The ZCC, Zimbabwe's main interchurch organization, called the meeting April 26 to help political leaders commit themselves to halting the violent clashes, which have put Zimbabwe on the front pages of newspapers around the world.
Parliamentary elections are due to be held here within the next few months.
Sources within the ZCC said that Zanu PF's national administration secretary, Didymus Mutasa, had declared that his party could not sit at the same table with MDC officials. Tsvangirai, a former trade-union leader, attended the meeting, at the end of which clergy and political representatives agreed that there was a need for dialogue and tolerance of each other by all political parties. Zanu PF will never forgive ZCC for that involvement. There are voices within ZCC who feel that that association should never have been. We were only invited, and we have a right to refuse to attend.