Harare, Zimbabwe
It’s smoke and mirrors for Zimbabweans. State-run TV has been blaring non-stop Mugabe’s statement that he is willing to sit down and negotiate with the opposition MDC – and would even accept a “unity” government, whatever that means. Tsvangirai is holding his ground; the capital’s more salubrious bars are a-buzz with speculation over an imminent deal brokered by the South Africans. The reality will be disappointing, I fear.
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“The violence in the run-up to the poll and Mugabe’s rushed inauguration was all about leverage,” one Harare political analyst told me, a former government advisor. “In the event of any negotiations, he wants to show the MDC that he’s still boss.”
Retribution against opposition supporters is still continuing in Mashonaland East.
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