Zimbabwean military fears prosecution

HARARE, Zimbabwe, Oct. 15 (UPI) -- Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's desire to protect his military commanders from prosecution is derailing power-sharing talks, sources say.

Interviews with three unnamed senior officials of Mugabe's government revealed the impasse in talks with opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai and his Movement for Democratic Change party is partly due to military leaders' fears they could be arrested for their parts in a brutal crackdown on MDC supporters, The New York Times reported Wednesday.

Mugabe's ZANU-PF party and the MDC are deadlocked over who will control Zimbabwe's Home Ministry, which includes its police apparatus. The government sources told the Times that shortly after Mugabe signed a power-sharing agreement with Tsvangirai, senior military commanders told him they feared it would leave them vulnerable to prosecution in the sweeping crackdown before this year's presidential run-off election.

Hundreds of MDC supporters were slain in the violence, which became so intense it persuaded Tsvangirai to pull out of the contest in fear of his backers' safety.

Zimbabwean Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu disputed the assertions, saying, "There is no one guilty here. No one is talking about arrests of anyone. The army is apolitical."