In Zimbabwe, President Robert Mugabe (84) and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai signed a power-sharing agreement on Monday. The agreement provides for the formation of a joint government of national unity to lead the African country out of the economic and political crisis. The ceremony in the presence of African heads of state in Harare was accompanied by cheers and applause.
The agreement is considered historic and came about through protracted negotiations mediated by South African President Thabo Mbeki. According to information so far, Mugabe remains president and heads a new council of state to be created and the army. Head of government will be opposition leader Tsvangirai, who will also be given command of the police force.Tsvangirai called for building a new Zimbabwe. He invoked cooperation and reconciliation. Division, hatred and polarization should be a thing of the past. "The agreement today is the product of painful compromises," he said. But it offers the best possible chance for Zimbabwe's democratic development, it said.Mugabe again attacked Britain and the U.S. in his address. "African problems must be solved by Africans," he said. The interference of colonial powers, he said, he would always oppose. He said the agreement contains points that are difficult for both sides to accept. But it is time to move forward together. Mugabe recalled Zimbabwe's liberation struggle and defended his controversial land reform, which led to the eviction of almost all white farmers: "Zimbabwe's land belongs to Zimbabweans.
"Prere and aid needed The chairman of the Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), Bishop Wolfgang Huber, called for continued close monitoring of the situation in the country even after the agreement has been reached. "One must be grateful for this step, but only if international prere continues can one have hope that the agreement signed today will hold," Huber said during a visit to Johannesburg, South Africa.Huber described humanitarian aid as a priority. "The news we are getting from Zimbabwe – including from our own church – is frightening," Huber said. "International aid organizations and churches must use all their means to help the poorest immediately."Huber expressly praised the work of the German Protestant congregation in Harare and thanked the local pastor Klaus-Peter Edinger. Despite the tensions of the past months, they have stayed the course and helped people in need.
HRW: "End political violence" The Human Rights Watch organization has called for an immediate end to political violence in Zimbabwe. Without an end to human rights abuses, the agreed joint government risks failure, the organization warned Monday in Johannesburg.The election results after the first round of the presidential election of 29. March torture camps set up in Zimbabwe for opposition members have not yet been closed, it said. "Human Rights Watch" calls for a commission to be set up to investigate these abuses to ensure democratic development.
Nearly 30 years at the Mac The agreement is expected to draw a line under Zimbabwe's electoral chaos. Mugabe's June re-election as president remained controversial after Tsvangirai failed to run in runoff election due to violence against his supporters. In the first round of elections in March, Tsvangirai had garnered the most votes.President Mugabe and his ZANU-PF party have been in power since Zimbabwe gained independence in 1980. Mugabe is criticized for human rights violations and the eviction of white farmers. The European Union has imposed sanctions on him and other government officials. Inflation in Zimbabwe is estimated at eleven million percent.Zimbabwe has been in a severe political and economic crisis for months. Mugabe's re-election as head of state in late June remained controversial. His challenger Tsvangirai did not run in the runoff election because of the violence against his supporters.According to Human Rights Watch, President Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF party and associated organizations are responsible for the murder of at least 163 people and the mistreatment of more than 5,000 others.000 others in charge since March.