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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs |
ZIMBABWE: Focus on the MDC's "final push"
JOHANNESBURG, 5 June 2003 (IRIN) - The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has called Friday "D-Day" of the "final push" in their mass action campaign against President Robert Mugabe's government.
However, at least one opposition lobbyist is openly saying that the MDC may have been naive in its strategy.
A heavy police and army presence on the streets was a major reason there were no serious protest marches through Zimbabwean cities this week, said National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) leader Lovemore Madhuku. The NCA is a coalition of civil society organisations fighting for a new constitution for Zimbabwe.
Prior to this week's mass action the MDC had placed adverts in newspapers appealing to the security forces not to suppress protests and demonstrations.
Madhuku said while the NCA had supported the week-long mass action, it did so "not in the context of the 'final push' to remove Mugabe - we supported the concept of mass action so people must get out and reclaim their rights".
"We knew removing Mugabe would not be achieved. We are fighting for democratic rights, for a society in which you can get food. Once you make Mugabe the target, knowing that Mugabe controls the security forces, then you are asking for a clear confrontation between the people and the army. And the people are not yet ready to confront the army with their bare hands."
As for adverts placed in the press on Thursday, calling on people to "rise up in your millions to demonstrate publicly your utmost disapproval of this violent dictatorship" and proclaiming "Friday 6 June 2003 is D-Day", Madhuku said "it's not right to portray tomorrow [Friday] as D-Day, just as it was not right to portray these past few days as the final push".
"We should not trick the public about what is possible, we should make it clear to them that it will be a very long and painful struggle. But eventually we will reach our destination, which is to create a free and open democracy. Our destination is not to have [MDC leader Morgan] Tsvangirai as president, our destination is a just society, and we have to be patient with that," Madhuku added.
FINAL PUSH NOT ABOUT MUGABE'S REMOVAL
However, MDC secretary-general Welshman Ncube denied that the aim of the "final push" was to oust Mugabe.
"Mugabe's removal was not the objective. The whole purpose of all this action is to force ZANU-PF to come and negotiate the issue of [Mugabe's] legitimacy unconditionally, so that [we can resume] dialogue and a way forward can be found," he said.
Mugabe had earlier said he would be willing to talk to the MDC, but only if his legitimacy as president was recognised. The MDC believes Mugabe's presidential poll victory last year was rigged and refuses to accept his election.
Ncube said the MDC would go ahead with Friday's action. "People will come in their thousands and we know they will be beaten and will run for their lives - no doubt the violence of the police will be unleashed on the people. But what happens [on Friday] is not the question, the question is what will ZANU-PF and the rest of the world do after that action?"
The MDC would give "[South African President Thabo] Mbeki and company time to go back to Mugabe, and if he's still unwilling to negotiate unconditionally there will be further action", said Ncube.
"In terms of our strategic targets this [week] has been very, very successful. Everything happened as per expectation ... we expected demonstrations would be broken up. Our primary objective is for a total shutdown [on Friday]. Today (Thursday) and yesterday there were a few shops open because police were forcing them to open, but if they (the police) are busy with demonstrations [on Friday] they will not be able to force people to open [their businesses]," Ncube concluded.
Police had earlier warned that the MDC's protest campaign was illegal under the terms of the Public Order and Security Act, and they would respond to people breaking the law.
ROLE OF SECURITY FORCES CRITICAL
Madhuku offered a downbeat assessment of the call for mass protests on Friday.
"The factors that made it impossible for people to come out in their millions on Monday will be even stronger on Friday. The security presence on the ground was one of the main reasons people did not come out, the other was [the lack of] mobilisation of people," Madhuku said.
He stressed that "any sensible politician must have seen that the security forces are still very loyal to Mugabe".
"Before Monday there was a false assumption that there is support for the democratic movement in the security forces. Yet there has been retribution in the past two days, with security forces beating up people, arresting people ... the various methods they (the security forces) have themselves decided to use shows they are quite determined to support the Mugabe regime," Madhuku explained.
On Tuesday the police confirmed to IRIN that over 200 people had been arrested, while the MDC said the figure was much higher.
Zimbabwe's Lawyers for Human Rights on Thursday called on the police to comply with the legal requirements of having a reasonable suspicion that an offence had been committed before arresting anyone. They also reminded police that torture was an international crime.
"Even though the police may be seeing themselves as going through a challenging period in the history of their profession, they must remain professional, objective and impartial in the discharge of their responsibilities. Anything less is not acceptable," the lawyers said in a statement.
Mugabe, meanwhile, told the South African Broadcasting Corporation television news that the use of force against protestors was regrettable but necessary.
"We regret using tear gas against Zimbabwe's youth, but it is necessary in order to maintain peace and stability in our country."
Themes: (IRIN) Governance, (IRIN) Other
[ENDS]
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