Military

DATE=01/31/02

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

NUMBER=2-285896

TITLE=ZIMBABWE / OPPOSITION (L ONLY)

BYLINE=MARTIN RUSHMERE

DATELINE=HARARE

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: Zimbabwe's main opposition candidate for president, Morgan Tsvangirai, says (Thursday) current political conditions in the country prevent any prospect of a free and fair presidential election, as both Mr. Tsvangirai and Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe officially registered today to run in the March election, Martin Rushmere reports from Harare that the Movement for Democratic Change leader says the country is what he calls "fast sliding into anarchy and chaos."

TEXT: At a news conference Thursday, after officially declaring his nomination for the presidential polls on March 9 and 10, Mr. Tsvangirai called for an end to the violence and said the country needs a process of national healing.

/// TSVANGIRAI ACT ///

It is sad that the future of the country appears to be sacrificed on the altar of short-term political expediency through a sustained campaign of violence and terror. For our part we reiterate our call for non-violence.

/// END ACT ///

The M-D-C leader says Zimbabwe's 13 million people are what he calls "yearning for a return to peace."

/// 2nd TSVANGIRAI ACT ///

They want the looming food shortages, which have seen three million people registering for food aid and nearly 600 thousand people living on the brink of starvation, addressed.

/// END ACT ///

The government had no immediate response to Mr. Tsvangirai's charges or his announcement for the presidency, but earlier on Thursday, Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa accused Britain, the United States and the European Union of trying to overthrow the government and return the country to colonialism.

Mr. Chinamasa also said the M-D-C, and not the government, was responsible for the violence that has claimed more than 50 lives in the past year and led to thousands of people being tortured and beaten up. (Signed)

NEB/MR/KL/MEM