Large protests expected at SADC summit in South Africa

According to reports on 6 November 2008, large protests are expected at the upcoming Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit in South Africa. The summit -- which will attempt to break Zimbabwe's political impasse -- will be held on 9 November in Pretoria. Although authorities have not yet revealed the exact venue of the summit, reports indicate that a coalition of Zimbabwean organizations in South Africa is planning to hold a march in the city. Leaders from the 15-country SADC will meet in Pretoria with Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) to attempt to convince Mugabe to adhere to the power sharing framework that was signed in September 2008. Earlier attempts at two smaller summits over the past three weeks have been unable to resolve the deadlock over the allocation of key ministries, which has been blamed for the country's worsening humanitarian crisis.