Arrest of white opposition legislator amid polls
world.scmp.com
Tuesday, October 1, 2002
Arrest of white opposition legislator amid polls
REUTERS in Harare
Zimbabwe's main opposition said police had arrested a prominent white politician and beaten other opponents as President Robert Mugabe's supporters stepped up violence and intimidation at local government polls.
The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said on Sunday that Roy Bennett, an opposition legislator, and eight others were in custody.
A police spokesman said Bennett had been arrested for defying government orders to vacate his farm. He was expected to appear in court yesterday.
"Roy is in the cells with eight others. He is not hurt but the rest have been badly beaten," said Doug Vanderuit, a friend of Bennett and MDC member. An MDC official confirmed the report.
The two-day polls that ended on Sunday are seen as a test of Mr Mugabe's traditional rural power base and come amid a deepening economic and food crisis in the country.
Zimbabwe has been in turmoil since pro-government militants began invading white-owned farms in early 2000.
Bennett, a soldier in the former Rhodesia, has often been a target of Mr Mugabe's anti-white rhetoric. Just weeks ago, he was warned by the government for making a public statement urging former colonial power Britain to invade Zimbabwe to resolve the political crisis in the country.
The MDC says 700 of its candidates have been barred from registering or intimidated from running in the polls. It also said several candidates and agents had been reported missing.
Police and electoral officials said they had not received any reports of intimidation and Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF party dismissed the charges as "a pack of the usual lies".
"The truth is that the MDC is frustrated at its failure to win the support of a majority of the people of this country," a Zanu-PF spokesman said.
The allegations were also dismissed by Thomas Bvuma, a spokesman for the Electoral Supervisory Commission. He said the elections were going smoothly and the authorities had not received any complaints.
The MDC, which accuses Mr Mugabe of stealing victory in a presidential election in March, says Mr Mugabe has resorted to political violence in the council elections because he knows he would lose any free and fair poll.
Mr Mugabe says his land drive is aimed at correcting colonial injustice, which left 70 per cent of the country's best land in the hands of white farmers.
The opposition says the land policies have contributed to a severe food shortage which is affecting nearly seven million people, or half the population. The government insists the shortages are solely the result of drought.
Election results were expected from late yesterday. |
