Zimbabwe

Opposition leader accused of treason

Article published on the 2008-04-17 Latest update 2008-04-17 17:01 TU

Morgan Tsvangirai

Zimbabwe's government today accused opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai of treason. Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa claimed that the leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) plotted with Britain to oust President Robert Mugabe, a charge which the British have denied.

The state-run Herald newspaper printed a letter in which the Tsvangirai apparently called for military intervention from Britain. The British embassy has said the alleged correspondance did not exist.

This is the third time that Tsvangirai has been accused of treason. He was cleared of the previous two charges. The opposition leader today called for Thabo Mbeki to resign as African Union mediator in Zimbabwe. He also asked the UN to establish a tribunal to judge human rights violations in the country.

This comes amidst growing pressure on the Zimbabwean government to release results of the 29 March presidential poll. South Africa, traditionally an ally of Zimbabwe, described the situation as "dire" and called for the release of the election results as soon as possible. Yesterday UN chief Ban Ki-moon called for international observers to monitor any second-round presidential polls.

The G8 group of powerful nations today also called for the results and condemned recent violence in t

he country. It said recounting of any votes should be done in the presence of all candidates.