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 to theLaw Society in which he is said to promise to continue fundingZimbabwean groups working for "democratic change".
"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.
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe often accuses Westernpowers, especially former colonial ruler Britain, of workingwith the opposition to bring him down. Britain accuses him ofhuman rights abuses and ruining a once prosperous economy.
British Law Society spokesman Steve Rudaini confirmed Brownhad written to Andrew Holroyd, the group's president,concerning the situation in Zimbabwe. Rudaini said the letterwas no longer available and had been previously published inerror.
In London, the Foreign Office said Britain providedsubstantial resources to support Zimbabweans especially in theareas of human rights and democratic freedoms.
"We will continue to support them just as we will continueto make representations to the government of Zimbabwe whenthose who advocate reform are beaten and arrested by the statepolice," a Foreign Office spokeswoman said.
British officials indicated separately that the letter wasauthentic.
Moyo said Britain and the United States were trying tobring about "regime change". He said Zimbabweans would nottolerate interference in their internal affairs.
The British and U.S. governments have been sharply criticalof Mugabe, who has ruled Zimbabwe for 28 years. They and otherWestern nations have imposed sanctions on Mugabe and his topofficials.
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.
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.
But the failure of the opposition to form a united fronthas strengthened Mugabe's chances.
Moyo said Mugabe's government would not contest the resultsof the election if the MDC won the polls.
(Additional reporting by Adrian Croft; Editing by MatthewTostevin)
