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| East/Subsaharan Africa | |
| Zim-Bob-We Police Arrest Tsvangirai | |
| 2003-06-02 | |
| Authorities arrested Zimbabwe's opposition leader today and fired teargas at student protesters, vowing to crush the launch of anti-government demonstrations which the opposition hopes will mark the most significant challenge yet to President Robert Mugabe's decades-long rule. Riot police fired teargas at hundreds of students at Zimbabwe University as they tried to march from campus to downtown Harare. Teargas was also fired at a group that gathered on a street in the Harare township of Budiriro. In Mabvuku, another Harare township, army trucks packed with soldiers patrolled overnight. Morgan Tsvangirai leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, was arrested at his home, charged with contempt of court for planning an illegal demonstration, said Innocent Chagonda, his lawyer. Nice name for a lawyer ;-) Tsvangirai has become increasingly defiant in his calls for the people of Zimbabwe to rise up against Mugabe and his policies which the opposition blames for sinking the country into economic and political disarray. This week has been called as a week of strikes and protest against the government. Tsvangirai appeared in court today. The State says he was part of a plot to assassinate Mugabe, charges he and his fellow accused - two senior opposition officials - deny. Trumped-up crap One of his fellow accused, party secretary-general Welshman Ncube, said police had also tried to arrest him overnight. He was not at home, but police assaulted his staff, he said. "They beat my workers; there are broken bones," he said. Lucky they're alive, some won't be so lucky this week Of the launch of this week's actions against the government, he said: "It is tough and it is very tense". As part of their crackdown against demonstrations, police-manned roadblocks were set up along all the main roads leading into Harare, and military helicopters swooped over the western city of Bulawayo. Both cities are considered opposition strongholds. Over the weekend, the High Court declared the protests illegal, but the opposition planned on filing an appeal against the ruling in the Supreme Court today. State television said yesterday that planned demonstrations and strikes would be "met with the full wrath of the law". It said ruling party youths loyal to the government would break up opposition street demonstrations and quoted defence minister Sidney Sekeramayi as saying "enough measures" were being taken to stop anti-government unrest.
Guess there's no shortage of toilet paper | |
| Posted by:Frank G |
| #1 "Mr Tsvangirai was arrested early in the day for contempt of court after ignoring a court order granted to the government on Saturday banning the planned protest. He was released after several hours." If he is out of jail, it's easier to accuse him of inciting people to riot. Plus, it makes that "accidental death" look better. |
| Posted by: Steve 2003-06-02 11:52:07 |