Mugabe has refused to consider new elections, and hopes for making headway in the talks were dim from the outset. Tsvangirai has also demanded an immediate end to state-orchestrated reprisals against his supporters and has ruled out mediators' calls for him to join a national unity government. Mugabe, 78, led Zimbabwe to independence in 1980 and has vowed to crush any protests against his victory. He ruled virtually unchallenged until the economy collapsed and political violence erupted two years ago.***
The EU cut off 128 million euros (dlrs 110 million) in development aid, banned all travel to the EU for Mugabe and 20 of his Cabinet ministers and froze their assets in Europe. Amos said Tuesday the government accepted that there was little it could do unilaterally against Zimbabwe, as any action risked playing into Mugabe's hands. She said Mugabe's propanda had portrayed Britain as meddling in the affairs of its former colony. "We are supporting our partners in Africa because we feel very clearly that it is Robert Mugabe's peers in Africa to whom he might listen. I think if there is a solution, it has to come from within the leadership within Africa," she said.***