Mugabe jeered in Parliament

2008-08-26 16:05

Harare - Zimbabwe's opposition heckled Robert Mugabe in an unprecedented show of defiance when the president opened Parliament on Tuesday with traditional pomp and his familiar denunciations of the West.

Legislators from the Movement for Democratic Change, who wrested control of the house from him for the first time since independence in 1980, then refused to stand when Mugabe entered, and shouted his party "is rotten!"

The jeers occasionally drowned out his 30-minute speech that was broadcast live on national television. Mugabe had to raise his voice and, looking annoyed, raced through the final lines.

Tuesday's tension may be a glimpse into a future of bitter debates and close votes once parliament gets down to work in October.

Mugabe's Zanu-PF party had held a parliamentary majority since 1980. Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change won 100 seats in the 210-seat legislature in March elections - though only 99 of its members were able to take the oath of office on Monday, after one was arrested as he tried to enter parliament. Mugabe's party won 99 seats in March and a splinter opposition faction won 10. An independent who broke away from Mugabe's party has the remaining seat.

Mugabe opened Parliament despite an agreement he signed last month with Tsvangirai that the assembly would not sit unless both men agreed or until a power-sharing deal was struck.

MDC arrests

Mugabe on Tuesday also accused Britain and the US of unleashing "a vicious onslaught" against Zimbabwe. He said Zimbabwe, once the region's breadbasket, was importing food from its neighbours, but that prices were increasing.

"Regrettably we have noticed the hand of our enemies to thwart us," he said. "Food is the latest weapon in their regime change agenda."

While Tsvangirai's party is participating in Parliament, it remains wary. A memorandum signed by all Movement for Democratic Change lawmakers and presented on Tuesday to vice president Joyce Mujuru described the opening of the parliament as "a clear breach" of the agreement that led to power-sharing talks.

"The only person who can officially open Parliament will be determined by the outcome of the dialogue," the petition said, calling Mugabe "the illegitimate usurper of the people's will".

The petition also condemned the arrests of Movement for Democratic Change activists. Shortly before the election of a new speaker on Monday, two opposition legislators were arrested. Legislator Sure Mudiwa was held only briefly and later was among 208 of 210 lawmakers sworn in. But the second arrested lawmaker, Elia Jembere, did not reappear.

Party officials said on Tuesday that Elton Mangoma, a lawmaker and a member of the Tsvangirai team in the power-sharing negotiations, was arrested at his Harare home early on Tuesday morning.

Mangoma and Jembere were on a police wanted list, accused of inciting election violence. Independent rights monitors, though, blame most of the violence on Mugabe's forces.

Police chief spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Wayne Bvudzijena was quoted in state media on Tuesday confirming Jembere's arrest and Mudiwa's brief detention, and saying Jembere faced rape and kidnapping charges.

- AP