Power-sharing talks in Zimbabwe are counterproductive

There appears to be nothing to be gained from power-sharing talks announced today between Zimbabwe's bitter political rivals, President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai. Mugabe, who was re-elected in June in a runoff vote that Tsvangirai was forced to withdraw from, has embarassed his country in the eyes of the world and worsened its economic crisis. The June runoff between Mugabe and Tsvangirai was marked by violence against Tsvangirai supporters and resulted in the challenger withdrawing from the balloting and seeking refuge in the Dutch embassy. But the two signed a deal Monday to negotiate, according to the Reuters international news service, even though they are said to detest each other. The purpose of the talks, apparently, are to try to fashion a coalition government patterned after Kenya. But if Mugabe is guilty of fixing the first presidential vote, as suspected, and of encouraging his supporters to attack Tsvangirai supporters in the runoff, he has lost all credibility and should not be welcome in the new government. Mugabe certainly has no credibility internationally, and probably has little in his own country. After nearly three decades of his rule, Zimbabwe's currency is essentially worthless and the country's crumbling economy has forced millions to emigrate to neighboring nations, according to Reuters. Mugabe should be forced to surrender power and to seat the new parliament. He should have a date with the country's chief criminal prosecutor, not another term in office.