Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Harare (Agenzia Fides) – Doubts remain over the talks taking place between the government and the opposition, in efforts to help Zimbabwe overcome its political crisis that began following the re-elections (defined by those in opposition as “a farce”) of President Robert Mugabe. Nelson Chamisa, spokesman for the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), the main opposition party that won Parliamentary elections, stated that the talks prior to the negotiation of the two parties begun in Pretoria last week had been entirely placed on hold and it is not clear if and when they will be taken up again.
The Sunday Mail, a state-run newspaper, says that an agreement had been reached. The news was confirmed by the Sunday Independent, which also states its belief that real negotiations could begin July 16 in Harare.
The opposition has a narrow space for negotiating, after the vetoes of Russia and China stopped the UN Security Council from declaring new sanctions on the Mugabe regime.
Zimbabwean citizens continue to flow into South Africa, fleeing starvation and political violence. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), up to 4,000 people arrive every day in South Africa. The UNHCR says that these people “fear being arrested and deported and so remain in hiding and run the risk of being victims of fresh violence and exploitation.”
Human Rights Watch has denounced South African authorities for violating international law, as they continued in the past year to expel those who has sought asylum in the country. According to the organization that works for human rights, last year South Africa expelled about 200,000 Zimbabweans, some of whom were at risk for persecution. In recent years, nearly 3 million Zimbabweans have fled human rights violations and extreme poverty. However, many have returned because of the aggressions that they have personally suffered or because of those suffered by other African immigrants that were reported last month throughout all South Africa. The wave of violence claimed at least 62 victims. (LM) (Agenzia Fides 14/7/2008)
