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Mugabe Show of Force Ahead of Zimbabwe Protest
EFLThousands of militia supporters of Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe flooded the capital Harare on Friday in a massive show of force designed to head off a final day of opposition-led protests against the government. Hundreds of young men wearing white T-shirts emblazoned with the words "No to Mass Action" took up positions in central Harare, while in townships more young militia members patrolled the streets singing the praises of Mugabe's ZANU-PF party. Their brown shirts must not be back from the cleaners. Blood is hard to get out once it dries. With the city overwhelmed by pro-government activists, there was no sign of the planned protests by the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), which had asked supporters to turn out on Friday to cap a week of protests aimed at forcing Mugabe's resignation. MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai was to hold a news conference at 1200 GMT in the city, while Mugabe himself quit the capital to address a ZANU party rally 150 km (95 miles) to the north. In Mabvuku, a township known as an MDC stronghold, the streets were empty on Friday save for gangs of young Mugabe supporters — blamed by the opposition for some of the most serious violence seen in prior demonstrations. Bob's own Hitler Youth Shops were closed, many shuttered behind iron bars, while the streets were patrolled by armored police vehicles, some with guns mounted on top. The opposition says Mugabe's government is repressive and his policies have ruined Zimbabwe's economy. That's a yes. The 79-year-old leader, in power since independence from Britain in 1980, says he is being targeted by Western powers and their local proxies angry over his policy of seizing white-owned farms for redistribution to landless blacks. "Landless blacks" like his wife. The government has declared Friday's planned protests illegal, and police vowed a forceful response against "any elements bent on plunging the country into a state of lawlessness," the official Herald newspaper said. Posted by: Steve 2003-06-06 |
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