Zimbabwe's five-month old power-sharing government Friday launched a campaign for reconciliation among political foes after nearly a decade of political violence, with a demand from Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai for perpetrators to be brought to justice, reported the dpa. At the start of a three-day period meant to be dedicated to healing, reconciliation and integration, he said the campaign "must herald the beginning of a genuine, open and frank process that includes ... the concept of justice, truth and accepting responsibility for the hurt and pain inflicted upon so many Zimbabweans." He also called for open discussion of reparations for victims of violence. His demands drew no response from his partner in the coalition government, President Robert Mugabe, internationally condemned as the architect of mass-persecutions against his opponents since independence in 1980, although the 85-year-old said that he would certainly do hard work "to commit members of our party" ZANU(PF) to observation of the principle of non-violence. Tsvangirai and Mugabe were brought into negotiations by neighbouring South Africa, following a bloody campaign of intimidation ahead of a second round of presidential elections in June last year in which 200 supporters of Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) were killed and thousands tortured and made homeless. The two leaders signed an agreement in September to set up a government of national unity, which was inaugurated in February this year.
