HARARE, Zimbabwe — President Robert Mugabe and longtime political rival Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai sat side by side Saturday at a state funeral that was seen as a symbolic step for their parties’ month-old coalition.
HARARE, Zimbabwe — President Robert Mugabe and longtime political rival Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai sat side by side Saturday at a state funeral that was seen as a symbolic step for their parties’ month-old coalition.
The funeral was for former defense forces commander and Mugabe loyalist General Vitalis Zvinavashe and was Tsvangirai’s first formal attendance at a shrine for fallen guerrillas and political leaders. Mugabe had attended Tuesday’s funeral service for Tsvangirai’s wife, Susan, who died in a car crash south of Harare a week ago.
Most of the nation’s military commanders are ex-guerrillas of the independence war and have refused to salute Tsvangirai, a civilian and former labor leader who did not take part in that war.
At Saturday’s funeral, commanders sat near the coalition politicians at Heroes Acre, a North Korean-built cemetery outside Harare, but only saluted Zvinavashe’s casket while Mugabe and Tsvangirai watched.
The 85-year-old president gave an unusually brief and muted 50-minute eulogy for Zvinavashe.
Mugabe, who has frequently criticized Tsvangirai for his links with Western governments, also said the new coalition was “between us, brother to brother.”
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In photo: From left, Zimbabwe’s Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, President Robert Mugabe, his wife Grace and Deputy President Joyce Mujuru attend the burial of Zimbabwe Army General Vitalis Zvinavashe in Harare Saturday.
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