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MDC protest begins in Zim
18/03/2003 12:29 - (SA)
Harare - Two vehicles were attacked early on Tuesday near the Zimbabwe capital Harare, as the main opposition party embarked on a campaign of mass action against President Robert Mugabe's government, state radio reported.
A Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) van was stoned in the low-income suburb of Glen View and a police bus was petrol-bombed outside a shopping centre, the radio said.
It added that these were "isolated incidents of violence" and said that most people had not heeded the opposition's call for mass action and a job stayaway.
The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) called for peaceful mass protests on Tuesday and Wednesday saying that people had "to express discontent and disgust with the state of affairs within our nation".
The opposition says its members are being unfairly targetted by the police. It says Zimbabweans are losing their dignity through worsening poverty caused in part by Mugabe's government.
People appeared to be going about their business as normal in central Harare, although ZBC reported that in the second city of Bulawayo white-owned businesses were closed.
Commuters also reported public transport problems, with roads being blocked.
The police have declared the mass action illegal, and the government has reacted angrily to the plan.
Pro-Mugabe commentators have blamed former colonial power Britain for being behind the protests in order to increase hardships for Zimbabweans.
- AFX
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