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Zimbabwe opposition expresses new fears
Kitsepile Nyathi, Nation Media (Kenya)
July 16, 2008

http://politics.nationmedia.com/inner.asp?sid=2153

Zimbabwe's main opposition party says it fears President Robert Mugabe wants to wipe out its parliamentary majority through arbitrary arrests, and even killings, of its newly elected lawmakers.

The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), which wrested control of Zimbabwe's parliament from the ruling Zanu PF for the first time since independence during the March 29 elections, said two of its MPs were already in jail facing trumped up charges of public violence.

The whereabouts of another MP are unknown after he was abducted by alleged Zanu PF militants, while at least seven are known to have sought refugee in neighboring South Africa.

Another legislator has been in a comma at a Harare hospital since June 25 after he was attacked by ruling party militias while on his way to a rally. "An unknown number are hiding inside the country," said Eddie Cross, a senior executive member in the main MDC faction led by Morgan Tsvangirai.

"We need to bring this to the attention of the world as these MPs were duly elected but have not been sworn in after four months and it now looks as if we will be lucky if a majority can even attend the swearing in at this rate.

Threat to kill
"The threat to kill MPs is real and is a crude attempt to force down the MDC majority in the House of Assembly."

The swearing in of the new parliamentarians should have been done by Tuesday, but it has been put on hold, awaiting the outcome of negotiations between Zanu PF and the MDC to resolve the country's economic and political crisis.

The South African-led talks, which also seek to resolve the governance crisis that arose after President Mugabe's controversial re-election in last month's bloody presidential run-off, broke down at the weekend as the MDC protested against the continued violence and arbitrary arrests of its officials; the party says more than 100 activists and officials are in police custody on "trumped up charges of political violence".

Meanwhile, President Mugabe today accused Britain of trying to seize control of resources in the devastated African nation, as his government announced inflation had risen to 2.2 million per cent.

Re-elected last month in a widely condemned vote boycotted by the opposition, Mugabe regularly blames his country's economic collapse on former colonial ruler Britain and accuses it of plotting to overthrow his government.

The 84-year-old leader, in power for 28 years, has branded the opposition Movement for Democratic Change a British and American puppet.

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