US talk tough on Zimbabwe

The US government says it will continue to support opposition parties in Zimbabwe

The United States government says it will continue to support opposition parties in Zimbabwe, with or without Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe president's approval.

A senior state department official said during Congressional hearings on the political situation in Zimbabwe, that what he called the repressive regime of President Mugabe is now intimidating diplomats and journalists.

The government recently threatened to expel diplomats who support opposition and foreign journalists. Doctors who treated Morgan Tsvangirai, the MDC leader, and other opposition activists, say the government is now using thugs to torture its opponents. They brought evidence before the United States' congress. The doctors, like Douglas Gwatidzo, now also fear for their own lives.

Douglas Gwatidzo, the Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights, says: "As I was preparing to come here, everybody was concerned about my life, 'what was going to happen? why I choose to do that? did I have to do i? are you going to succeed?' All these questions were thrown at me and I said look whatever the outcome I'll continue to do it and from here I'm going home to Zimbabwe".

Allegations of hit squads were first made by Tsvangirai last week. But the government denies this. The US congress called for immediate intervention and supported added sunctions against the Zimbabwean leadership. Members of the congress described the situation in Zimbabwe as a human rights crisis.

Next week they will draft a resolution to condemn the actions of the government Mugabe.