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Zim security law stops meeting
29/01/2004 14:29 - (SA)
Zimbabwe - Police denied permission to Zimbabwe's main opposition party to hold a meeting on Thursday night to launch its proposals for rebuilding the crumbling economy, citing the nation's sweeping security laws.
Police told the Movement for Democratic Change that they weren't given enough time to arrange security for the gathering and did not have the necessary manpower available, said opposition spokesperson Paul Themba Nyathi.
"These are merely lies and excuses," he said on Thursday. "We condemn this clear undemocratic act."
Police did not immediately comment on the decision.
Nyathi said the opposition notified authorities of the meeting on January 23, more than the four days in advance required for political gatherings.
Police later informed the party that the application was "left in the wrong office" and not processed, he said.
The party submitted another application on January 26, but was told this one arrived too late and ordered to cancel the meeting.
The opposition was seeking a court order to allow the meeting to go ahead, Nyathi said.
Since disputed elections in 2002, the opposition has held 54 of Parliament's 120 elected seats. President Robert Mugabe appoints an additional 30 lawmakers, giving the ruling party a sweeping majority it has used to pass harsh new security and media legislation.
- AP
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