Zimbabwe Cabinet Talks Grind to a Halt

Negotiations towards the formation of a national unity government in Zimbabwe have ground to halt after the country’s opposition leader failed to attend a special regional summit called to resolve a deadlock over the constitution of a coalition cabinet. Swazi King Mswati III, who was hosting the summit, announced its cancellation after Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai failed to make the trip, claiming he had been denied travel documents by the Zimbabwean government. President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe had already arrived alongside South African President Kgalema Motlanthe, Mozambican President Armando Emilio Guebuza, Congolese President Joseph Kabila, King Mswati III, and former South African President Thabo Mbeki, who is mediating the crisis. The summit had been organized by the regional Southern African Development Community (SADC) to help unlock an impasse that ensued after President Mugabe unilaterally allocated all powerful cabinet ministries to his ruling party, contravening a September 15 power sharing accord. [PE]