Zimbabwe deploys youth gangs ahead of mass protest
By Stella
Mapenzauswa
HARARE, June 6 - Young supporters of Zimbabwe President
Robert Mugabe joined police fanning through the capital Harare on Friday as
the country's main opposition geared up for a final day of protests against
the government. Wearing white T-shirts emblazoned with the words ''No
to Mass Action,'' pro-Mugabe youths took up positions in the centre of
the beleaguered city, already heavily patrolled by armed police. In
Mabvuku, a township outside Harare known as an opposition 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. Shops were closed, many shuttered behind iron bars,
while the streets were patrolled by armoured police vehicles, some with guns
mounted on top. The opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
asked its supporters to turn out ''in their millions'' later on Friday for a
last day of peaceful marches during a weeklong protest aimed at forcing the
country's 79-year-old leader to step down. The opposition says
Mugabe's government is repressive and his policies have ruined Zimbabwe's
economy. Mugabe denies the charges, and 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. The
government, which on Monday sent riot police and army units to put down MDC
protests in several parts of the country, has declared Friday's planned
demonstrations illegal. Police warned they would be out in force ''to
deal with any elements bent on plunging the country into a state of
lawlessness,'' the official Herald newspaper reported. ''The police
would like to assure all peace-loving Zimbabweans that the deployment of
security forces will continue for as long as necessary and people should go
about their lawful activities as normal,'' police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena
told the newspaper. The MDC has reported hundreds of arrests and
beatings during this week's protests. The government obtained a new
court ruling late on Thursday to declare the protests illegal. MDC
leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who is on trial for allegedly contracting to have
Mugabe killed, has challenged Mugabe's 2002 election in polls widely decried
as fraudulent and is currently on trial for treason. Nathan
Shamuyarira, a leader of the ruling ZANU-PF, told Friday's Herald that the
party's politburo resolved on Wednesday not to back down against the
opposition. ''The discussion was very clear that the time has now come
for a showdown with the MDC. It was agreed that we should also use the
manpower resources in our movement to stop the MDC from disrupting the
economy,'' he said.
Harare, Zimbabwe - Hundreds of ruling party militias took
position throughout the capital Friday as Zimbabwe braced for bloody
confrontation following renewed calls by the opposition for supporters to
march to demand President Robert Mugabe step down. The government has
vowed to crush the action, saying a court order banning anti-government
demonstrations was still in force and that further protests would be stopped,
state television reported. It said leaders of the Movement for Democratic
Change faced contempt of court charges and would be imprisoned if protests
went ahead Friday. Members of the ruling party militia, wearing white
T-shirts emblazoned with the words, No to Mass Action spread throughout
Harare. Some took position in the city's main square, where the opposition
leaders have called on supporters to gather. About 100 ruling party
militia members were seen marching down one of the main streets leading to
the square, in an apparent attempt to block off the area. Two military
helicopters hovered over downtown Harare from dawn. Police spokesman Wayne
Bvudzijena, speaking on state radio Friday, warned that people "bent on
causing disorder will be dealt with decisively." Reinforcements of police and
troops have been deployed across the country. On Friday, the police took no
action against members of the ruling Zanu-PF militias as they fanned out
across Harare. Nathan Shamuyarira, the ruling party's secretary for
information, told state media that the Zanu-PF's politburo, it's top policy
making bureau, recommended "stringent security measures" to stop the
protests. "The time has now come for a showdown with the (opposition) MDC. It
was agreed that we should also use the manpower resources in our movement
to stop the MDC from disrupting the economy," Mr. Shamuyarira told the
state Herald newspaper. Some of the ruling party militias were seen
shouting at people on the street, demanding that shops adhering to a general
strike in Harare be reopened. Most businesses, however, in Harare remained
closed Friday. The strike shut down much of the troubled southern African
