MDC Chief Tallies Cost Of Post-Poll Mayhem
More than 50 people had been killed in political violence since Zimbabwe’s disputed March 29 poll and 25000 had fled their homes, opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai said yesterday. Tsvangirai’s MDC says President Robert Mugabe’s ruling ZANU PF party has launched a violent campaign against its supporters since the elections in a bid to avoid another defeat next month. The ruling party denies the charge, and in turn blames the opposition for the violence. “Over 50 Zimbabweans have been killed in the past six weeks. More than 25000 people have been displaced. I’ve been saddened that Zimbabweans are willing to shed the blood of other Zimbabweans over political differences,” Tsvangirai said in Harare. “We are proceeding to compile the names of those who’ve committed the crimes. We will approach the attorney-general to do something about it. I don’t believe that anyone who has murdered someone should be forgiven, it is a criminal act to murder someone.” The MDC says police have taken a partisan stance in dealing with political violence, taking sides with ZANU PF supporters.
In an apparent show of support for Mugabe yesterday, Zimbabwe’s police chief Augustine Chihuri said the force had a duty to defend the country from what he called a threat from foreign powers and their local puppets. Mugabe often accuses the MDC of being in thrall to former colonial power Britain and other western governments he says want to oust him. “The nation is facing a myriad of challenges and machinations by external forces and their internal sympathisers, who I normally call puppets,” Chihuri said. “Its very existence and survival is threatened by these puppets and their handlers,” he said at a senior police ceremony in Harare. Echoing Mugabe’s theme for the runoff, Chihuri said Zimbabweans had to be clear in their understanding “of what 100% empowerment and total independence means. It means revamping and overhauling the system in the manufacturing and mining sectors, as done in the agricultural sector.” This alluded to seizures of white-owned farms and a similar drive to nationalise foreign-owned mines and other businesses. He also accused businesses of lifting prices of goods and services to force a change of government. Official figures showed Tsvangirai beat Mugabe in the election, but failed to garner enough votes to avoid a runoff, which has been set for June 27.
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