London talks begin

As officials from Zimbabwe and Britain met in London on Thursday to discuss the ongoing crisis in Zimbabwe, British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook said that Britain was prepared to boost its
funding for Zimbabwe's land reform programme if the government complied with certain conditions.

Cook said in London on Wednesday that Britain would give an additional US $57 million to aid the transfer of land to black Zimbabweans, but said that the funds would only be released if the farm violence ended.

In an interview with BBC Cook said although the British government was willing to help Zimbabwe it was "not going to appease".

"There can be no help unless there is an end to the occupations and a start to elections," he said.

He added that he would "stress" to the Zimbabwe delegation that any land reform process had to take place within the rule of law and that fair prices had to be offered for farms. He said he would also impress upon the delegates that the land should benefit the poor and "not public officials with the right connections".

"If they are willing to be genuine partners in this project, we are willing to help, not only by contributing ourselves but also by taking the lead in the international community," Cook said.

"I would like to achieve an agreement, I would like to achieve a basis on which the occupations can end, the violence to farmers can stop and the economy of Zimbabwe can start to be reconstructed," he said.

"This [Thursday] could be the day when they put behind them the chaos of the last three weeks. But is their choice and their responsibility."

Leader of the Zimbabwe delegation and Minister of local Government, John Nkomo, said that although the Zimbabwean ministers were "open minded", they would not accept any "re-conditions".

Meanwhile Zimbabwe's Information Minister, Chen Chmutengwende, told the BBC that it was not possible to set a date to end the farm occupations, which he said were in the hands of the war veterans and the "landless peasants engaged in the campaign for land reform".