EU to observe Zimbabwe campaign

MDC supporters say they cannot campaign freely

A team of 110 European Union observers is to be sent to Zimbabwe ahead of next month's general elections.

Roger Moore, head of the European Union's southern Africa division, said another 50 EU monitors will be deployed just before the actual poll.

The main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), says it is unable to campaign freely because its supporters are attacked and its rallies disrupted by members of the ruling Zanu-PF party.

However, President Robert Mugabe accused Britain of building opposition to his government and said he would not allow any British citizens in the EU observer mission.

A squatter stops a white-owned truck

The Zimbabwean newspaper, The Herald quoted Mr Mugabe as saying that he had explained his ban on British election observers in talks with Commonwealth chief Don McKinnon, who visited the country this week.

Controversy

But Mr Moore said the EU team would include Britons.

"Britain is part of the EU and one would certainly hope that Britain will provide observers for our group," he said.

Britain has criticised the recent wave of farm invasions and traded harsh words with Mr Mugabe.

Relations between Zimbabwe and Britain have deteriorated sharply over Mr Mugabe's demand that the former colonial power pay compensation to white farmers for land he plans to take from them and re-distribute to black peasants.

Britain has said it is ready to provide $54m (£36m) to fund land reform and rally international support for Zimbabwe - but it wants an end to the violence and land occupations first.

War veteran leader

Meanwhile, the leader of the farm occupations, Chenjerai Hunzvi, has been sentenced for contempt of court, following his failure to comply with a court order demanding that his followers to leave hundreds of white-owned farms.

The invaion's leader Chenjerai Hunzvi received a light sentence

The court issued a three-month suspended jail sentence and fined him 10,000 Zimbabwe dollars (US$263).

The judge said that such a conviction would normally attract a custodial sentence, but he had decided to suspend the sentence in the light of comments made by lawyers representing the white farmers' union.

They argued that a prison term would be undesirable, given the fluid situation on the farms.

A BBC correspondent in Harare says it was clear that the light sentence was the result of a deal between Mr Hunzvi and the white farmers.

Mr Hunzvi's legal representative said he was making "tremendous efforts" to comply with a previous court order to instruct his followers to abandon their illegal occupations.

Mr Hunzvi must also pay the costs of the case.