Mugabe rival urges reconciliation

Tsvangirai celebrates but he faces another treason trial

Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has said he hopes his acquittal of treason charges can pave the way for "national reconciliation".

He was speaking after a court cleared him of plotting to kill President Robert Mugabe ahead of the 2002 poll.

Mr Tsvangirai, who could have faced the death penalty, told the BBC the verdict was a morale boost for the opposition.

But the government condemned the acquittal, saying "a guilty man had been allowed to walk free".

Mr Tsvangirai faces another separate treason charge which is due to go to trial next month.

'Good basis'

"I feel really relieved. I feel vindicated," Mr Tsvangirai said in a BBC interview after the verdict was announced. He had always maintained that he was framed by state security agents.

Mr Tsvangirai said he believed the judgement may have set a good basis for national reconciliation in the country, where political tensions are rising ahead of the March 2005 elections.

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Correspondents say Mr Tsvangirai's comments refer to a possible revival of talks between his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and the governing Zanu-PF party.

But the chance of the two sides negotiating before the elections are seen as slim, given Mr Mugabe's contemptuous dismissal of Morgan Tsvangirai as a "pathetic puppet" of his Western opponents.

And in its first reaction, the Zimbabwean justice minister indicated the government might appeal.

"After perusing the judgment, the government of Zimbabwe is of the strong view that the accused, Morgan Tsvangirai, has been wrongly acquitted," Patrick Chinamasa said in a statement.

Poll caution

The outcome was a surprise given that sections of Zimbabwe's judiciary have been linked to the ruling party and Mr Mugabe, the BBC's Alastair Leithead reports from neighbouring South Africa.

His trial began 20 months ago and the verdict had already been delayed for two months.

The case centred on the testimony of Ari Ben-Menashe, a Canada-based consultant.

The key prosecution witness had been employed to lobby for Mugabe's party

He testified that in a secretly-filmed meeting in December 2001, Mr Tsvangirai asked him to arrange the assassination of President Mugabe.

The defence team said the grainy tape was doctored as part of a plot to entrap Mr Tsvangirai, who lost the 2002 presidential election, accusing Mr Mugabe of stealing it.

Sanctions, including a travel ban, were imposed on Mr Mugabe and other Zimbabwe leaders, by the United States and the European Union, which also accused him of stealing the ballot.

The MDC has threatened to boycott next year's poll, but Mr Tsvangirai said he believed the vote was going to be "an opportunity and a challenge" for them.

But he also sounded a note of caution.

"I'm sure that as long as [President Mugabe] is vindictive ...and not tolerant towards the opposition he will always think of unorthodox means to deal with the MDC."

Mr Tsvangirai's second treason trial next month relates to his call last year for street protests to oust Mr Mugabe.

But he said he was "not so worried" about that case, calling the charges "less serious".