It's now obvious to everyone except the Bush "administration" that
Robert Mugabe intends to kill or imprison all the people who voted for
his presidential opponent Morgan Tsvangirai -- plus Tsvangirai
himself!
But with a stolen "DEMOCRATIC" election on the front page of every
news publication, we don't hear a word from your Nincompoop-In-
Chief.
Why doesn't America's WHITE HOUSE WAR CRIMINAL go in after Mugabe,
like he did Saddam Hussein?
What? No oil in Zimbabwe, Georgie?
Afraid of losing another war, Georgie?
Still no guts, Georgie?
----------------------------------
"Mugabe Opponents Seized in Police Raid"
"Zimbabwe's Leader Intensifies Crackdown"
Washington Post Foreign Service
Saturday, April 26, 2008; A01
HARARE, Zimbabwe, April 25 -- Dozens of helmeted riot police on Friday
raided Zimbabwe's opposition party headquarters, seizing computers,
ransacking offices and arresting hundreds of activists as President
Robert Mugabe's crackdown against his political foes intensified.
Witnesses said police carried off two busloads of activists, most of
whom had taken refuge in the dingy downtown office building after
being beaten and tortured by ruling party militias in recent days. The
police carried out simultaneous raids on the home and office of the
head of an election-observer mission that had concluded Mugabe was
defeated in the March 29 presidential vote.
The morning raid brought the brutal government crackdown unfolding
across Zimbabwe's battered countryside into the heart of the capital,
and it came a day after the top U.S. envoy for Africa asserted that
Mugabe had lost the election outright and should leave office after 28
years in power.
The official results of the presidential vote have yet to be released,
although Mugabe's ruling party lost the parliamentary election and has
acknowledged getting fewer votes than opposition leader Morgan
Tsvangirai. The only question is whether Tsvangirai won the majority
needed to avoid a runoff election.
In the increasingly violent limbo, Mugabe's security forces and party
followers have rampaged across Zimbabwe, burning homes and beating
opposition activists from the Movement for Democratic Change, who have
been streaming into the capital in search of protection.
Wielding batons and shields, the police arrived at the headquarters
building, known as Harvest House, around 11:30 a.m. in a large truck,
two pickups and a bus, swiftly rounding up those gathered there.
Andrew Makoni, a human rights lawyer who spoke from a police station
here Friday night, said police detained 215 people in the raid. He
said many were limping or wearing casts from previous injuries as they
were sent in small groups to holding cells throughout Harare,
terrified of being forced back to the countryside controlled by
Mugabe.
"They left their homes because of violence," Makoni said. "And now
they are in the hands of police."
Hundreds of riot police were posted at intersections across the city.
Empty of people after the raid, Harvest House contained only a few
stacked blankets and bloodied bandages. The air carried the stench of
urine -- testimony to the crush of refugees that had overwhelmed the
building's capacity in recent weeks.
"It was shocking," said Teresa Mano, a witness to the raid. "I saw
them shoving injured people into the bus and trucks. They were brutal.
Those that refused were beaten by batons. Pregnant women were being
dragged to the trucks. There were babies screaming all over the place.
You would think they were dealing with hard-core criminals."
Tendai Biti, secretary general of the Movement for Democratic Change,
said the raid also may have been an effort to destroy evidence of the
opposition victory. In the days after the election, handwritten
results for individual polling stations and electoral districts were
posted across the country. All were recorded and many were
photographed by the opposition party.
"Harvest House is just a more visible expression of what he's been
doing in the rural areas, where there are no televisions and no
telephones," Biti said. "He's a cruel man. This is revenge for losing
the elections."
The raid against the home and offices of Rindai Chipfunde, executive
director of the Zimbabwe Election Support Network, might have had the
same purpose. The group used a sampling model to announce just days
after the election that Tsvangirai got more votes than Mugabe.
Makoni, the human rights lawyer, said the search warrant for
Chipfunde's home referred to a potential charge of subverting a
constitutionally elected government. The charge, he said, carries a
possible life sentence. The whereabouts of Chipfunde were unknown
Friday night.
Zimbabwe's security minister, Didymus Mutasa, said those arrested in
Friday's raids were suspected of committing political violence.
Mugabe's government often accuses opposition figures of committing
violence, but few cases have been successfully tried in court.
"There are lots of people who are lying" about having been beaten, and
are "hiding at the MDC offices, when in actual fact they are the ones
who have been perpetrating violence," Mutasa said. "The police have a
duty to deal with such people. It's the law. That is justice."
Mugabe, 84, has held power since the nation was founded from the
former Rhodesia in 1980. But the last decade of his rule has seen an
increase in political strife, culminating in the violent aftermath of
the recent elections.
In the vote, Mugabe lost control of parliament for the first time.
Until the reporting of official results was abruptly suspended, he was
also on the verge of finishing second to Tsvangirai, according to
numerous accounts, including from ruling party officials. Even some of
his closest allies urged him to step down, but he instead struck back
with rare force.
Dozens of election officials, along with several journalists, have
been arrested and in some cases tortured, according to reports from
human rights groups and some published firsthand accounts. Top
military and security officials reportedly have taken control of much
of the government and have deployed officers across Zimbabwe to
coordinate political intimidation and violence.
The raid comes amid mounting international criticism of Mugabe, who
has presided over the collapse of Zimbabwe's economy, chronic food
shortages and a series of deeply flawed elections. Political leaders
in southern Africa have joined criticism that has long come from the
U.S., British and other Western governments.
A spokesman for South African President Thabo Mbeki declined to
comment Friday night. But Jacob Zuma, president of that nation's
ruling African National Congress, called the situation "unacceptable,"
according to a party spokeswoman.
Mathews Phosa, the party's treasurer-general, said, "We are opposed to
anything undemocratic, anything violent, any form of violence in
places where there should be free and fair elections."
[Timberg reported from Cape Town, South Africa.]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/25/AR2008042500955.html
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