Mugabe said to be negotiating possible exit

[non sociopath skin]

Source: New York Times

HARARE, Zimbabwe — Advisers to President Robert G. Mugabe of Zimbabwe are in talks with the opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, amid signs that Mr. Mugabe may be preparing to resign, a Western diplomatic source and a prominent Zimbabwe political analyst said Tuesday.

The negotiations about a possible transfer of power away from Mr. Mugabe come after he apparently concluded that a runoff election would be demeaning, a diplomat said.

A resignation by Mr. Mugabe, one of Africa’s longest serving leaders, would be a stunning turnabout in a country where Mr. Mugabe has been accused of consistently manipulating election results to maintain his lock on power.
There is no guarantee the negotiations will succeed and the situation could still unravel. But a Western diplomat and a political analyst said the opposition was negotiating with Zimbabwe’s military, central intelligence organization and the country’s prisons chief..

“The chiefs of staff are talking to Morgan and are trying to put into place transitional structures,” said John Makumbe, a political analyst and insider in local politics who has spoken in the past in favor of the opposition.



Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/02/world/africa/02zimbabwe.html?hp

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Wonderful, if true!

[kevinmc]

1. Hope this is true, Zimbabwe went from breadbasket to Chamber Pot......

under that nutcase.

[Zynx]

2. I hope he meets Ceausescu's end.

Mugabe is simply vile. I oppose the death penalty, but I do want to see him suffer at a visceral level.

[acmavm]

3. He's going without a fight? That is GOOD NEWS. Usually those

guys start a huge civil war don't they?

[Freddie Stubbs]

4. Probably getting all of the money he looted into foreign accounts

[LeftishBrit]

5. Wow ...I hope so, but seeing will be believing in this case!

[David__77]

6. I don't think so.

This article is, more than likely, an intelligence feeler rather than a news item. These things are coordinated.

What I don't understand is why would there be a transitional structure? The vice president would take over - that's the constitution. And then the winner of the election would take over as mandated by law.

[provis99]

7. so will he take up residence in America like the Shah or Ferdinand Marcos?

Or has he already bought a Swiss villa next to the other world's dictatorial refuse?

[Doctor Cynic]

8. More likely China, actually.