country's economy this week although government forces have brutally cut down
planned street demonstrations. The opposition Movement for Democratic
Change has described Friday as the D-Day of this declared week-long
protest. "You have been harassed, abused, tortured and brutalized. Your
leaders have been abducted and arrested. Rise up in your millions to
demonstrate publicly your utmost disapproval of this violent dictatorship,"
the opposition said in advertisements and fliers calling for mass marches on
Friday. The party said it would not be deterred by the violent crackdown by
riot and police under orders to crush all signs of protest. It called on
Zimbabweans to gather in central squares and downtown districts across the
country on Friday to force Mugabe from office after 23 years
in power. "Don't be afraid," the notices exhorted. "Victory is in
sight." Security forces using rifle butts, volleys of live fire, tear gas and
water cannons have so far prevented any large scale street
demonstrations. Independent human rights monitors said scores of people were
injured as police and troops patrolled impoverished township suburbs and,
along with ruling party vigilantes, assaulted suspected opponents, often
raiding their homes at night. Police and security agents also raided a
private hospital Wednesday where victims of police and army assaults were
being treated. Independent monitors said most new victims of violence were
injured in a wave of government retribution against the protests. Police
say at least 300 people have been arrested during protests,
including opposition legislators and officials. The opposition blames
Mugabe for sinking the country into political and economic ruin. There are
shortages of food, medicine, fuel, and currency, and annual inflation is at
269 per cent. Widespread starvation has been avoided only with international
aid.
Mugabe Justifies The Use Of Force By Security Forces Against
Protesters Staff Reporter Harare 6 June 2003
HARARE: Zimbabwean
President Robert Mugabe says force had been necessary to maintain peace and
stability in the face of a nation-wide anti-government strike by the
opposition party, the Movement for a Democratic Change, the MDC. The MDC
accuses the government of plunging the country into economic and social
crisis. A five day general strike was launched by the MDC on Monday in a bid
to force Mugabe out of office or at least get him to the negotiating table.
However, President Mugabe says there is no way the opposition will remove him
from office. Mugabe says he regrets the police and army measures taken
against the protesters.
SA Democratic Alliance's Shares Concern On
Zimbabwe AfricaOnline.com Correspondent Cape Town 6 June 2003 The
crisis in Zimbabwe has cost South Africa $1.8 billion dollars and 30
000 jobs.
CAPE TOWN: The leader of the opposition party, the
Democratic Alliance in South Africa, Tony Leon, says his government shares
his concerns about the ongoing crisis in Zimbabwe, but differs on how to
solve it. Leon met acting President Jacob Zuma in Cape Town. Both leaders
agreed on the urgent need for a resumption of dialogue between the ruling
Zanu-P.F. and the MDC in Zimbabwe. Leon says he is hopeful that there is now
a chance the South African government will use its influence to break the
logjam and end the crisis in Zimbabwe. He presented Zuma with a report by the
Zimbabwean Research Initiative, which found that the crisis in Zimbabwe had
so far cost South Africa one-billion-875-million dollars and around
30-thousand jobs.
Sky News has obtained
dramatic amateur video footage of Zimbabwe's military regime attacking
civilians as the country's opposition launches a day of national protest
against leader Robert Mugabe.
The footage shows a Mugabe henchman pouring
fuel over a moving car and threatening to set it alight unless the video
camera is handed over.
The loyalist is poised to strike a match on the
back of a pick-up as the driver frantically tries to dislodge him.
He
eventually succeeded after careering around the streets of Harare for
20 minutes last Monday.
The footage was then smuggled to Sky's offices
in South Africa.
Other scenes show tear gas being fired at Harare
University students and house-to-house searches for activists.
An
unarmed civilian is shown covered in cuts after a beating from
Mugabe's men.
Zimbabwe's opposition is encouraging people to defy the
government crackdown and take to the streets in their
millions.
Amateur photographer Laurinda Whitehead, who risked her life to
gather the footage and bring it to light, said the scenes depicted were
common.
Even worse violence was being perpetrated on civilians in
remote settlements, she said.
