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'Mugabe dependent on militia'
20/02/2007 21:01 - (SA)
Johannesburg - Opposition party leader Morgan Tsvangirai said on Tuesday weekend street clashes with security forces showed there was a growing mood of defiance among opponents of Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe.
Tsvangirai's statement came a day after police confirmed they had arrested 38 people after police crushed an opposition rally on Sunday in the capital, Harare, where Tsvangirai had planned to give a speech.
"Mugabe is now heavily dependent on a rogue militia and partisan paramilitary forces in his war against the people," said Tsvangirai.
Riot police fired tear gas and water cannons at thousands of people who had gathered for the launch of Tsvangirai's presidential campaign.
Cars were stoned, roads barricaded and shops hastily shut down, said reports. Tsvangirai's party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), claimed scores of its supporters were beaten and said the Harare suburb of Highfield was turned into a "war-zone".
Police spokesperson Wayne Bvudzijena said on Monday that 38 people had been arrested.
"This arose from the stone-throwing and illegal blocking of roads in the Highfield area using burning tires and stones, so as police we moved in to ensure the free movement of traffic," he said.
Information minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu charged that the MDC deliberately engaged in "violent activities" in a bid to provoke the authorities ahead of a key meeting of European Union (EU) ministers in Brussels on Monday.
'Engaging in acts of violence'
At the meeting the EU extended its sanctions by another year, including an arms embargo, travel ban and asset freezes on Mugabe and more than 100 top ruling party officials.
"The MDC supporters were busy engaging in acts of violence in Harare and Bulawayo just to provoke us," Ndlovu told the official Herald newspaper on Tuesday. At least 10 members of a breakaway MDC faction were reportedly arrested in Bulawayo on Saturday when police broke up a meeting.
Political tension has been rising during the last week as Mugabe readies to celebrate his 83rd birthday.
The former guerrilla leader has been in power in Zimbabwe since independence in 1980 and recently announced his support for plans to push back presidential elections until 2010, giving him another two years in power.
A fundraising committee has been tasked to raise Z$300m ($1.2m) for a presidential birthday party in the central town of Gweru on Saturday.
But many ordinary Zimbabweans can barely afford to feed themselves after the annual inflation rate reached 1 593.6% in January and the prices of many goods rise on a near-daily basis.
- SAPA
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Zimbabwe Special Report
