Leaders of several thousand black war veterans occupying white-owned farms in Zimbabwe agreed yesterday to stop the violence that has left four people dead and six badly beaten.
Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe met representatives of both sides in a two-hour meeting that opened the door to negotiations over the veterans’ demands for land.
“We have agreed hostilities should cease and we should work toward a solution,” said Chenjerai Hunzvi, leader of the veterans who fought in Zimbabwe’s war of independence.
They have occupied hundreds of farms, mainly around the capital of Harare, for the past two months, saying they are taking back land that was seized from them during the era of British colonialism.
On Tuesday – the 20th anniversary of Zimbabwe independence – Mugabe angered members of the Commercial Farmers Union by calling them “the enemies of Zimbabwe” and endorsing the land occupation.
The union represents most of the country’s 4,000 white farmers, who own about one-third of Zimbabwe’s farms.
After yesterday’s meeting, Mugabe said the farmers should be able to return safely to their land.
U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan had called Mugabe Tuesday, urging him to end the confrontation.