HARARE, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwe's ruling ZANU-PF party on Tuesday condemned the "treasonous" statement by Zimbabwe Defense Forces Chief Constantino Chiwenga, who threatened military intervention in the party's factional fights.
Chiwenga's statement was outrageous and calculated to disturb national peace and stability, party spokesperson Simon Khaya Moyo said in a statement.
"The said statement by General Constantino Chiwenga which was not signed, and which did not represent the rest of the Command Element, suggests treasonous conduct on his part as this was meant to incite insurrection and violent challenge to the Constitutional Order," Moyo said.
Chiwenga on Monday issued a hard hitting statement urging the ruling party to stop expulsion of party members with a liberation war background.
Chiwenga also vowed military intervention to stop "counter revolutionaries" who had hijacked ZANU-PF and seeking to destroy it from within.
His statement came after President Robert Mugabe last week fired ex-vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa, his political ally for more than 40 years, on allegations of disloyalty and deceit.
The ZANU-PF Youth League on Monday also criticized Chiwenga's statement and accused him of trying to subvert the country's constitution.
Moyo said ZANU-PF will never succumb to the military's threats as they were inconsistent with the tenets of democracy and constitutionalism.
"Such conduct stands unreservedly condemned not only in the party, but also in our Southern African region and the entire African continent where subversion of constitutional authority is frowned upon and regarded as absolute anathema," Moyo said.
