Zimbabwe’s prime minister accuses outsiders of stirring trouble in his party

Zimbabwe PM accuses outsiders in party violence

HARARE, Zimbabwe — Zimbabwe’s prime minister said Sunday outsiders were stirring up trouble in his party at a delicate time in the country’s politics.

Morgan Tsvangirai, speaking at a news conference after a two-day party meeting, was asked about clashes that broke out last month within his Movement for Democratic Change.

He said some people have been expelled from the party because of the violence, and efforts will be stepped up to educate members about resolving differences peacefully.

Tsvangirai rejected charges that the trouble stemmed from a rivalry between him and Finance Minister Tendai Biti, a popular party leader.

“We are united as one front,” Tsvangirai said, blaming the clashes on younger members influenced by outsiders.

“There’s a lot of infiltration,” Tsvangirai said without elaborating. He has in the past made such allegations against President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party.

Factional violence accompanied the formation of a breakaway Movement for Democratic Change party in 2006. That split weakened opposition to Mugabe during a senate election.

Tsvangirai said he has received reports from the countryside of ZANU-PF members intimidating and attacking Movement for Democratic Change members.

The trouble comes as efforts have stalled to rewrite Zimbabwe’s constitution. Just over a year ago, Tsvangirai joined Mugabe in a unity government under a deal calling for elections next year under a new constitution.

Tsvangirai repeated calls on Zimbabwe’s neighbors, particularly regional power broker South Africa, to help the Movement for Democratic Change and ZANU-PF overcome their differences.

In one indication of tensions between the governing partners, Mugabe’s party has resisted accepting Movement for Democratic Change member Roy Bennett into the Cabinet after Bennett’s acquittal on terrorism charges.

Bennett, Tsvangirai’s nominee for deputy agriculture minister, was arrested last year on the day Cabinet ministers were sworn in.

Earlier this month, a judge cleared Bennett of all charges, saying the prosecution had failed to prove its case and throwing out the most important evidence, a confession from an arms dealer that the dealer said he was tortured into making.

Tsvangirai maintained the charges were baseless and aimed at undermining the coalition. Tsvangirai said he still wanted Bennett as deputy agriculture minister.