Statement on the Inter-Party Dialogue Held on 17 May 2002, Harare, Zimbabwe

At 4:15 pm on Friday, 17 May 2002, at the request of the Facilitators to the Inter-Party Dialogue, the Team Leaders of Zanu-PF and MDC met to outline the way forward in view of the Zanu-PF Team's request for a postponement of the dialogue, slated for 13 May 2002, until the court process has been completed. Consequently, the meeting did not take place.

The Team Leader of Zanu-PF reiterated that in spite of the informal consultations that have taken place since 13 May 2002 between the Facilitators and Zanu-PF leadership the dialogue would not take place. It is not possible for it to continue with the dialogue until the court case filed by the MDC has been resolved. Zanu-PF has accordingly proposed that the dialogue be postponed. Zanu-PF does not wish to engage in parallel processes.

The Team Leader of the MDC argued that the conduct of ZANU-PF amounted to a unilateral withdrawal from the Dialogue.

Consequently, the process should be regarded as terminated and not adjourned. If the Facilitators and their Principals - President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria and Thabo Mbeki of South Africa - wish later to reinstate the process, it would be under a fresh mandate not one that has been terminated.

On their part, the Facilitators, having noted the differences, have indicated that they would continue to engage both political parties in order to sustain the Dialogue.

Issued by: Department of Foreign Affairs

17 May 2002