· The perilous situation in Zimbabwe has sparked mounting fears that Robert Mugabe’s iron-fisted regime will again unleash brute force in a desperate bid to intimidate the electorate into extending his 28-year reign.
In a plea for international intervention, the opposition yesterday called for help in countering the “vampire instincts” of the ageing tyrant’s government.
Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai yesterday joined those accusing President Mugabe of deploying war veterans and pro-government militia and recruiting soldiers ahead of a presidential run-off vote.
Tsvangirai, whose Movement for Democratic Change says he won the presidential vote, said he was already forming a new government and called for talks with Mugabe, who he called a “lame duck” leader.
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has now passed the stipulated seven-day period for the release of results.
Tsvangirai said he was the clear winner and there was no need for a run-off.
“The result is known, that the MDC won the presidential and parliamentary election.
“President Mugabe and Zanu- PF (the ruling party) should accept the results. The MDC won the election and will not accept the suppression of the will of the people,” Tsvangirai said in his first declaration since the election.
The MDC yesterday appealed for the United Nations to intervene to prevent bloodshed in a presidential run-off campaign.
On a conciliatory note, Tsvangirai said he would guarantee Mugabe’s safety in the aftermath of the elections.
Tsvangirai spoke as human rights groups and churches warned that the military, the war veterans and other militias were preparing to unleash violence on Zanu-PF’s opponents.
“Given that high-profile commanders in the security establishment have vowed not to salute any other head of state except the current incumbent, the probability of violence is very high ,” said Zimbabwe’s Alliance of Christian leaders.
Irene Petras of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights said the organisation was “concerned about the current state of affairs”.
In another development, armed police briefly prevented an MDC lawyer from entering the Harare High Court during a legal effort to force results being made public. The court eventually postponed the hearing until today after the electoral commission asked for more time to prepare its response.
Appealing for UN intervention, MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa said there were signals that the 84-year-old Mugabe was preparing to crack down.
“They are trying to intimidate people, they are trying to set up the context for unleashing violence. The vampire instincts of this regime are definitely going to come out,” said Chamisa.
“But we cannot be alone. We need the international community to help us. The UN has to make sure that there is no violence in this country ... They should not (wait to) come when there is blood in the street, blood in the villages.”
In the parliamentary election, the MDC won 96 seats, a breakaway MDC faction won nine, Zanu-PF won 94 and an independent won one. In the senate results announced yesterday, the MDC and its breakaway faction won 30 seats and Zanu-PF also won 30 seats.
· Cosatu spokesman Patrick Craven warned the Mugabe government against using dirty tricks to “suppress the will of the people”.
“We are extremely worried about the current situation. We are just lucky that the people of Zimbabwe remain patient . . . but for how long?” he said.
· Speaking from London, President Thabo Mbeki yesterday called on the international community to wait for the full election results.
“No, it’s time to wait ... Let’s see the outcome of the election results. I think the situation for now is manageable. If there is a rerun of the presidential election, let’s see what comes out of that, ” Mbeki told reporters in London, where he is attending a conference of “progressive governance” leaders hosted by Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
International pressure has been mounting on Mbeki to resolve the crisis. On a call from Air Force One on Friday, US President George Bush is said to have urged Mbeki to deal with the situation.
Brown yesterday said international observers must be allowed to monitor a rerun.
Mbeki met Brown in London yesterday to discuss Zimbabwe, among other issues. A senior government official said Mbeki told Brown to back off as he believes the British government is complicating his efforts to resolve the situation.
Mugabe’s Zanu-PF has apparently been angered by news that Britain is spearheading a 2- billion-a-year recovery package for a post-Mugabe Zimbabwe.
The official said: “ Zanu-PF says we have told you so: this MDC is not a genuine opposition as it is a front for the Brits. What do you say to Mugabe when he says that? The Brits do not understand the situation in Zimbabwe.”
Pretoria is claiming the peaceful election as a victory for its quiet diplomacy.
On Friday the Zanu-PF politburo met for a record eight hours. It unanimously endorsed the defence and security chiefs’ advice for Mugabe to face Tsvangirai in a run-off.
“The defence and security chiefs told him they will do everything and anything in their power to ensure that he (Mugabe) beats Tsvangirai in the run-off,” a politburo member said yesterday.
“ As the politburo, we agreed on Friday that we will not deliver the country to Tsvangirai on a silver platter. President Mugabe will be our candidate. We cannot allow Tsvangirai to return the country to Britain and the whites.”
Zanu-PF would use its “usual” structures to win, he said.
Zanu-PF administration secretary Didymus Mutasa claimed electoral officials had been bribed. “We will purge ZEC. There is no way we can conduct elections with thieves,” he said.
On Friday 400 of Mugabe’s so-called war veterans marched through Harare and later told the media that they would “defend the country’s sovereignty” against an opposition takeover and “a white invasion”.
“The election has been seen as a way to reopen the invasion of our people by whites,” veterans’ leader Jabulani Sibanda said.
