Southern Africa urged to pressure Mugabe

The so-called security troika of the 15-nation Southern African Development Community will meet in the Mozambican capital, Maputo, Mozambique's presidency said in an e-mailed statement today. Mugabe, along with Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara, will attend the talks, it said.

The meeting comes after Tsvangirai last month withdrew his Movement for Democratic Change party from an eight-month-old power-sharing government with Mugabe's Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front. The withdrawal followed disputes over government appointments made by Mugabe and alleged violence directed at MDC officials.

“Recent reports that ZANU-PF continues to arrest and harass human rights and civil society activists should act as a warning to the regional leaders that Zimbabwe may slide back into violence and chaos if they do not take decisive action,” Georgette Gagnon, Africa director at New York-based Human Rights Watch, said in an e-mailed statement today.

On Nov. 2, Mordecai Mahlangu, a human-rights lawyer, was arrested by the authorities in the capital, Harare, for protesting the use of testimony extracted through torture in a trial, Gagnon said. Last month, two civil society leaders were arrested in Victoria Falls for calling for SADC to intervene to ensure a power-sharing agreement signed in February is fully implemented, she said.

Political Instability

Wayne Bvudzijena, Zimbabwe's police spokesman, didn't answer calls to his mobile and office phones today when Bloomberg News called him seeking comment.

The SADC brokered the accord that resulted in Mugabe and Tsvangirai forming a unity government. The agreement was aimed at ending a decade of political instability and economic decline that slashed exports and pushed inflation to a record.

“Regional leaders should set concrete benchmarks and consider targeted sanctions if any of Zimbabwe's parties do not comply with the provisions of the power-sharing agreement,” Gagnon said.

The SADC security troika is made up of Mozambican President Armando Guebuza, Zambian President Rupiah Banda and Swaziland'sKing Mswati III. South African President Jacob Zuma, Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila and former South African President Thabo Mbeki are also expected to attend tomorrow's meeting, the Mozambican presidency said.

Intervention

Zimbabwe is on the agenda tomorrow after Tsvangirai asked Guebuza, who chairs the security troika, to intervene, Tomaz Salomao, the executive secretary of SADC, told reporters today in Maputo.

The political situations in Lesotho and Madagascar will also be reviewed by the security troika, Salomao added.

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