Links ~ 10 October 2008
‘Only Mbeki can save Zim talks’ ~The Star
Zimbabwe’s delicately balanced power-sharing deal can now be saved only by Thabo Mbeki, after Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai announced that negotiations over the allocation of ministries would resume only in the presence of the facilitator. But the former president’s spokesperson, Mukoni Ratshitanga, on Thursday said no trip to Zimbabwe was being planned. “If and when Mr Mbeki goes to Zimbabwe, I will issue a statement.” President Kgalema Motlanthe’s spokesperson, Themba Maseko, on Thursday told a press briefing he had sent a message to Southern African Development Community leaders that Mbeki would still be available as mediator and that the South African government continued to support the process.
South Africa’s Mbeki Is Asked to Help Break Zimbabwe Deadlock ~ Bloomberg
Former South African President Thabo Mbeki has agreed to return to Zimbabwe to help break a deadlock over the formation of a unity government, opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai said. [...] “We have now declared a deadlock in the negotiations over ministries and requested the facilitator resume his role,” he said. “He has responded and said he will come over.” [...] Zanu-PF’s chief negotiator at the talks, Patrick Chinamasa, said Mbeki wasn’t needed.
Aust, NZ, Canada urge Zimbabwe to resolve differences ~ ABC News
Australia, New Zealand and Canada have issued a joint statement about their grave concern over Zimbabwe. The three nations say three weeks after the power-sharing arrangement was reached, there is an ongoing unacceptable political and humanitarian situation. Inflation in Zimbabwe is officially at 231 million per cent. The joint statement says Zimbabwe’s people are facing critical shortages of food and clean water.
SA farmers asked to help Zimbabwe ~ Business Day (SA)
Agriculture and Land Affairs Minister Lulu Xingwana has asked SA’s commercial farmers to join the agriculture department in coming to the aid of Zimbabwean farmers to prevent a food crisis in that country in the year ahead. The minister told the farmers’ union AgriSA at its annual congress in Pretoria yesterday that she had received an urgent request to assist in Zimbabwe. She also asked SA’s financial services institutions to join in the rescue effort of Zimbabwe’s farm sector. An agricultural intervention may, however, be too late to prevent a food crisis in Zimbabwe, according to an estimate by the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) last month that about half of Zimbabwe’s people would need food aid next year.
Kenya PM slams Africa’s ‘diabolical conspiracy of silence’ ~ Mail and Guardian (SA)
Kenya’s Prime Minister, Raila Odinga, on Thursday blasted African leaders’ fear of criticising each other, saying it was stifling the continent’s progress towards democracy. “The African Union has fallen short, failing to condemn brutal regimes and sham elections, including the second round of elections in Zimbabwe. This has now become the norm. “But we should not be surprised at the AU’s failure to stand up for democracy, many of our nations’ leaders have some skeletons rattling loudly in their cupboards,” Odinga said.
IMF Turns Down Assessment Of Zim’s GDP Outlook ~ Zimbabwe Independent
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has declined to evaluate Zimbabwe’s Gross Domestic Product outlook this year in its latest World Economic Outlook report as the country’s economy continues to worsen at an alarming rate. According to the report which projected the GDP outlook of several countries, the IMF said it was not in a position to evaluate the country’s GDP growth this year because of the rate the economy was declining. The Bretton Woods institute has rated Zimbabwe, whose inflation is at 231 million %, as the world’s fastest shrinking economy. “IMF declined to evaluate Zimbabwe GDP growth this year,†was as brief as the evaluation of Zimbabwe went.
Nobel Peace Prize shortlist includes Morgan Tsvangirai and Chinese dissidents ~ The Telegraph (UK)
The Nobel Peace Prize committee has announced the shortlist for this year’s award, which includes two Chinese dissidents and the head of Zimbabwe’s opposition. Morgan Tsvangirai, the head of the Movement for Democratic Change, won most votes in the first round of Zimbabwe’s disputed presidential election in March, but was forced to quit later because of violence. He and President Robert Mugabe have since signed a power sharing agreement but are still disputing the composition of a new cabinet. The presence of two Chinese candidates are an embarrassment to the people’s republic the year its Olympic Games were overshadowed by rioting in Tibet.
The Nobel Peace Prize was finally awarded to Finland’s ex-President Martti Ahtisaari today, for his efforts to build a lasting peace in places as diverse as East Timor and the Balkans in Europe. Via the New York Times
