U.S. accuses Mugabe of intimidation

 


SubHead:   President predicts victory as opposition alleges vote rigging

Author:     Nicholas Kotch and Cris Chinaka

  HARARE - On the eve of the presidential vote, Robert Mugabe, 
Zimbabwe's President, predicted he would once again storm to 
victory, as the opposition charged wholesale rigging of the vote 
and a minister said the army was on high alert.

  The opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said 40 of 
its polling agents were briefly abducted by government 
supporters in what it called the latest intimidation intended to 
steal the election.

  On the eve of voting due to start at 7 a.m. today, the United 
States charged Mr. Mugabe's government with conducting a blatant 
campaign of intimidation to win the poll.

  "The government of Zimbabwe continues its blatant campaign of 
violence, intimidation and manipulation of the electoral process 
in an effort to win the poll. ... It is clear that the 
government intends to win the election by any means," said 
Richard Boucher, a State Department spokesman.

  Morgan Tsvangirai, the opposition leader, accused Mr. Mugabe of 
using militants from his ruling Zimbabwean African National 
Unity-Patriotic Front party to try to destroy the MDC over the 
past two years and undermining the integrity and independence of 
the police.

  He said 80 MDC rallies had been stopped by ZANU-PF militias or 
the police since the presidential campaign began two months ago, 
leaving him to address 10 major meetings compared with the 50 by 
Mr. Mugabe, who has barnstormed around the country.

  Jonathan Moyo, the Information Minister, told reporters in 
Zimbabwe's second city of Bulawayo the army had been put on high 
alert for the poll. The government has denied reports of a 
possible army coup to support Mr. Mugabe if he loses.

  "How can you not have your army on high alert when [British 
Prime Minister Tony] Blair is making the kind of noise that he 
is making," Mr. Moyo said.

  He was referring to Mr. Blair's condemnation of Mr. Mugabe, who 
accuses him in turn of interfering in Britain's former colony to 
engineer an opposition victory.

  Mr. Moyo also said the many foreign journalists who have entered 
the country as tourists to avoid visa restrictions would be 
regarded as terrorists and risked the full weight of the law.

  Mr. Mugabe, whose campaigning energy belies his 78 years, oozed 
confidence at his final rally at Bindura, northeast of Harare, 
and launched a stinging attack on Mr. Blair.

  Addressing 15,000 backers, the Zimbabwean President mocked Mr. 
Tsvangirai as a puppet of London, calling Mr. Blair "an arrogant 
little fellow."

  He promised, "We will bury [the opposition's] sponsor. Mr Blair 
will have a political burial here tomorrow."

  Mr. Tsvangirai, who celebrates his 50th birthday tomorrow, 
accuses Mr. Mugabe of using violence, intimidation, special laws 
and dirty tricks to fix the two-day election, in which the 
President faces his toughest challenge since independence in 
1980.

  
At his rally, Mr. Mugabe blamed the MDC for the violence.



Copyright @ 2002 National Post Online |