SADC leaders begin third crisis summit on Zimbabwe (2nd Lead)

Jan 26, 2009, 14:10 GMT

Pretoria/Brussels - The European Union slapped Zimbabwe with more sanctions Monday, just as Southern African heads of state met in South Africa in yet another attempt to eke a compromise from Zimbabwe's rival leaders on power-sharing.

Monday's extraordinary summit of the 15-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC) that is being attended by both Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai, is the bloc's third such summit on Zimbabwe in under a year.

At previous SADC summits Mugabe's peers have drawn scorn for refusing to condemn him, despite his attempt to cling to power in the wake of an election defeat last year.

The foreign ministers of the EU's 27 member states condemned Mugabe's regime for 'its ongoing failure to address the most basic economic and social needs of its people' and 'the ongoing violations of human rights.'

A further 60 people and companies allied to Mugabe had their assets frozen and were banned from travel in the EU, bringing to around 170 the number of individuals and entities, including Mugabe himself, on the EU blacklist.

Eight heads of state or government are attending the talks being hosted by South African President Kgalema Motlanthe at the presidential guesthouse in Pretoria.

In an opening statement distributed to the media, Motlanthe said the summit was a sign of SADC's recognition of its 'responsibility, concern and empathy' vis-a-vis Zimbabwe and said to SADC's critics: 'We will not fail them.'

Outside government buildings nearby, police used rubber bullets to put down a protest by a few hundred activists from the Save Zimbabwe Now movement. The organizers said seven people were injured.

The summit is aimed at getting Mugabe and Tsvangirai to implement the power-sharing accord they signed four months ago.

The two leaders, and Arthur Mutambara, leader of a minor MDC faction, signed up to a unity government, in which Mugabe remains president and Tsvangirai becomes prime minister.

But the MDC has gone cold on the deal because of Mugabe's insistence on retaining all the most important portfolios, bar finance, for his Zanu-PF.

A renewed state crackdown on opposition supporters, dozens of whom have been detained, disappeared for weeks on end and allegedly tortured, has further poisoned relations between the parties.

Two meetings between Mugabe and Tsvangirai - one official meeting mediated by SADC, another secret meeting that state media said took place last Thursday- failed to end the deadlock.

Ahead of Monday's talks, a Zimbabwe government spokesman reiterated Mugabe's to form a government without the MDC, telling South Africa's SAfm radio 'everyone' supported the idea.

As the Zimbabwean crisis starts to contaminate life in the region, pressure is growing on SADC to take a tougher line with Zimbabwe's ruler of 29 years.

At least 33 people have died of cholera in South Africa in recent months as sick, hungry Zimbabweans stream across the border. Zimbabwe's own death toll is close to 3,000 since August, when the outbreak began in crowded townships.

Tsvangirai has refused to work with Mugabe until positions of power are equitably distributed and detained activists are released.

Zanu-PF and SADC are trying to convince the MDC into joining the government and leaving the sticking points to be resolved later.