UK NEWS

TSVANGIRAI PULLS OUT OF ZIMBABWE ELECTION AMID VIOLENCE

Morgan Tsvangirai has pulled out of the Zimbabwe election

Sunday June 22,2008

By Nikki Barr for express.co.uk

Comment Speech Bubble Have your say(11)

Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai is pulling out of this week’s presidential runoff election against President Robert Mugabe because of mounting violence and intimidation against his party.

Tsvangirai, head of the Movement for Democratic Change, announced his decision at a news conference in Zimbabwe’s capital after thousands of ruling party militants blockaded the site of the opposition party’s main campaign rally.

The party said that police in full riot gear and soldiers have taken over the site of the rally.

"Conditions as of today do not permit the holding of a credible poll," Tsvangirai said.

"Given the totality of these circumstances, we believe a credible election is impossible. We can’t ask the people to cast their vote on June 27 when that vote will cost their lives. We will no longer participate in this violent sham of an election."

President Robert Mugabe

He said: "On June 27, Mugabe has declared war, and we will not be part of that war. Our victory is certain, but it can only be delayed," the opposition leader said.

He said it is the responsibility of the United Nations to make sure the people of Zimbabwe are protected from the violence now under way in the country.

By Wednesday, Tsvangirai said, he will put forward new proposals on how take the country forward. He did not provide any details about what the proposals would include.

Campaigning for the March 29 vote was generally peaceful, but the runoff was overshadowed by violence and intimidation, especially in rural areas.

Independent human rights groups say 85 people have died and tens of thousands have been displaced from their homes, most of them opposition supporters.

Tsvangirai won the first round election but not by an absolute majority.

Mugabe has shrugged off mounting international condemnation, even from normally friendly African countries.

Advertisements for Sunday’s opposition rally spoke of "celebrating our victory."

They said: "No one can take it away. Now is the time to celebrate a new Zimbabwe."

Tsvangirai’s attempts to tour the country have been stymied by police at road blocks, and the state-controlled media have banned opposition advertisements, claiming they "contain inappropriate language and information."

The media cited one ad which claimed that Tsvangirai won the election, "which is not the case, hence the run-off."

Tendai Biti, the opposition party’s No. 2, was arrested within minutes of his return from South Africa last week and is being held on treason charges.

"It is evident that the Mugabe regime has disregarded regional and continental opinion that has been calling for an end to disruption of MDC election campaign programs, state sanctioned brutality, violence and harassment of the people of Zimbabwe," the opposition said in a statement.

"The observers on the ground surely ought to be seeing this systematic state harassment of the MDC. The regime does not even want to pretend that the election will be free and fair," it said.

Zimbabwe has barred Western observers and most journalists, but the Southern African bloc hopes to send in about 400 monitors, and there are also some from the Pan-African Parliament.

At a rally in the western city of Bulawayo on Friday, Mugabe said that the opposition was lying about the violence and said everywhere he visited was peaceful.

His powerful police chief pinned the blame firmly on the opposition and said that police would clamp down.

Some analysts say a small inner circle of security chiefs has orchestrated the current violence as it is desperate to prevent an opposition victory and wants to keep Mugabe in power to retain its privileges and protect it from possible prosecution.

INVADE ZIMBABWE? SEEMS WE ALL HAVEN'T HAD ENOUGH OF IRAQ

22.06.08, 10:16pm

I am mindful of what John F. Kennedy said about situations like this. He said where it regards a political situation, the wrong man in power, military action is NOT the solution.

Too bad George W. Bush and Tony Blair did not study some of John Kennedy's sage remariks.

Personally, I fail to see how any situation such as the horror in Zimbabwe can be changed by the "international community" when that community has a double standard and in many instances like this back the dictator.

That is true of Mugabwe's buddy Ngueme Obiang of Equatorial Africa, an even more murderous dictator. Recently, Condoleeza Rice threw her arms around his shoulds and declared, "This is a good friend of the United States."Sure! Because oil, lots of it, was recently discovered in this tiny nation. Now it is awash with oil and money - and freinds, from the US to China.

I wonder if many in the international community simply sit back and watch in the hope that these monsters will destroy each other and then they can move in and take control of the oil.

No matter the reason, like Darfur, it is the poor citizens who suffer from unimaginable atrocities. Chad is another similar story.

So invasion? For what? To do what? Grab the oil when the two main protagonists have destroyed each other.

The world should bow its collective head in shame.

• Posted by: Pendragon • Report Comment

ZIMBABWE

22.06.08, 9:17pm

i think its time for ,regime change ,and robert mugabe should be arrested for the murder of innocent zimbabwe citizens.a show of international force should do the trick ,alternatively the leaders of the world can sit on there hands and watch ,why they die ,actions speak louder than words .

• Posted by: crazyhorse • Report Comment

ZIMBABWE

22.06.08, 8:01pm

Anyone who thinks we should keep our noses out of the happenings in Zimbabwe are surely just part of the "not my problem chum" brigade! If you saw a man beating the hell out of his wife, would you just say "sorry, it's not my problem, it's just a domestic!"? This is what's happening in Zimbabwe but on a massive scale! We, the decent people of the world shouldn't just stand back and watch the people of Zimbabwe suffering in such a manner saying "sorry, it's political, not my problem chum!"!!!! If the people of that country are not strong enough to rise up against such tyranny, we should step in and help!!!!

• Posted by: duncan38 • Report Comment

SHAME ON THE CHATTERING CLASSES

22.06.08, 5:45pm

I notice that all the left-wingers and liberals of the Chattering Classes, who worked so hard to drive Ian Smith from power, are now very quiet.
It would be nice to hear just one of them say that they are sorry for all the deaths they helped to cause.

• Posted by: peterwest • Report Comment

PETER-PAN (THE HUMBLE PEASANT)

22.06.08, 5:14pm

For you to call anybody 'xenophobic', even Mugabe, is just a bit rich.
Only a few posts back you were talking of the 'Damned Europeans'.

Not content with that; you now want the UK to invade Zimbabwe!
And after the invasion?

Peter-Pan for PRESIDENT?

• Posted by: emigrant • Report Comment

SHAMEFUL..

22.06.08, 4:33pm

How utterly shameful that the international community has allowed this to happen... the UK, US and UN have done sweet FA to help these people. By doing nothing, we have condoned this situation, and abandoned a people that need help. A real pity that there are no large oil reserves in this part of Africa...... oh what a different story this would have been!

• Posted by: Jenx • Report Comment