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April 30, 2008

Near Chaos in Zimbabawe

Rick Moran
Opposition groups were joined by Human Rights organizations in calling for an end to the crackdown on dissent initiated by dictator Robert Mugabe.

The crackdown has been brutal with hundreds being beaten and arrested by Mugabe's loyal henchmen:

New York-based Human Rights Watch joined other rights groups and Zimbabwe's opposition party in linking violence since last month's presidential vote to the security forces and so-called "war veterans" - groups loyal to autocratic President Robert Mugabe.

Mugabe's regime has countered that the opposition groups are responsible for the violence, even arresting scores of people last week, including women and their nursing babies, who the opposition says had taken shelter from the violence at its headquarters in Harare, Zimbabwe's capital.

Lawyers for Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change said the Harare High Court ordered late Monday that everyone arrested at its headquarters last week should be freed. On Tuesday, police released the last of those still being held.

Mugabe has been accused of using violence and intimidation and plotting fraud to hold onto power after March 29 presidential elections he is believed to have lost.

With the courts siding with the opposition in this case and Mugabe's terror campaign now seeing the light of day, it makes it more likely that either the African Union or even the Security Council will intervene in some way to halt the violence and end the political impasse over the elections.

The results of the election last month have yet to be released and Mugabe continues to hang tough with the idea that he won. A recount is underway that appears to be going even slower than the initial count. At the end of the day, Mugabe is expected to declare himself the winner.

Meanwhile, there is 80% unemployment and 100,000% inflation. And a once peaceful and prosperous country is brought to its knees by a brutal regime that refuses to yeild power.

Posted at 11:42 AM | Email | | Share Share
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