Tsvangirai calls for compensating victims of political violence

Jul 25, 2009, 21:48 GMT

Harare - Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said Saturday that the government would consider compensating victims of last year's political violence.

'We cannot bring back our loved ones who died, neither can we restore broken limbs. But what we can do is pay compensation. Some form of compensation has to be considered,' said Tsvangirai, leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party.

Zimbabwe's five-month-old, power-sharing government on Friday launched a campaign for reconciliation among political foes, after nearly a decade of political violence.

In June last year, 200 MDC supporters were killed and thousands tortured and made homeless following a bloody campaign of intimidation ahead of a second round of presidential elections.

'I am very confident that Zimbabwe is changing. We have no option but to make sure this process succeeds,' Tsvangirai said of the coalition.

'I remain committed to this irreversible option but there is always room for divorce. Let there be no doubt that if there is no full committment by all parties, we may reach a stage where we may revise our position,' he warned.

Tsvangirai and President Robert Mugabe were brought into negotiations by neighbouring South Africa, and the two leaders signed an agreement in September to set up a government of national unity, which was inaugurated in February this year.

But the coalition government has been dogged by disagreements. Tsvangirai and Mugabe have failed to agree on the appointment of senior government officials, such as the central bank governor and attorney general, both seen as top Mugabe loyalists.

Tsvangirai has most recently accused Mugabe of using a partisan judiciary to jail his parliamentarians in order to whittle down the MDC's slim majority in parliament.

'Our (MDC) MPs are being arrested. You cannot have a selective application of the law. If the MDC is accused of violence what about those from ZANU-PF who were beating up people,' Tsvangirai said.