U.S. rights official in Zimbabwe

Tsvangirai is Mugabe's most formidable challenger

HARARE, Zimbabwe -- The U.S. State Department's top human rights official arrived in Zimbabwe on Tuesday as lawmakers debated a series of measures designed to crack down on dissent.

Assistant Secretary of State Lorne Craner is to meet government officials as well as community and business leaders, U.S. Embassy spokesman Bruce Wharton said.

On Tuesday, lawmakers had been scheduled to debate a bill put forward by the ruling ZANU-PF party, which would muzzle the independent press in Zimbabwe.

However, the session was adjourned before discussion of the bill, with most of the debate focusing on a proposed law aimed at eliminating dissent within Zimbabwe's powerful trade unions.

Morgan Tsvangirai, head of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and Mugabe's most formidable challenge in the March elections, is a former trade union organiser, and observers say unions were a major force in creating his party.

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The media bill, which is expected to come up for debate on Wednesday, would ban foreign journalists from the country and require local journalists to register with the government.

Journalists could face two years in prison if they breach a code of conduct that outlaws reports which sow "alarm and despondency."

David Coltart, a high-ranking member of the MDC, said opposition lawmakers in parliament would fight the bill's passage.

The United States, European Union and numerous media groups have criticised the proposed law as a move by Mugabe to tighten his 22-year-old grip on power ahead of presidential elections in March.

Last week, parliament passed tough laws on public order and elections, giving security forces broad powers against the opposition and disenfranchising millions of Zimbabweans abroad.

With the tacit support of the government, militants have invaded hundreds of white-owned farms since early 2000.

Mugabe has called their actions a justified response to the legacy of inequitable land ownership left by colonial rule.

Observers say Mugabe has cracked down on dissent through legislation and government-sanctioned violence and that he uses the farms issue is to distract attention away from other domestic issues such as the economy.

Growing violence in the country has been condemned by Western governments. Britain has temporarily halted the deportation of failed asylum-seekers back to Zimbabwe after Home Secretary David Blunkett called for a review of the situation.

However, Britain said on Tuesday it was too early to talk of freezing Mugabe's assets abroad.

The Financial Times newspaper reported that Britain and the U.S. were taking steps to identify millions of dollars Mugabe and his circle may have deposited abroad, in case the West imposed personal sanctions on Zimbabwe's leaders.

Responding to the article, Prime Minister Tony Blair's official spokesman said the report was premature.

"The important thing is that we continue to take all diplomatic and political action that we can, and we are continuing to do that," he said.

The EU has threatened sanctions unless Zimbabwe halts political violence, removes curbs on the media and allows free and fair presidential elections.

Mugabe pledged on Monday that the poll would be fair and that independent observers and foreign journalists could cover it, African leaders at a summit in Malawi said.