Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangiri has fled to Botswana fearing reprisal from Robert Mugabe by his thugs in Zanu-PF. Retaliation has begun in Zimbabwe according to a source in the capitol, Harare. Leading figures of the Movement for Democratic Change apparently escaped a police round up in a plot to charge them with high treason. The Secretary-General and party spokesman were tipped in advance of the raids and went into hiding. The plot will also allegedly involve the discovery of weapons caches whose existence will be blamed on MDC. Mugabe used this same ploy to defeat his rival Joshua Nkomo in the early 80s. A state of emergency was declared and thousands of Nkomo supporters were killed. Recounts now being conducted by the legally independent Zimbabwe Election Commission confirm Zanu-PF loosing parlamentary races to opposition parties. Results of the partial presidential recounts are due out tomorrow. But the extreme delay in releasing results has cast doubt on the legitimacy of the recount process. A positive development in the past week was the refusal by unionized dockworkers in South Africa to unload a Chinese freighter filled with weapons bound for Zimbabwe. The South African government would have allowed the transshipment, but union officials called complicity in the weapons' possible lethal use against Zimbabweans morally irresponsible. The freighter returned to China with it's cargo.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Zimbabwe Fights Back III
Update: A government recount confirms that Robert Mugabe has been defeated. His opponent, Morgan Tsvangiri won 47% of the vote to Mugabe's 44%. It is not clear if Tsvangiri will return to Zimbabwe to participate in a run off with Mugabe since he believes another poll will give Mugabe and his party Zanu-PF another opportunity to steal the election. Tsvangiri has suggested that he might be willing to participate in another election if the it were held under the scrutiny of UN monitors.
Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangiri has fled to Botswana fearing reprisal from Robert Mugabe by his thugs in Zanu-PF. Retaliation has begun in Zimbabwe according to a source in the capitol, Harare. Leading figures of the Movement for Democratic Change apparently escaped a police round up in a plot to charge them with high treason. The Secretary-General and party spokesman were tipped in advance of the raids and went into hiding. The plot will also allegedly involve the discovery of weapons caches whose existence will be blamed on MDC. Mugabe used this same ploy to defeat his rival Joshua Nkomo in the early 80s. A state of emergency was declared and thousands of Nkomo supporters were killed. Recounts now being conducted by the legally independent Zimbabwe Election Commission confirm Zanu-PF loosing parlamentary races to opposition parties. Results of the partial presidential recounts are due out tomorrow. But the extreme delay in releasing results has cast doubt on the legitimacy of the recount process. A positive development in the past week was the refusal by unionized dockworkers in South Africa to unload a Chinese freighter filled with weapons bound for Zimbabwe. The South African government would have allowed the transshipment, but union officials called complicity in the weapons' possible lethal use against Zimbabweans morally irresponsible. The freighter returned to China with it's cargo.
Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangiri has fled to Botswana fearing reprisal from Robert Mugabe by his thugs in Zanu-PF. Retaliation has begun in Zimbabwe according to a source in the capitol, Harare. Leading figures of the Movement for Democratic Change apparently escaped a police round up in a plot to charge them with high treason. The Secretary-General and party spokesman were tipped in advance of the raids and went into hiding. The plot will also allegedly involve the discovery of weapons caches whose existence will be blamed on MDC. Mugabe used this same ploy to defeat his rival Joshua Nkomo in the early 80s. A state of emergency was declared and thousands of Nkomo supporters were killed. Recounts now being conducted by the legally independent Zimbabwe Election Commission confirm Zanu-PF loosing parlamentary races to opposition parties. Results of the partial presidential recounts are due out tomorrow. But the extreme delay in releasing results has cast doubt on the legitimacy of the recount process. A positive development in the past week was the refusal by unionized dockworkers in South Africa to unload a Chinese freighter filled with weapons bound for Zimbabwe. The South African government would have allowed the transshipment, but union officials called complicity in the weapons' possible lethal use against Zimbabweans morally irresponsible. The freighter returned to China with it's cargo.