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 The government of Botswana has threatened to boycott an upcoming summit of the 14-country Southern African Development Community if controversial Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe attends, South African radio reported Friday.
SAfm radio quoted the foreign ministry of Zimbabwe's diamond-rich neighbour as saying that taking part in a summit of SADC heads of state on August 14-15 in South Africa attended by Mugabe would be tantamount to recognizing him as president. Botswana has refused to recognize Mugabe's victory in a one-man June 29 presidential election that opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai boycotted over a spate of deadly militia attacks on his supporters. After South Africa, which is home to an estimated 1-3 million mostly undocumented Zimbabweans, the wealthy desert state of Botswana is the neighbouring country of choice for Zimbabwean exiles. Hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans are estimated to have made their home in Botswana, where they compete with locals for jobs. Botswana's government earlier this week appealed for international help to cope with the influx, which continued despite the thaw in relations between Mugabe's Zanu-PF and Morgan Tsvangirai's opposition Movement for Democratic Change. The two sides began talks last week on the formation of a powersharing government. The talks were suspended on Monday amid reports of disagreement over which party leader should lead the country, but are due to resume again on Monday in South Africa. (dpa)
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