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M. Continuo

Zimbabwe accuses UK of fuelling election tension


    By Paul Simao

    PRETORIA (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's government accused PrimeMinister Gordon Brown on Tuesday of stoking political tensionsahead of its March 29 general election to try to force "regimechange" in the southern African country.

    In a briefing in Pretoria, Zimbabwe's ambassador to SouthAfrica presented what he said was a letter from Brown toBritain's Law Society in which he is said to promise tocontinue funding Zimbabwean groups working for "democraticchange".

    "Clearly such effort is meant to fuel tensions towards theMarch 29 plebiscite in Zimbabwe," Ambassador Simon Khaya Moyotold South Africa's Institute of Security Studies, anindependent think-tank.

    Law Society spokesman Steve Rudaini confirmed Brown hadwritten to Andrew Holroyd, the group's president, concerningthe situation in Zimbabwe. Rudaini said the letter was nolonger available and had been previously published in error.

    Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe frequently accusesWestern powers, especially former colonial ruler Britain, ofworking with the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), the mainopposition party, and others to oust his government.

    Moyo on Tuesday said Britain and the United States weretrying to bring about "regime change" in Zimbabwe and warnedthat Zimbabweans would not tolerate interference in theirinternal affairs.

    The British and U.S. governments have been sharply criticalof Mugabe, accusing him of widespread human rights abuses,stifling dissent and destroying the economy of theonce-prosperous nation during his 28-year rule.

    They and other Western nations have imposed sanctions onMugabe and his top officials.

    The 84-year-old Zimbabwean leader is running for anotherfive-year term in the elections next month. He has vowed tocrush his rivals, including former finance minister SimbaMakoni and MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai.

    Makoni is running as an independent and claims to have thebacking of unidentified officials in Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PFparty. Makoni was formally expelled from ZANU-PF earlier thismonth for challenging Mugabe.

    Both Makoni and Tsvangirai have promised to rescueZimbabwe's economy, which has been devastated by annualinflation of over 100,000 percent, unemployment of more than 80percent and chronic food and fuel shortages.

    Moyo said Mugabe's government would not context the resultsof the election if the MDC won the polls.

    (Editing by Matthew Jones)