He said the MDC’s declaration of victory was “a provocation against us freedom fighters”.
In a plea for international intervention, the opposition yesterday called for help in countering the “vampire instincts” of the ageing tyrant’s government.
Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai yesterday joined those accusing President Mugabe of deploying war veterans and pro-government militia and recruiting soldiers ahead of a presidential run-off vote.
Tsvangirai, whose Movement for Democratic Change says he won the presidential vote, said he was already forming a new government and called for talks with Mugabe, who he called a “lame duck” leader.
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has now passed the stipulated seven-day period for the release of results.
Tsvangirai said he was the clear winner and there was no need for a run-off.
“The result is known, that the MDC won the presidential and parliamentary election.
“President Mugabe and Zanu- PF (the ruling party) should accept the results. The MDC won the election and will not accept the suppression of the will of the people,” Tsvangirai said in his first declaration since the election.
The MDC yesterday appealed for the United Nations to intervene to prevent bloodshed in a presidential run-off campaign.
On a conciliatory note, Tsvangirai said he would guarantee Mugabe’s safety in the aftermath of the elections.
Tsvangirai spoke as human rights groups and churches warned that the military, the war veterans and other militias were preparing to unleash violence on Zanu-PF’s opponents.
“Given that high-profile commanders in the security establishment have vowed not to salute any other head of state except the current incumbent, the probability of violence is very high ,” said Zimbabwe’s Alliance of Christian leaders.
Irene Petras of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights said the organisation was “concerned about the current state of affairs”.
In another development, armed police briefly prevented an MDC lawyer from entering the Harare High Court during a legal effort to force results being made public. The court eventually postponed the hearing until today after the electoral commission asked for more time to prepare its response.
Appealing for UN intervention, MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa said there were signals that the 84-year-old Mugabe was preparing to crack down.
“They are trying to intimidate people, they are trying to set up the context for unleashing violence. The vampire instincts of this regime are definitely going to come out,” said Chamisa.
“But we cannot be alone. We need the international community to help us. The UN has to make sure that there is no violence in this country ... They should not (wait to) come when there is blood in the street, blood in the villages.”
In the parliamentary election, the MDC won 96 seats, a breakaway MDC faction won nine, Zanu-PF won 94 and an independent won one. In the senate results announced yesterday, the MDC and its breakaway faction won 30 seats and Zanu-PF also won 30 seats.
· Cosatu spokesman Patrick Craven warned the Mugabe government against using dirty tricks to “suppress the will of the people”.
“We are extremely worried about the current situation. We are just lucky that the people of Zimbabwe remain patient . . . but for how long?” he said.
· Speaking from London, President Thabo Mbeki yesterday called on the international community to wait for the full election results.
“No, it’s time to wait ... Let’s see the outcome of the election results. I think the situation for now is manageable. If there is a rerun of the presidential election, let’s see what comes out of that, ” Mbeki told reporters in London, where he is attending a conference of “progressive governance” leaders hosted by Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
International pressure has been mounting on Mbeki to resolve the crisis. On a call from Air Force One on Friday, US President George Bush is said to have urged Mbeki to deal with the situation.
Brown yesterday said international observers must be allowed to monitor a rerun.
Mbeki met Brown in London yesterday to discuss Zimbabwe, among other issues. A senior government official said Mbeki told Brown to back off as he believes the British government is complicating his efforts to resolve the situation.
Mugabe’s Zanu-PF has apparently been angered by news that Britain is spearheading a 2- billion-a-year recovery package for a post-Mugabe Zimbabwe.
The official said: “ Zanu-PF says we have told you so: this MDC is not a genuine opposition as it is a front for the Brits. What do you say to Mugabe when he says that? The Brits do not understand the situation in Zimbabwe.”
Pretoria is claiming the peaceful election as a victory for its quiet diplomacy.
On Friday the Zanu-PF politburo met for a record eight hours. It unanimously endorsed the defence and security chiefs’ advice for Mugabe to face Tsvangirai in a run-off.
“The defence and security chiefs told him they will do everything and anything in their power to ensure that he (Mugabe) beats Tsvangirai in the run-off,” a politburo member said yesterday.
“ As the politburo, we agreed on Friday that we will not deliver the country to Tsvangirai on a silver platter. President Mugabe will be our candidate. We cannot allow Tsvangirai to return the country to Britain and the whites.”
Zanu-PF would use its “usual” structures to win, he said.
Zanu-PF administration secretary Didymus Mutasa claimed electoral officials had been bribed. “We will purge ZEC. There is no way we can conduct elections with thieves,” he said.
On Friday 400 of Mugabe’s so-called war veterans marched through Harare and later told the media that they would “defend the country’s sovereignty” against an opposition takeover and “a white invasion”.
“The election has been seen as a way to reopen the invasion of our people by whites,” veterans’ leader Jabulani Sibanda said.
He said the MDC’s declaration of victory was “a provocation against us freedom fighters”.
( Sunday Times, 06/04/08 )
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