Military

DATE=3/18/2003

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=ZIMBABWE / STRIKE (L-UPD)

NUMBER=2-300859

BYLINE=PETA THORNYCROFT

DATELINE=HARARE

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

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INTRO: Zimbabweans have gone on strike in massive numbers, and many businesses have closed to join the protest, following a call by the opposition Movement for Democratic Change. A police spokesman says more than 50 opposition activists were arrested and three policemen were injured in various incidents in and around Harare. Peta Thornycroft reports from Harare.

TEXT: There was some violence in outlying suburbs. The police accuse opposition youths of setting fire to three state-owned buses, and of erecting barricades to stop commuter traffic.

The industrial sites around Harare appeared 100-percent shut down, and about 75-percent of commercial outlets in the city had closed their doors.

In the second city, Bulawayo, businessmen say about 85-percent of industry shut down, as did most of the city center.

The strike occurs as Zimbabwe experiences massive and growing unemployment and hunger. The World Food Program says seven-million people are in need of food aid. That is more than half the population.

The opposition is also protesting the government's repression and alleged corruption.

The strike was called, and has been largely successful, even though in Zimbabwe it is illegal for workers to go on strike, or to encourage them to do so. It is also illegal for businesses to close for political reasons.

Political analyst and spokesman for the Zimbabwe Crisis group, Andrew Nongogo, says the strike showed that when the opposition calls for a strike, as opposed to civic groups, or even the trade union movement, the people respond.

He said the Movement for Democratic Change showed it has enormous reach and power, and that the strike was organized under difficult and unusual circumstances. Mr. Nongogo said the Zimbabwe people demonstrated they are prepared to respond to the opposition's leadership.

He said the next test will come when the two-day strike ends. He said the opposition would have to show it has a follow-up program of resistance.

The strike is the first protest in what the M-D-C says will be ongoing mass action. It is also the first time the party has called people out since its leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, lost the disputed presidential election a year ago. (SIGNED)

NEB/PT/AWP/RAE/FC