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Summit to discuss Zimbabwe crisis Summit to discuss Zimbabwe crisis
(about 9 hours later)
Zimbabwe will be high on the agenda when leaders of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) meet in the Zambian capital, Lusaka. The worsening situation in Zimbabwe is being addressed by leaders of the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) at a summit in Zambia.
South Africa's Thabo Mbeki was asked in March to mediate between Zimbabwe's government and the opposition. The president of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki, will report on his efforts to mediate between the Zimbabwean government and opposition.
President Mbeki will now have to report back on the progress he has made after holding a series of secret talks. The Sadc is under renewed pressure to find a solution to ease Zimbabwe's economic crisis.
But confronting Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe goes against the grain of everything SADC leaders hold dear. It has been accused of being too soft on President Robert Mugabe.
Other nations taking part in the summit in the Zambian capital, Lusaka, include Mozambique, Malawi, Botswana, Tanzania, Namibia, Lesotho and Swaziland.
Tomaz Salomao, executive secretary of Sadc, told a news conference that the grouping had a range of options for Zimbabwe, including a "hard line", "quiet diplomacy" or a "different" method.
A senior Zambian official said Sadc had grown tired of the deepening political and economic crisis in Zimbabwe but he did not have a resolution, saying Mr Mbeki's progress report would determine a course of action.
'One of their own''One of their own'
Southern Africa is a region forged in the fires of the liberation struggle. But the BBC's Africa editor, Martin Plaut, says confronting Mr Mugabe goes against the grain of everything Sadc leaders hold dear.
The policy of apartheid drove South Africans into exile in the 1960's.The policy of apartheid drove South Africans into exile in the 1960's.
Then, under Ian Smith, Rhodesia declared independence in 1965.Then, under Ian Smith, Rhodesia declared independence in 1965.
The liberation movements found natural homes in Zambia, Mozambique, Angola and Tanzania - countries that formed the backbone of what were called the "frontline states."The liberation movements found natural homes in Zambia, Mozambique, Angola and Tanzania - countries that formed the backbone of what were called the "frontline states."
Their armed wings fought shoulder-to-shoulder against the white regimes.Their armed wings fought shoulder-to-shoulder against the white regimes.
Rhodesian troops and South African special forces ranged across the region, killing their opponents as they went.Rhodesian troops and South African special forces ranged across the region, killing their opponents as they went.
None of the region's leaders have forgotten this, and count President Mugabe as one of their own. None of the region's leaders have forgotten this, and correspondents say Mr Mugabe used to be able to rely on the full support of his fellow leaders in Southern Africa.
Now the suffering he has inflicted on his own citizens is spilling across their borders - a flood of refugees from the economic and political misery that is Zimbabwe. But the fall-out from Zimbabwe's political and economic crisis is now having a huge impact on the entire region, with increasing numbers of economic migrants fleeing Zimbabwe and settling in neighbouring countries.
But holding a senior comrade from the liberation struggle to account goes against the grain of everything these leaders hold dear. Observers say there is a new mood of realism developing in the region, with Zimbabwe now seen as more than just a domestic problem.
Only the economic cost of doing nothing has prevented them from taking this path once more.
But if the past is any guide to the future, the harshest words will be reserved for their private deliberations.