EU threatens Mugabe with new sanctions power-sharing deal (2nd Roundup)

Oct 13, 2008, 18:08 GMT

Luxembourg - The European Union on Monday threatened to impose new sanctions on Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and his allies unless a power-sharing deal with pro-democracy leader Morgan Tsvangirai was promptly implemented.

The EU foreign ministers' warning, issued during a meeting in Luxembourg, came as former South African president Thabo Mbeki was expected in Zimbabwe to try to salvage the unity deal he brokered a month ago.

'The Council stands ready to consider additional measures in case of continued deadlock in the implementation of the September 15 agreement,' the EU ministers said in a joint statement.

Mugabe is threatening to scupper the deal by retaining control of key ministries responsible for the army, police and secret police.

The president was accused of using such forces to intimidate opposition supporters in the run up to the March presidential election.

Tsvangirai said Sunday that the power-sharing agreement would be 'stillborn' if Mugabe failed to hand the home-affairs ministry, which controls the police, over to his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).

EU governments had been set to toughen their sanctions on September 15, but postponed their decision after the signing on the same day of the power-sharing deal.

Current EU sanctions include a ban on pro-Mugabe officials entering the EU and the severing of ties with businesses linked to the 84-year- old president.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband had said on his arrival in Luxembourg that Europe should send out a strong signal indicating that it would 'play no part in supporting a power grab by the Mugabe regime.'

'It is important (that) there is an international united response that says that the results of the elections need to be respected, and a power grab will not be respected,' Miliband said.

EU foreign ministers also reiterated their concern at the 'deteriorating humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe' and noted that the European Commission was providing an additional 10 million euros (13.6 million dollars) in aid to the country.

Earlier, Mugabe continued to forge ahead with his attempts to form a government on his terms by swearing in two veterans of his Zanu-PF party as vice presidents.

The swearing in of Joseph Msika (84) and Joyce Msika, both of whom have been vice presidents for the last eight years, came hours before Mbeki was due to return to Harare to try to end the deadlock on the formation of a cabinet. Mbeki had been due to travel to Harare in the afternoon but had yet to arrive Monday evening.

Under the terms of the September accord, Zanu-PF is to get 15 ministries in a 31-member cabinet, Tsvangirai's MDC faction 13 and a breakaway MDC faction led by Arthur Mutambara three.

State radio quoted Zanu-PF spokesman Patrick Chinamasa as saying that there was 'an urgency to form a new government as it had not been sworn in for a month' since the deal was signed.

State radio also said that the swearing-in of the vice-presidents would be 'followed by the swearing in of the prime minister (Tsvangirai) and his two deputies,' to be drawn from the two MDC's ranks.

It also quoted Chinamasa as saying that 'it would take three months' to change laws to provide for Tsvangirai to be sworn in, effectively prolonging Mugabe's solo rule by another three months