Mugabe Says “Violence Will Not Be Tolerated in Zimbabwe”

Excerpt from report by Zimbabwean TV on 30 March

President Robert Mugabe has hailed the SADC [Southern African Development Community] for understanding the situation currently prevailing in the country, which has been brought about by the violent tendencies of the opposition, MDC [Movement for Democratic Change].

Addressing thousands of ZANU-PF supporters at the party headquarters in Harare, President Mugabe castigated the opposition MDC for turning against the people, subjecting to petrol bombing and other forms of violence. That report is from political correspondent, Douglas Ronomundha [phonetic]

Addressing thousands of ZANU-PF supporters at the ZANU-PF Hqs in Harare, President Robert Mugabe said violence will not be tolerated in Zimbabwe and warned the MDC to refrain from maiming people or face the consequences.

President Mugabe, who returned following a successful visit to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, where he explained Zimbabwe’s position to regional leaders, told the supporters that it was not difficult for SADC leaders to accept the government position after he explained what had transpired. [Passage omitted: Mugabe in Shona].

[Ronomundha] Conflicting events which led to the beating of Mr Morgan Tsvangirai and his supporters after their attempt to hold an illegal rally, President Mugabe said the MDC leader asked for it after he challenged the police at the station in Highfield. [Passage omitted: Mugabe in Shona].

[Ronumundha] In Tanzania, the president explained that MDC are stooges being used to fight a bilateral issue centred around the land question and SADC leaders understood this. Comrade Mugabe said South African President Thabo Mbeki concurred with him and said what is happening in Zimbabwe is a form of neocolonialism and if allowed to happen here will spread to other parts of the region and the continent. In the end, said President Mugabe, the regional leaders accepted Zimbabwe’s position and resolved to give Zimbabwe full support during this hard time and to help the country stave off the effects of sanctions on the country. [Passage omitted: Mugabe in Shona].

[Ronomundha] Harare Province, through its chairman, Comrade Amos Midzi [phonetic] reaffirmed its support for comrade Mugabe, while the secretary for the commissariat, Comrade Eliot Manhica [phonetic], delivered a message in which the youth and women’s leagues pledged to back Comrade Mugabe as the presidential candidate for ZANU-PF in the next elections.

(c) 2007 BBC Monitoring Africa. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.