via Armed police siege MDC-T’s HQ – New Zimbabwe 28/04/2015
ARMED police besieged the opposition MDC-T’s Harvest House headquarters Tuesday, a few hours after the riot cops clashed with party youths protesting against President Mugabe in the capital.
Some 200 MDC-T supporters were, in the morning, attacked by the police at the Meikles Hotel, venue of the SADC summit currently underway in the capital.
The demonstration kicked off at the MDC headquarters in central Harare and proceeded along Jason Moyo Avenue to the plush hotel hotel.
The protesters were waving placards inscribed with messages like ‘SADC save us from Mugabe ISIS’, ‘Zanuphobia in Zimbabwe’, “Mugabe should go now SADC’, and ‘Bob is election rigging machine”.
“We want to show SADC everything is not well in Zimbabwe and [that] Mugabe is a dictator who has brought too much pain to Zimbabweans,” said one protester.
A few minutes later armed police descended on the venue and dispersed the protesters who were still singing and dancing by beating them with batons.
In the afternoon, the police with armoured vehicles camped at the Harvest House after dispersing all vendors who operate around the area.
According to some vendors, the cops wanted to get inside the building to “fish out” MDC youths who were part of the Anti-Mugabe protest in the morning.
“They (riot cops) threatened us with tear gas if we resisted vacating the area.
“They said they know the youths who they wanted to fish out of Harvest house and told us to immediately leave the place,” said some vendors who sell CDs at the pavements of the place.
‘Police barbaric’
Obert Gutu, the MDC-T spokesperson, told NewZimbabwe.com that the presence of armed cops at his party’s head “is barbaric”.
“The besieging of Harvest House is a clear manifestation of the fascist tendencies of the Zanu PF regime. This action is totally uncalled for and completely unjustified,” he said.
“We are dealing with a deeply unpopular and paranoid regime that is afraid of the people.
“The MDC is a lawful political organisation and this absolutely no basis why the anti-riot Police should besiege our party headquarters.”
Gutu said the government had shown the region its true undemocratic character by attacking peaceful protesters.
“The Police, once again in typical fashion, have brutally clamped down on the peaceful demonstration that was carried out by MDC youths.
“These young man and women were simply protesting against the deteriorating political and economic situation in Zimbabwe.
“They were demanding the 2,2 million jobs that were promised by the Zanu PF regime and also protesting against the abduction of human rights defender, Itai Dzamara – nothing else.”
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