Zimbabwe's opposition says lost faith in talks

By Nelson Banya

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's main opposition party has lost faith in power-sharing talks with President Robert Mugabe and will leave him to form a government alone rather than be forced into a deal, a party official said on Thursday.

The official, who asked not to be named, said the Movement for Democratic Change no longer had confidence in the mediation of South African President Thabo Mbeki and wanted the United Nations and African Union to rescue the process.

Talks are deadlocked over how to share executive power between Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, putting off any chance of rescuing Zimbabwe from its economic collapse.

"We have lost confidence in this process. They can go ahead and Mugabe can form his government, we will not be a part of that circus," the official said.

"He (Mbeki) is trying to rush us into a deal. The unfortunate thing is that Mbeki is trying to help Mugabe achieve his ends, not to solve the crisis."

State media said Mugabe had given Tsvangirai until Thursday to sign a deal or he would form a government himself. Mugabe, in power since 1980, was quoted as saying Zimbabwe could not afford a situation where "we will not have a cabinet forever".

But Tsvangirai's party said any attempts to force it into a deal would fail.

"Where on earth have you seen dialogue held on the basis of threats and ultimatum? They want to bully us into an agreement, but that's completely unacceptable," said MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa.

Despite the maneuvering, analysts believe neither side has much option but to agree a deal eventually.

"There are two possible outcomes, either Tsvangirai gives in or the deal collapses," said Lovemore Madhuku, a law lecturer and chairman of political lobby group National Constitutional Assembly.

"But I don't see Mugabe conceding any more ground than he has already done, and if Tsvangirai continues to refuse what is on the table, the MDC will have to decide on where it goes from here," Madhuku added.

RECIPE FOR INSTABILITY

The MDC official said the opposition party had other options: "We are looking toward the African Union and the United Nations to rescue this process and take it forward."

South African Nobel peace prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu said the talks breakdown would almost certainly lead to violence and if Mugabe insisted on staying in power it would be the "worst possible recipe for instability" in southern Africa.

"It's going to mean that it's almost certain that they are going to have violence and all of that erupting (in Zimbabwe) and so one is praying, and I hope everybody will pray desperately, that somehow they will be able to pull the iron out of the fire," Tutu told Reuters in London.