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Zimbabwe: Police Ban MDC Rallies in Harare
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SW Radio Africa (London)
13 May 2008
Posted to the web 13 May 2008
Tichaona Sibanda
Police in Harare have barred the MDC from holding public rallies in the capital, ahead of the presidential run-off whose date has not yet been announced.
The party's regional officer based in South Africa Nqobizitha Mlilo said Zanu PF, which is now the official opposition party in parliament, is holding rallies.
'This is an indication of a regime that has realised they have lost the elections, a party that is incapable of winning any elections. So the only way they believe they can do something is to frustrate our supporters and close every little bit of political space in the country,' Mlilo said.
The MDC said they had planned to hold three separate rallies in Mufakose and Budiriro on Saturday and Sunday and at the Zimbabwe Grounds in Highfield on Saturday, 18th May.
'Following the provisions of the Public Order and Security Act the MDC had tried to notify the police of it's plan to hold the three rallies in Harare. However, police authorities at Southerton Police Station refused to even accept the letters from the MDC officials,' a statement from the party said.
After the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission announced that people should prepare for a presidential run-off, Zanu PF has been holding rallies across the country. Grace Mugabe, Elliot Manyika and other Zanu PF officials have all addressed rallies recently.
'But the same opportunity is being denied to the party and our leader who won the historic election on 29 March 2008. The political atmosphere is biased towards the outgoing regime. Zimbabweans cannot freely express themselves in the so-called run-off when they are being battered every day and when they are being denied their basic rights and freedoms of association and assembly,' the statement added.
This is one of the reasons why party leader Morgan Tsvangirai has delayed his return to the country. Initially, he had announced he was to go back on Monday but because of security and other concerns his return trip has been shelved for the moment. It's believed Tsvangirai was supposed to have addressed these rallies. The MDC leader won the first round of the poll and analyst believe the veteran former trade unionist will defeat Mugabe by an even wider margin in the run-off.
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The MDC have asked that SADC, the African Union and the United Nations continue to keep the events in the country under the microscope. They said if observers and monitors were not quickly deployed, the humanitarian crisis would continue to escalate.
uhm! it appears like it get tough and tougher for MDC everyday but Mr. Morgan should realize that all the leaders who overcame regimes did it the hard way. I strongly believe MDC is on the way and they must not quit! Tell you what, for Mugabe its the "last kick of a horse"
Police should be ashamed of themselves for supporting ZANU-PF's dirty policies.
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