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Zim coup claims 'outrageous'
17/04/2008 15:38 - (SA)
Angus Shaw
Harare - Zimbabwe's government accused opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai of treason on Thursday, saying he and enemy Britain are plotting to overthrow the president. Tsvangirai denounced the allegations as "outrageous".
President Robert Mugabe's government lashed out on Thursday at Tsvangirai by claiming he was plotting an "illegal regime change" - with Britain's help - in accusations published in Zimbabwe's state-run newspaper.
The paper cited a letter from Britain's prime minister - which the opposition said was a forgery.
The accusation came amid a government campaign of arrests, assaults and other intimidation designed to suppress political dissent after a March 29 vote that Mugabe was widely believed to have lost.
Results from the presidential vote had not been released some three weeks after the ballot.
Independent tallies suggest Tsvangirai won, but not with enough votes to avoid a runoff. The electoral commission planned a re-count of presidential votes on Saturday, saying it was verifying ballots and investigating anomalies.
The opposition said Tsvangirai won outright, and accused Mugabe of engineering a delay to secure his 28-year grip on power.
On Thursday, Tsvangirai - in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press in Johannesburg, South Africa - dismissed the government's allegations as "outrageous".
He said his Movement for Democratic Change party was formed with a commitment to "democratic change" in Zimbabwe, not a forceful overthrow of the Mugabe regime.
- AP
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Zimbabwe Special Report
