Zimbabwe rejects reform at key regional summit

LUSAKA, Aug 16 (Reuters)Zimbabwe rejected the need for political reform in the southern African nation today at a summit of regional leaders that is meant to find ways to ease the country's political and economic crisis.

Southern African leaders are meeting to consider the crisis in Zimbabwe but the prospects for progress looked slim after the Harare government rejected dialogue with the opposition and insisted on its democratic credentials.

''Political reform is not necessary in my country because we are a democracy like any other democracy in the world,'' Patrick Chinamasa, minister of justice, legal and parliamentary affairs, told reporters as the two-day summit opened in the Zambian capital Lusaka.

He blamed what he called a history of brutal treatment by Zimbabwe's former colonial master Britain and said his country has held free and fair elections, adding that Western media had ignored the achievement.

The 14-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC) has been accused of being too soft on Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe.

At the opening ceremony, Mugabe received the loudest applause as regional leaders took turns standing up and bowing to a packed audience, which included regional ministers and other officials.

Mugabe sat beside South African President Thabo Mbeki, who has used quiet diplomacy to try and mediate between the Harare government and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) SADC is expected to review Mbeki's progress report on his efforts.

OPTIONS The group's executive secretary Tomaz Salomao told a news conference on Wednesday the regional group, holding its 27th summit, would consider options including a ''hard line'', ''quiet diplomacy'' or a ''different'' method.

Chinamasa suggested in an interview with Zambian state television on Wednesday that quiet diplomacy may not pay off.

He said Mugabe's government, accused of widespread human rights abuses, did not see any reason to negotiate with opposition groups and accused them of violent attacks on civilians and security forces -- something they deny.

Chinamasa on Thursday repeated that Western powers sought to oust Mugabe because he had seized white-owned farms for redistribution to landless blacks. He said the issue of human rights was a ''smokescreen'' for other goals.

The opposition accuses Mugabe's security forces of abuses, including torture, a position backed by Western powers who have imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe.

Political tensions are rising as an economic crisis ravages Zimbabweans, suffering from the world's highest inflation rate and severe food and fuel shortages.

Zimbabwe's weak and divided opposition groups, as well as the United States and Britain, hope economic pressure will loosen Mugabe's grip after 27 years in power.

But Mugabe, who denies allegations that his economic management has brought Zimbabwe to its knees, remains defiant and it is not clear if any pressure from southern African nations would influence him.

REUTERS SV KP1550