Mugabe says enemies redouble efforts to oust him

Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe (C) inspects a guard of honour outside the Parliament building in Harare July 24, 2007. Mugabe opened a new session of parliament on Tuesday expected to push through radical plans to nationalise foreign firms ahead of general elections in 2008.

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe on Tuesday said Britain and its Western allies had "redoubled" efforts to topple him, accusing them of sponsoring violence to destabilize his inflation-ravaged nation.

Mugabe, in power since independence from Britain in 1980, also defended a new policy that forces stores to cut and freeze prices for bread, milk and other items, saying recent price spikes had been pushed by those trying to oust his government.

Zimbabwe's inflation rate is estimated at more than 4,500 percent, the highest in the world.

"We continue to face hostility from Britain and some of her Western allies," Mugabe said in a televised address at the opening of a new parliamentary session expected to pass radical plans to nationalize foreign firms ahead of elections next year.

"Our detractors have redoubled efforts to achieve regime change. The violence and other acts of lawlessness we have witnessed in recent months, which were planned and executed in complicity with certain Western powers, were meant to create mayhem," he said.

The 83-year-old leader has come under growing pressure to adopt democratic reforms since his security forces in March arrested and beat dozens of political opponents. Rights groups say the crackdown has continued, with anti-Mugabe activists beaten, tortured and, in some cases, killed.

Mugabe, still regarded as a liberation hero by many Africans, on Tuesday hailed Zimbabwe's allies on the continent as well as abroad for thwarting a bid to have the Zimbabwe crisis taken up in the U.N. Security Council.

He also heaped praise on Zimbabwe's military for "safeguarding the country's sovereignty with distinction." Last week Mugabe said the army had resisted what he described as British encouragement to stage a coup.

Despite accusations that he has plunged the once prosperous southern African state into a deepening economic crisis with controversial policies, including his seizure of thousands of white-owned farms, Mugabe has vowed to seek re-election in 2008.

INEXPLICABLE PRICE HIKES

Zimbabwe is mired in an eighth year of depression, marked by chronic shortages of food and fuel and rising poverty. Four out of five Zimbabweans are unemployed, and thousands are crossing into South Africa illegally each day to look for work.

Mugabe, who arrived at parliament in a convertible Rolls Royce to cheers from supporters of his ZANU-PF party, laid the blame for the crisis on a combination of drought, Western sanctions and sabotage by political enemies.

He added that his government had been forced to impose its price freeze to protect consumers.

"The inexplicable price and rent hikes, which were apparently welcomed and encouraged by our regime-change proponents, compounded the situation further and thus invited government intervention," Mugabe told parliamentarians.

Authorities have fined and arrested more than 4,000 business owners and companies for defying the price freeze, which has led to frenzied buying by consumers. Many store shelves are now empty after prices were slashed in half.

The controversial program is set to be followed by measures analysts say could increase uncertainty about Zimbabwe's future and further damage its fragile economy.

Parliament will consider a proposed amendment to the constitution giving it the power to elect a new president if a vacancy occurred between elections. Such a move could open the door for Mugabe to retire after the 2008 polls, as it would allow him to influence the naming of his successor.

Investors also are carefully watching what parliament does with a proposed black empowerment bill that would transfer control of all companies, including foreign banks and some mining operations, to Zimbabweans.

(Additional reporting by Cris Chinaka)