Mugabe using 'hit squads' - MDC
2007-03-20 07:26
London - Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe is using "hit squads" to crack down on opposition politicians and activists, Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai said in an interview published on Tuesday.
Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, Tsvangirai said: "Instead of random beatings at police stations, (Mugabe) is now using hit squads, unidentified men, unidentified vehicles.
"But we know these are units of state agents that have been given this assignment."
Tsvangirai and dozens of other activists were severely beaten as they tried to stage an anti-government rally on March 11.
The opposition leader laid the blame squarely at Mugabe's door, telling the Telegraph: "I can assess who is in charge of this - it is coming directly from Mugabe.
"Mugabe is a violent man and he doesn't hide it, especially where his power is threatened ... No excuses, no regrets, the defiance epitomises his attitude."
Government denies allegations
The country's security minister Didymus Mutasa, however, denied Tsvangirai's allegations, saying bluntly: "It is a flat lie."
"He and his group are the people who started the whole process in defiance of the government's order not to hold a rally at a specific place," Mutasa was quoted by the Telegraph as saying.
Opposition to 83-year-old Mugabe, in power since independence in 1980, has been steadily mounting amid an economic meltdown with inflation standing at 1 730% and four out of five people out of work.
Mugabe however has remained defiant in the face of virulent criticism, blaming the unrest on the MDC and its critics.
- AFP