Mugabe Misses Key Summit in Zambia

Estranged from his countrymen, isolated by the world and increasingly abandoned even by his regional peers, President Robert Mugabe yesterday stayed at home in Harare while the former brotherhood of southern African leaders met in neighboring Zambia to try to find a last-ditch diplomatic solution to the Zimbabwean crisis.

It was left to Mugabe's ardent apologist, South African President Thabo Mbeki, to soothe the disgraced 84-year-old President by calling in on him briefly en route to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) emergency summit in Lusaka.

Flanked by Mugabe as he left Harare, Mbeki claimed: 'There is no crisis in Zimbabwe.' Stubbornly defiant, Mugabe attacked Gordon Brown, whom he called 'a little tiny dot in this world'. He claimed the SADC had been 'hijacked' by Britain in its attempt to destroy Zimbabwe.

The tenor of Mbeki's talks with Mugabe was not known, but, after arriving in Lusaka, the South African President spent more than two hours making phone calls - including, it is believed, to Brown - before arriving at the delayed summit.

Earlier, Brown made his strongest statement yet against the Zimbabwean regime's decision to withhold the result of presidential elections two weeks ago. The opposition Movement For Democratic Change (MDC) claims its candidate, Morgan Tsvangirai, won outright.

'The international community's patience... is wearing thin,' Brown said. 'We cannot wait any longer for ... these results. It is in the interests of Zimbabwe that President Mugabe and his Zimbabwean electoral commission publish these results.'

Last night Foreign Secretary David Miliband insisted there was a constitutional crisis in Zimbabwe and said the Mugabe regime now lacked legitimacy.

In a letter to his Tory and Liberal Democrat counterparts, he wrote: 'The scale of Morgan Tsvangirai's lead in the presidential elections may not have been made public. However, it is clear that there was a majority of people who voted against Mugabe, despite the conditions under which the vote was held.'

Despite early indications that yesterday's summit had not achieved a breakthrough in efforts to push Mugabe to accept defeat, diplomats saw progress in the move by the region to isolate the President.

Mugabe, whose spokesmen on Friday briefly indicated he would attend, is believed to have cried off after learning that Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa, who chairs the SADC, had invited Tsvangirai. Not only did Mwanawasa issue a full invitation to the MDC leader, but he also gave him VIP status by putting him up at State House.

MDC secretary-general Tendai Biti said: 'The fact that this summit was organized, without prior consultation with Mugabe, and that Morgan Tsvangirai was invited is highly significant. This shows we are growing up as a continent. In the move to transition in Zimbabwe, we expect the SADC to draw up a timetable and produce some guarantees."

Diplomats believe that Mugabe, who came to power as Prime Minister in 1980 at the end of a guerrilla war against white rule, has been wrong footed by the shift in SADC's stance.

Only seven months ago, the regional leaders met in Lusaka and gave Mugabe a standing ovation. Only Mwanawasa broke ranks at the time, comparing Zimbabwe to a 'sinking Titanic'.