SHARM EL-SHEIKH: Africa s top conflict prevention body was to discuss Zimbabwe s crisis on Sunday amid growing calls for Monday s African Union summit to shun President Robert Mugabe.
Zimbabwe s one-man presidential election has been widely branded a farce after opposition candidate Morgan Tsvangirai withdrew because of violence, handing certain victory to incumbent veteran Mugabe.
Heads of state and government already in the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheikh will attend the meeting of the AU s Peace and Security Council (PSC) amid disagreement over how to tackle the problem.
The closed-door PSC session was scheduled take place about an hour after 84-year-old Mugabe is to be sworn in as president in Harare at 3 pm (1300 GMT) following Friday s second round of voting and with the result still not announced.
AU commission spokesman El-Ghassim Wane told AFP Zimbabwe was not on the agenda of the PSC meeting but that it would certainly be raised. The agenda includes an opportunity for each member state to put forward a subject they are interested in for discussion, so you can imagine that Zimbabwe will be mentioned, he said.
The fact that Zimbabwe is not on the PSC s official agenda shows the difficulty the AU and the head of its commission, Jean Ping, face in dealing with the crisis.
So far there has been no consensus among the AU s 53 member states, with the pan-African body issuing diplomatic statements and pushing for a power-sharing arrangement between Mugabe and Tsvangirai s Movement for Democratic Change.
AU foreign ministers spent much of Friday discussing what to do about Zimbabwe but without reaching any agreement.
On Saturday the AU s executive council discussed other matters ahead of Monday s full summit amid growing international calls for Mugabe s election to be rejected by African leaders.
According to a participant at Saturday s talks, South Africa put forward a proposed resolution for the summit. (It was) firm and detailed on possible power-sharing in Zimbabwe, but some people were reluctant and the Zimbabwe delegation opposed its adoption.
South Africa, which has been trying to mediate in the Zimbabwe crisis on behalf of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), then submitted another proposal, as yet unadopted, which is very flat and simply calls for an end to violence and for dialogue.
South African President Thabo Mbeki has come under fire for not being firm enough with Mugabe.
Tsvangirai, who won the first round but pulled out of the run-off after a wave of deadly attacks against his supporters, said he was ready to talk with Mugabe about a unity government.
Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga, among the veteran leader s most vocal critics, has called on the bloc to send troops into Zimbabwe, and labelled Mugabe a shame to Africa.
South African cleric and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Desmond Tutu said a very good argument can be made for having an international force to restore peace in Zimbabwe under UN auspices.
In London, British Foreign Office Minister Mark Malloch Brown said that if Mugabe resists change and violently oppresses human rights, then I hope the African neighbors will do whatever it takes to secure his departure.
A group of African lawmakers from the Pan African Parliament who observed Friday s election run-off said the outcome should be scrapped and a new vote held.
US President George W. Bush on Saturday ordered additional sanctions to beef up existing measures that include a travel ban on Mugabe s inner circle and a freeze on their bank accounts.
Human Rights Watch called on Sunday for African leaders to impose sanctions against Mugabe and refuse to recognize his legitimacy, calling the election a sham.
The PSC will also look at some of Africa s other crises, including Somalia, Sudan and rising tensions between Eritrea and Djibouti.
Nine Djiboutian troops were killed in border clashes on June 10. Tensions between the two Horn of Africa countries have run high since April 16 when Eritrean troops raided Ras Doumeira, a disputed promontory on the shores of the Red Sea, as it pursued deserters. -AFP
