African summit pushes Mugabe to negotiate

African leaders yesterday pushed President Robert Mugabe to open talks with the opposition after he was re-elected unopposed in an election condemned as violent and unfair by the continent's own monitors.

Mr Mugabe, 84, attended an African Union summit in Egypt soon after being sworn in for a new term, extending his unbroken rule since independence from Britain in 1980.

As Mr Mugabe arrived, the African Union's own monitors said Friday's election did not meet their standards. They were the third African observer group to condemn the poll.

The summit appeared opposed to a push by Western countries at the UN for hefty sanctions to punish Mr Mugabe but was moving towards a clear consensus on negotiations to end a deep and violent crisis in the ruined country.

Regional power South Africa, a key player in the Zimbabwe situation, called for Mugabe's Zanu-PF and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC to enter talks on a transitional government. Mr Tsvangirai withdrew from the ballot because of attacks on his supporters.

Pretoria is the designated southern African mediator in Zimbabwe although President Thabo Mbeki has been widely accused of being ineffective and too soft on Mr Mugabe.

The statement was the first time South Africa has publicly called for a unity government and appeared to indicate the line that the African Union will take. Any stronger measures are likely to be blocked by divisions at the summit.

The US has drafted a UN resolution calling for the Security Council to impose an arms embargo on Zimbabwe and freeze the assets of Mr Mugabe's inner circle.

But Pretoria, China and Russia appear sure to block it as they have opposed other strong measures against the veteran leader. Zimbabwe's crisis has ruined a once prosperous country, saddling it with the world's worst hyper-inflation and straining neighbouring nations, especially South Africa, with a flood of millions of economic refugees.

Conference sources said countries from east and west Africa wanted to take a strong stand but Mr Mugabe's neighbours in southern Africa were divided.