Zimbabwe
has been the subject of much handwringing and commiseration. During the Group
of Eight meeting this week, leaders of the world's richest nations, eager not
to discuss the vulnerabilities in the global economy, focused, for a moment,
on Zimbabwe, declaring their concern over "reports of further violence by the
authorities in Zimbabwe against their own people." The State Department,
meanwhile, has released similar-sounding communiques. On Monday, after
strikes and protests launched by Zimbabweans were brutally broken up by
security forces and renegade militias, the State Department condemned
"government's heavy-handed intimidation and suppression." It also said it was
"very concerned about reports of mistreatment of leaders" of the
opposition. Sadly, Zimbabwe's leader-by-fraud Robert Mugabe accurately
interpreted the G8's and America's concern and condemnations as little more
than rhetorical flourishes. As Zimbabwe's hospitals have reportedly filled
up with badly beaten strikers and protesters, the United States and the rest
of the international community have failed to act. The country's
lead opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, has been tossed in prison and
charged with treason, for no other apparent reason than calling on his
countrymen to protest Mr. Mugabe's illegitimate rule. South Africa,
the region's power broker, has limited itself to calling on Mr. Mugabe to
open talks with opposition members, but has failed to hold Mr. Mugabe in any
way accountable. While Mr. Mugabe goes on shopping sprees to South Africa,
enjoying the fruits of stability and democracy, the people of Zimbabwe suffer
Mr. Mugabe's rule, unable to find or afford food. Once the breadbasket of
southern Africa, Zimbabwe is now wracked with food shortages and hunger. Due
to the soaring unemployment and inflation, which has hit 265 percent, many
people who were once middle class can't pay for food. At the barest
minimum, the United States and the European Union, which have carefully
tailored sanctions against Mr. Mugabe and his cronies, must mobilize their
considerable clout to press South Africa and other African governments to
impose a travel ban and asset freeze on high-ranking government officials.
But even that will almost surely be insufficient. It is sadly ever more clear
that only military intervention by responsible African governments will end
the murderous and destructive regime of Robert Mugabe.
Zim streets crawling with Zanu-PF militias 06/06/2003 11:30 -
(SA)
Harare - Zimbabwe's capital was tense on Friday after the
opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) dubbed the last scheduled day
of a series of anti-government protests "D-Day" and urged its supporters to
rise up against President Robert Mugabe's government.
Pro-government
war veterans and ruling party youths wearing T-shirts on which was written
"No to mass action - zvakwana (enough)" outnumbered the police patrolling the
city.
The groups had been deployed across the city centre and at the
central Africa Unity Square, where the MDC had planned to march on the final
day of its week-long anti-Mugabe work stoppages and protests.
The MDC
on Thursday announced it would press ahead with street marches which had
failed to gain momentum this week due to a clampdown by security
forces.
Hundreds of opposition supporters and officials were arrested and
beaten during the first four days of the mass action.
Some businesses,
including most banks and a few shops and food outlets, were operating in
Harare.
Copies of the country's independent Daily News were wrested from
street vendors and torn to shreds by suspected pro-government
youths.
In the low-income suburbs, there was a heavy presence of armed
police and military, while the few buses that were operating were accompanied
by armed soldiers.
A resident of Mbare, the capital's oldest township,
said army tanks were deployed there Thursday night.
Following the
MDC's fresh calls for marches, the government Thursday sought the enforcement
of a provisional court order issued last week that banned the
protests.
Police returned to the High Court on Thursday evening where a
judge enforced the order, which the opposition had appealed
against.
The government warned that police would be on high alert Friday
to crush any protest marches.
The MDC urged people to defy government
warnings and take to the streets in their millions on Friday for what it
promised would be "D-Day" in its week-long protests.
"This is the
moment you have been waiting for. Tomorrow, Friday 6th June, 2003 is D-Day,"
the MDC said on the penultimate day of protests.
Mugabe and his
government have defended the use of force to suppress the street protests
saying it was meant to ensure peace and stability in the country.
The
MDC called for five days of anti-government protests aimed at
unseating Mugabe from power or at least forcing him to return to the
negotiating table to address the country's deep political, economic and
social crises. - Sapa-AFP