International reaction to political crisis

As the political crisis in Zimbabwe continues to escalate, the international community has called on President Robert Mugabe to find a way to resolve the current impasse.

On Wednesday, British Prime Minister Tony Blair told parliament that the recent attacks on white farmers were "barbaric" and that the situation in Zimbabwe, was "totally and utterly unacceptable."

He said his government was pursuing "every avenue open to us" in an effort to diffuse tension. He also said Britain should investigate the possibility of freezing Mugabe's assets. Blair added that people within Zimbabwe had warned against interference. "It is best we are guided by those with most to
lose, not those commenting from a safe distance."

The British Foreign Office announced on Wednesday that Zimbabwe is to send a delegation to Britain to discuss the land crisis. It said the delegation would be led by Local Government Minister, John Nkomo.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the South African Foreign Affairs Department told IRIN that President Thabo Mbeki had met President Sam Nujoma on Tuesday to "discuss regional issues". He added that on Thursday, Mbeki was due to meet with Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano, who is also chairman of the
Southern African Development Community.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has also voiced his concern over the situation, and reportedly telephoned Mugabe on Tuesday. UN spokesman Fred Eckhard said: "We do continue to view this as a domestic matter, but I can say that the United Nations deplores the violence in Zimbabwe. We've been monitoring the situation for a while and will continue to monitor it closely. We believe that the differences over land reform should be settled
by peaceful and constitutional means."

The United States has also denounced Mugabe for declaring whites in Zimbabwe as "enemies". White House spokesman Joe Lockhart was quoted as saying: "We were encouraged that the president met with the farmers' groups but we continue to deplore the violence and the climate of lawlessness that led to the deaths over the weekend." Last week the US suspended its assistance for
Zimbabwe's land reform programme because of the government's failure to take action against the squatters.

On Tuesday the Nigerian Foreign Minister, Sule Lamido said in Harare: "President Obasanjo [is] concerned that there should be communication between the British government and the Zimbabwean government...He [feels] that he will be able to broker a meeting between the two countries".

In its reaction to the political crisis, Canada said that it was concerned about the rising violence. "We are dismayed by the increasing number of land invasions and the risk of escalating widespread violence," Lloyd Axworthy, the Canadian Foreign Minister said.