Mugabe’s Rival Hauled Off By the Riot Police

RIOT police stormed the headquarters of the main opposition party in Zimbabwe yesterday and seized its leader in the latest violent crackdown ordered by Robert Mugabe.

Morgan Tsvangirai was dragged off with other officials of his Movement for Democratic Change after police fired teargas in a raid on its offices in Harare.

The latest attempt to silence critics of Mugabe’s 27-year rule came as the president headed for an emergency summit of African leaders to discuss Zimbabwe’s escalating economic and political crisis.

He also faces a challenge to his leadership from within his own party tomorrow.

And the country’s Roman Catholic bishops are predicting a ‘mass uprising’ unless there is dramatic reform.

But Mugabe, 83, underlined his intentions to fight on with his brutal display of force yesterday.

Tsvangirai had already been badly beaten by the dictator’s henchmen during an earlier arrest this month.

He was preparing to hold a news conference on what he calls ‘the escalating and systemic campaign of violence and intimidation’ by Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party when the meeting was stormed by armed police.

Although the opposition leader was released several hours later, police were still holding ten party officials last night, claiming they were linked to a spate of petrol bombings.

Britain led the condemnation of the raid. Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said: ‘I strongly urge Mugabe and the Zimbabwean regime to heed the calls made by so many of the international community and their African neighbours to stop the oppression of the Zimbabwean people and respect their human rights.’ Today’s Tanzania summit will be a test for the 14-member Southern African Development Community, which has been accused of failing to flex its muscles against Mugabe.

Experts fear the leaders may still hold back from publicly condemning Mugabe, even though inflation has rocketed by 1,700 per cent, unemployment stands at 80 per cent and food shortages have forced millions to flee over Zimbabwe’s borders.

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