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Troops fan out in Zimbabwe
14/04/2008 22:43 - (SA)
Godfrey Marawanyika
Harare - President Robert Mugabe's security forces fanned out across Zimbabwe on Monday on the eve of a general strike called by the opposition, after a judge threw out its bid to force the election results.
Morgan Tsvangirai's opposition urged Zimbabweans to show their disgust at the continuing hold-up by launching a general strike from Tuesday until the results of the March 29 presidential poll are released.
Police accused Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) of trying to cause mayhem and issued a statement threatening that "those who breach the peace will be dealt with severely and firmly".
"The call by the MDC Tsvangirai faction is aimed at disturbing peace and will be resisted firmly by the law enforcement agents whose responsibility is to maintain law and order in any part of the country," it said. Mounting unrest
National police spokesperson Wayne Bvudzijena said officers and soldiers were being deployed throughout the country and a diplomatic source told AFP the military was already camped out on the main arteries into the capital Harare.
In a further sign of mounting unrest, the opposition claimed that one of its election agents had been stabbed to death by Mugabe supporters over the weekend in what it claimed was the first politically-motivated killing since the polls.
Police confirmed the agent, Tapiwa Mubwanda, had been killed, but said the motive had yet to be established.
Dozens of riot police hovered outside the High Court as Judge Tendai Uchena rejected a petition from the MDC calling for the electoral commission to immediately declare the poll result.
"The matter has been dismissed with costs" to be paid by the MDC, Uchena said, ruling that the electoral commission - which says it is still collating results - was acting within the provisions of the law. Mass stay-in
The ruling Zanu-PF said it was not surprised by the ruling, which spokesperson Patrick Chinamasa called an attempt by the MDC to force the commission "to announce an incorrect result and to cause confusion".
With their court bid unsuccessful, the opposition has called for the public to make a stand against the delay by staging a mass stay-in until the results are released.
"What we want is for ZEC (electoral commission) to announce the results. "We hope every Zimbabwean takes it upon themselves to speak out and be heard. Voting alone was not enough. "We want our results, the time has come," the party's vice-president Thokhozani Khupe told reporters.
The ruling was a double blow to the opposition after a summit of southern African leaders in Zambia at the weekend merely called for the results to be announced "expeditiously", saying the matter should be decided by the courts. Impact likely to be muted
Flyers handed out since the MDC first threatened on Friday to stage the general strike have called on everyone from bus drivers to street vendors to join in.
But the impact of any general strike is likely to be muted as unemployment is already running at more than 80%.
Previous stay-aways called by the opposition and its allies in the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions have flopped with few of the people still in work wanting to risk a day's pay.
However, the opposition is aware that Mugabe still exerts an iron grip over the security forces and is wary of sending its supporters to the streets to protest the current impasse. Police have banned all political rallies.
In March last year Tsvangirai himself sustained serious head injuries as the government cracked down on opposition attempts to stage an anti-government rally. Deserves respect
At Saturday's emergency summit in Lusaka, regional leaders discussed the post-election impasse long into the night, but they stopped short of criticising the Zimbabwean government or Mugabe.
Regional leaders have been chided for their traditional reluctance to speak out against 84-year-old Mugabe, seen by many as an elder statesman who still deserves respect for his role in winning Zimbabwe's independence.
About three million Zimbabweans have fled to neighbouring countries in the wake of the country's economic collapse under Mugabe, who has ruled uninterrupted since independence from Britain in 1980.
A one-time regional model, Zimbabwe is now groaning under the impact of the world's highest rate of inflation while even basic food products such as bread and cooking oil are scarce.
- AFP
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