By ANTARA News/DPA,
Harare/Johannesburg : Riot police in Zimbabwe raided the headquarters of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change on Monday, arresting about 60 people, all of them victims of political violence who had fled their homes, the party said.
Most of those arrested were women and children, said party spokesman Nelson Chamisa, adding that police also took computers and furniture.
The raid was the first direct assault against the MDC since its president, Morgan Tsvangirai, announced Sunday that he was withdrawing from the country`s presidential run-off elections because of violence and rigging.
Since the wave of violence began immediately after first round elections on March 29, thousands of victims have streamed to the Harvest House building in central Harare where the MDC headquarters is located.
“We were in the process of moving them out,” said MDC welfare official Kerry Kay. “A few weeks ago we had nearly 2,000 there, but it was absolute chaos, with ablutions and feeding, so we decided they had to go.
“We gave them bus fare and food and asked them either to go back home or to stay with relatives or friends.”
The party headquarters has been a regular target for police and militias of President Mugabe`s ZANU(PF) party over the last five years. Senior MDC officials have kept away increasingly because of the likelihood of arrest and disruption.
According to the Dutch newswire ANP, Morgan Tsvangirai himself spent the night in the refuge of the Dutch embassy in Harare.
The MDC had asked the embassy on Sunday if Tsvangirai would be welcome, Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen confirmed to ANP. The opposition leader then arrived at the premises on Sunday and spent the night there.
“He has temporarily sought refuge with us to ensure his personal safety,” Verhagen said. “He is still deliberating what steps to take next.”
Meanwhile, residents in the eastern town of Rusape said hundreds of ZANU(PF) militiamen Monday were forcing people out of their homes and beating them, to drive them to a rally due to be addressed by Mugabe. “Everyone had to go. The whole town was just about empty,” said one who asked not to be named.
Despite the withdrawal of the leading candidate Tsvangirai, Zimbabwe state radio said Monday that run-off presidential election will go ahead on Friday.
It quoted George Chiweshe, chairman of the state-run Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, as saying that the organization was “going ahead with preparations for the election … as Tsvangirai has not made any of the required notification” of his withdrawal.
“We have just heard about the withdrawal from the press,” Chiweshe was quoted further by the state-controlled Herald newspaper as saying. “We expect (the MDC) to write to the commission as the authority responsible for elections in the country. Maybe that letter will come and we will cross the bridge when we get there.”
Tsvangirai announced Sunday he was pulling out of “this violent, illegitimate sham of an election” because of the campaign of violent intimidation of the opposition MDC, the “decimation” of its structures, the “elaborate plan of rigging” by Mugabe`s administration and Mugabe`s repeatedly stated avowal that he would disregard an electoral victory for the MDC leader and would “go to war” if Mugabe lost.
“The conditions as of today do not allow the holding of a credible election,” he said. “We cannot ask (MDC supporters) to vote for us on June 27 when it may cost them their lives.”
The spokesman for ZANU(PF) was quoted by the Sapa news agency as accusing Tsvangirai of using political violence as an excuse to withdraw.
“Tsvangirai went into the election thinking that it was a sprint and was not prepared for a marathon and wants to avoid defeat. He spent his time globe-trotting and gallivanting in Europe and left MDC-T (sic) supporters without leadership,” Chinamasa was quoted as saying.
Chinamasa further placed most of the violence at the door of the opposition.
Independently compiled medical records show that 85 people have been murdered and at least 3,000 have had to be treated in hospital for injuries caused by assaults since the violence began two days after the first round of voting on March 29, while Tsvangirai says 200,000 people have been forced to flee their homes.
The announcement of the withdrawal came after a planned major rally for Tsvangirai was prevented when thousands of ZANU(PF) youth militia armed with sticks occupied the rally site.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Monday further derided the Mugabe regime, calling it a “criminal and discredited cabal” that should “not be recognized by anybody.”
Brown told parliament that he had spoken Monday to Tsvangirai, and said Britain would push for more sanctions against the “increasingly desperate and criminal regime” in Zimbabwe.
Meanwhile, Mukoni Ratshitanga, spokesman for South African President Thabo Mbeki, said Tsvangirai had not completely rejected a negotiated settlement in Zimbabwe.
“We`ve also noted that Mr Tsvangirai himself says he is not closing the door completely on the negotiations and we are very, very encouraged by that statement,” Ratshitanga was quoted by Sapa as saying.
“We will continued to work together to find a solution to the political challenges in Zimbabwe,” he added.
South Africa`s Mbeki met with both Mugabe and Tsvangirai last week to push for a cancellation of runoff elections and create a government of national unity.