Opposition MPs 'could be assassination targets'

After "winning" the controversial presidential run-off last week, Robert Mugabe is focusing his sights on regaining control of parliament, were he trails the opposition by about 10 MPs, The Independent has learnt.

The fear among some sources in Zimbabwe is that he will attempt to achieve this with a campaign of targeted assassinations of opposition MPs.

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Mr Mugabe is assured of a comfortable majority in the upper house, the Senate, via a constitutional provision that will allow him to appoint an extra 33 senators from his ruling party.

The opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai yesterday rejected proposals for a government of national unity headed by Mr Mugabe. "A government of national unity does not address the problems facing Zimbabwe or acknowledge the will of the Zimbabwean people," he said in response to an African Union (AU) resolution.

He said that any talks should be based on the outcome of the elections on 29 March, which he won, and not the run-off on 27 June "won" by Mr Mugabe.

The MDC leader also reiterated his position that any talks must be centred on negotiating a transitional authority that will run the country until fresh democratic elections are held.

Mr Tsvangirai also spurned any talks with Mr Mugabe's regime until a full-time AU mediator is appointed to replace Thabo Mbeki, the South African President, whom the MDC accuses of bias towards the Mugabe regime. The MDC leader criticised the AU for its failure to declare the run-off on 27 June illegitimate and for not acknowledging his party as the winner of the elections on 29 March.

A senior member of the Zimbabwe National Army, who is sympathetic to the opposition, said the MDC was wasting its time if it believed it could achieve change in Zimbabwe through talking to Mr Mugabe. "Zimbabwe will be forgotten again and Tsvangirai will lose the limelight," said the official. "Unlike before, he [Tsvangirai] has a few African governments willing to lend him a sympathetic ear should he opt for other options to tackle Mugabe. The ball is in his court."