Zimbabwe plays down land issue

Mbeki is not expected to take a tough line with Mugabe

Zimbabwe's Government has played down suggestions that its current political crisis will come up for discussion at a regional summit at Victoria Falls.

Defence Minister Moven Mahachi told the BBC that President Robert Mugabe would "brief" leaders on the situation in Zimbabwe, at a summit which is primarily concerned with peace efforts in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

There was violence yesterday when Leeds was playing a Turkish team. You can't say London is in chaos

Zimbabwean Defence Minister Moven Mahachi

"You don't expect heads of state to come here and start discussing the internal matters of another country," Mr Mahachi said.

He accused the foreign media of exaggerating recent events.

"There is no chaos in this country. A few incidents of violence are found everywhere," Mr Mahachi said.

"There was violence yesterday when Leeds was playing a Turkish team. You can't say London is in chaos."

Pressure unlikely

South African foreign affairs spokesman Ronnie Mamoepa also said the summit was primarily about the Congo question, though South Africa would welcome discussion on Zimbabwe.

Mourning a victim of the violence

But correspondents say there are increasing doubts as to whether Southern African leaders will put pressure on Mr Mugabe to end the escalating violence in his country, as Western leaders had hoped.

The person most likely to influence Mr Mugabe - Namibian President Sam Nujoma - is also a close ally and therefore unlikely to criticise him.

It is also unlikely that South African Preisdent Thabo Mbeki will take a tough line against Mr Mugabe.

Earlier this week, Deputy President Jacob Zuma said South Africa was not going to condemn Mr Mugabe, since the country would not be able to play a responsible role in the region "if it is going to stand up whenever there is something and condemn everybody".

Protests

War veterans have been squatting on the land

Zimbabweans continued to protest against the ongoing violence.

In the capital, Harare, several thousand people took part in a march, calling for a resolution to the worsening dispute over land rights.

In southern Zimbabwe, 500 mourners attended the funeral of Tichaona Chiminya, an activist from the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, who was killed in recent violence.

"This was a deliberate attack on MDC activists. We will see more of this," MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai told the gathering near the town of Masvingo.

Zimbabwe land facts

Total population: 12.5m

White population: 70,000 (about 0.6%)

70% prime agricultural land white-owned (11m hectares)

1m blacks own 16m hectares - often in drought-prone regions

White-owned farms: 4,500

Over the past two months, war veterans from Zimbabwe's war of independence and government supporters have illegally occupied more than 1,000 white-owned farms.

Violence has continued despite repeated promises from war veterans' leaders of a temporary end to hostilities.

Congo conflict

The Victoria Falls meeting brings together those governments with a stake in the conflict in DR Congo.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and Rwandan Foreign Minister Andre Bumaya, whose governments back the Congolese rebels, are both attending the summit.

Mr Mugabe and Mr Nujoma support Congolese President Laurent Kabila, who has spent more than 18 months fighting against the rebels, who control about half of DR Congo.

The meeting is being chaired by Mozambique's President Joaquim Chissano, who is current head of the Southern African Development Community

A ceasefire agreement signed last year has had little effect.

African leaders want the United Nations to deploy peacekeepers in the Congo.

So far, the UN has reluctant to do so until the warring parties have demonstrated a commitment to a ceasefire.

But on Thursday, a UN mission in Kinshasa said it would sign an agreement with President Kabila's government next week, paving the way for the deployment of UN troops.