Zimbabwe

Tsvangirai rejects calls for unity government

Article published on the 2008-07-03 Latest update 2008-07-03 09:30 TU

Morgan Tsvangirai, 2 July 2008.
(Photo: Reuters)

Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai has rejected calls to form a national unity government with Robert Mugabe. Tsvangirai said such a move would not solve the country's crisis after last week's widely condemned one-man election.

Speaking the day after the African Union (AU) called for a unity government, Morgan Tsvangirai said on Wednesday that it would merely legitimise Mugabe after much of the world had labelled his regime illegitimate.

"We have already indicated that we are prepared to consider a transition. That is the basis, in principle. But certainly a government of national unity - we cannot go into that," he said.

Earlier president Robert Mugabe's government said it was ready for talks with all sides in order to resolve the country's political crisis, as it hailed a resolution by African leaders calling for a unity government.

Zimbabwe's Information Minister Sikanyiso Ndlovu said the government wants a negotiated solution but not one imposed from outside. At the close of its summit earlier this week, the AU refused to condemn the presidential elections, deemed unfair and non-transparent by the AU's electoral commission.

In related news, a US draft resolution to be tabled at the UN is calling for an arms embargo on Zimbabwe as well as financial and travel sanctions on President Robert Mugabe and 11 of his aides.