thank you. We're going to have to leave it there for now, but we appreciate you keeping us informed. Peta Thornycroft is a Zimbabwe correspondent for the Daily Telegraph. She prefers that we not disclose her location at the moment. Thank you so much for speaking with us.

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