This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/africa/7836859.stm
The article has changed 9 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Zimbabwe rivals holding key talks | |
| (19 minutes later) | |
| Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai have begun talks which could be the last chance to salvage a unity deal. | |
| The two men are discussing a power-sharing agreement, stalled since September. The presidents of Mozambique and South Africa are also attending. | |
| Mr Mugabe said on Sunday he would not make any more concessions until a unity government was formed. | Mr Mugabe said on Sunday he would not make any more concessions until a unity government was formed. |
| Mr Tsvangirai says he will not be bulldozed into an agreement. | Mr Tsvangirai says he will not be bulldozed into an agreement. |
| Under September's deal, Mr Tsvangirai is to become prime minister while Mr Mugabe remains as president. | Under September's deal, Mr Tsvangirai is to become prime minister while Mr Mugabe remains as president. |
| It's hard to envisage how they find any middle-ground Knox ChitoyoZimbabwe analyst But the deal faltered after Mr Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party accused Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF of trying to keep the most powerful ministries - including the one that controls the police - to itself. | |
| The political deadlock has exacerbated the problems facing Zimbabweans, from a cholera epidemic and an economic meltdown to food shortages and the collapse of basic services such as health and education. | The political deadlock has exacerbated the problems facing Zimbabweans, from a cholera epidemic and an economic meltdown to food shortages and the collapse of basic services such as health and education. |
| The MDC has also complained about the abduction of opposition and human rights activists by state security agents. | The MDC has also complained about the abduction of opposition and human rights activists by state security agents. |
| 'Pathetic' | |
| Zimbabwe analyst Knox Chitoyo told the BBC's Network Africa programme that the two sides had lost all trust in each other. | Zimbabwe analyst Knox Chitoyo told the BBC's Network Africa programme that the two sides had lost all trust in each other. |
| "It's hard to envisage how they find any middle-ground, said Mr Chitoyo, from the London-based Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). | "It's hard to envisage how they find any middle-ground, said Mr Chitoyo, from the London-based Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). |
| STATE OF ZIMBABWE Five million people - almost half population - need food aidCentral bank introduced Z$100tr note, worth about US$30 (£20)Unemployment more than 80%More than 2,200 people have died in cholera outbreak class="" href="/1/hi/world/africa/7833791.stm">Crunch time for Zimbabwe? "One or other of them is going to have to climb down seriously." | |
| Zimbabwean journalist Brian Hungwe in Harare says there is not much hope among Zimbabweans for great strides forward in the talks, given the hard positions the political rivals have taken, and the mood is one of despair. | |
| One man in Harare told him: "People's lives here have collapsed significantly. People can't afford food, school, transport. I want a revival of that. | |
| "If those talks are not going to meet those minimum requirements then those talks are nonsense." | |
| Another man said: "My desire would be to see these two guys coming together. We, as Zimbabweans, we are suffering... it's so pathetic. I look forward to a positive result." | |
| 'Finality' | |
| Mr Mugabe told state media that the MDC must "accept" the deal at Monday's talks, "or it's a break". | |
| "If they have any issues they deem outstanding, they can raise them after they come into the inclusive government," he added. | "If they have any issues they deem outstanding, they can raise them after they come into the inclusive government," he added. |
| Mr Tsvangirai (C) has been out of Zimbabwe since November South African President Kgalema Motlanthe, his predecessor Thabo Mbeki and Mozambican leader Armando Emilio Guebuza are attending the talks to push for a breakthrough. | |
| But Mr Mugabe said he had done everything required under the agreement and the time for talks was over. | |
| "We have gone past negotiations and whatever concessions were there to be made have already been made," he said in the state-owned Sunday Mail. | "We have gone past negotiations and whatever concessions were there to be made have already been made," he said in the state-owned Sunday Mail. |
| "We have done all that SADC [Southern African Development Community] expected us to do and all that remains is fulfilling the agreement by forming an inclusive government." | "We have done all that SADC [Southern African Development Community] expected us to do and all that remains is fulfilling the agreement by forming an inclusive government." |
| The clear implication is that if the MDC does not signal agreement now, Mr Mugabe will go ahead and form a government unilaterally, the BBC's Peter Biles in Johannesburg says. | The clear implication is that if the MDC does not signal agreement now, Mr Mugabe will go ahead and form a government unilaterally, the BBC's Peter Biles in Johannesburg says. |
| The MDC was deciding how to proceed with outstanding issues, particularly what it called Zanu-PF's unchanged "mindset and attitude" about a smooth running unity government. | The MDC was deciding how to proceed with outstanding issues, particularly what it called Zanu-PF's unchanged "mindset and attitude" about a smooth running unity government. |
| Spokesman Nelson Chamisa told AFP news agency: "There has to be finality to the dialogue process - either in failure or in success." | |
| Mr Tsvangirai arrived back in Zimbabwe on Saturday after an absence of more than two months, telling reporters his party would not be "bulldozed" into any deal not reflecting the will of the people. | |
| Mr Tsvangirai gained the most votes in elections last March but not enough for outright victory. | Mr Tsvangirai gained the most votes in elections last March but not enough for outright victory. |
| He pulled out of a run-off in June against Mr Mugabe, citing a campaign of violence against opposition supporters. | He pulled out of a run-off in June against Mr Mugabe, citing a campaign of violence against opposition supporters. |