Mon séjour en Afrique du Sud (Cape Town)

AS the first results of the recount of some of the votes in Zimbabwe were released yesterday ANC president Jacob Zuma and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown issued a joint statement from London condemning the “violence and intimidation” in Zimbabwe.

Zuma and Brown branded the situation a “crisis” and repeated calls for the results to be published.

“We call for an end to any violence and intimidation and stress the importance of respect for the sovereign people of Zimbabwe and the choice they have made at the ballot box.

“We have agreed on the importance of humanitarian aid and the need for international co-operation to support the recovery of the economy of Zimbabwe once all election processes have been fulfilled,” the joint statement reads.

Zuma is in Britain as part of a three-nation tour, which includes France and Germany, to meet with the heads of state of Europe’s biggest economies.

Brown also called for an arms embargo on Zimbabwe – a call echoed by Amnesty International – which warned further arms deliveries to Zimbabwe could boost “state-sponsored violence”.

Amnesty called for this ban to include the sale of all security equipment, such as tear gas, water cannons, and anti-riot equipment “which has been used in the past by the Zimbabwe police to suppress the right to peaceful protest”.

But Zuma disagreed, saying he didn’t think the stage had been reached where it was necessary to call for an arms embargo.

In Pretoria the SA National Defence Force yesterday reported a clear increase since the March 29 poll in the number of Zimbabweans trying to enter the country illegally.

The SANDF has more than 500 soldiers patrolling the border in support of the border police and has already apprehended 1 780 Zimbabwean trying to cross the border illegally.

The state-run Herald newspaper – a government mouthpiece – said it was clear that no side would win a majority in the presidential election on March 29 and the best way forward was to form a government of national unity.

But Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa said the proposal was not government policy: “Our position is very clear. We were approached for a government of national unity and we rejected that.”

While the election commission has yet to release the results of the presidential poll, the opposition had wrest control of the 210-seat parliament from the ruling Zanu-PF party.

But that result could be reversed as the election commission recounts votes in 23 constituencies, all but two of which were initially said to have returned an MDC candidate to parliament.

In the first constituency to complete its recount, , Zanu-PF was confirmed the winner and only needs to reverse the result in seven of the other seats under the microscope to regain control of parliament.

The opposition has denounced the recount as a ploy by Mugabe to steal back control of parliament and says the delay to the result of the presidential election is also intended to buy a defeated regime more time.

Former Mozambican leader Joaquim Chissano said yesterday that he would be willing to mediate in the crisis.

“We don’t want to see an explosion of violence. We don’t want another Matabeleland ,” he said, in reference to the so-called Gukurhundi massacre of the 1980s that claimed the lives of thousands.

In an interview yesterday, Chissano, as the incubment chairperson of the Africa Forum, said he would be willing to intervene immediately in the political deadlock should SADC decide to call on his services.

“We, the Forum, are available to do something. We don’t know what as yet,” the former Mozambican president said.

“But the matter is in the hands of the sitting presidents of the region right now. And we could not take initiatives without their blessing.”

On their return yesterday from a two-day visit to Zimbabwe, Reformed church leaders Allan Boesak and Braam Hanekom called on SADC to send a “peace force”.

“There is no doubt Zimbabwe is experiencing a severe crises characterised by large scale and blatant injustice.”

They said the delay in announcing the results of the election had left people with little hope, which in most cases had been replaced by “an intense fear”, with a large percentage sceptical about a re-run of elections.