Zimbabwe's Tsvangirai in Hospital
Morgan Tsvangirai continues his struggle for change in Zimbabwe
International leaders are outraged by what has happened recently in Zimbabwe. A police crackdown on a prayer rally highlights the deteriorating situation.
Morgan Tsvangirai, an opposition leader in Zimbabwe, was taken to hospital on March 13 after appearing in court along with approximately 50 activists. Tsvangirai had a swollen face and a deep gashes on his head, injuries he incurred at the hands of the police after they broke up a recent rally. According to Associated Press reports, Tsvangirai appeared "disoriented" after authorities took him from Harare courts and placed him in an emergency vehicle.
On March 11, Zimbabwean police ended a prayer rally organized by a coalition of opposition, civil, student and church groups under the "Save Zimbabwe" banner. The authorities declared that the meeting violated a three-month ban on all political demonstrations. Worried that the opposition was launching a street campaign to remove President Robert Mugabe from power, the police had apparently ordered the event to be cancelled.
Tsvangirai, who heads the Movement for Democratic Change, was arrested while trying to attend the event. Authorities then beat and "tortured" him, according to his colleagues. One activist was also shot dead during the demonstrations, in what Tsvangirai called a "sadistic" attack on "defenseless people."
A police spokesman, however, said Tsvangirai was arrested for inciting people to come out and commit acts of violence. He added that about 200 opposition party "thugs" attacked 20 policemen, three of whom were taken to hospital with injuries.
World reaction
Several world leaders have condemned the events, criticizing Robert Mugabe's government for their hostility towards Tsvangirai and the activists. They also expressed concern for what they perceive as a violent crackdown on protests, the second of its kind this month.
The United States Secretary of State, Condoleeza Rice, asked for the "immediate and unconditional release" of the activists, who have yet to be charged for any misdemeanour. The United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, the EU and Amnesty International have all expressed their concerns about the situation.
While many of Zimbabwe's neighbours remained quiet about the event, South Africa was more outspoken. Pretoria said that Mugabe's government should respect the rights of all citizens including those of opposition leaders and that they were concerned about the deteriorating situation in Zimbabwe.
Mugabe's opponents blame him for record inflation, food shortages, repression and corruption while Mugabe has frequently blamed his country's woes on sabotage from Britain and other Western nations.
Tsvangirai has been a very active opponent of Zimbabwe's authoritarian president. In his efforts to influence change in Zimbabwe he has risked arrest and assassination and been charged with treason three times. Reuters reports that a spokesman for Robert Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF party claims Tsvangirai wanted to be arrested in order to gain more support from London and Washington.
