Tsvangirai held by police

MDC leader stopped at official road block

Harare, Zimbabwe, Wednesday June 4, 2.45 pm

Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and the candidate facing Robert Mugabe in the presidential run-off election later this month, was detained by armed police today in Lupane, Matabeleland North Province.

MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa stated:  "President Tsvangirai has been held by police on the turn-off to Tsholotsho, since 12 noon. He was on his way to Lupan on his victory tour campaign."

The MDC continue to maintain that Tsvangirai won the first presidential election by an absolute majority, and is therefore the true president of the country.

In an interrupted telephone call a short while ago, I spoke to Tsvangirai's spokesman, George Sibotshiwe, who is detained along with his leader and other activists.

Sibotshiwe told me: "They are still holding us. Nobody appears prepared to tell us why, but it seems they are simply trying to disrupt our campaign. We have not been arrested, it is simply an illegal detention. They tell us we will be allowed to leave when the officer commanding the Matabeleland North district arrives from Bulawayo, some 110 kilometres away."

Comments

[majays]

We are asured that all MDC campain rallies will be disrupted, so what's the point of participating in this forthcoming run-off as it get's to be difficult to campain!!
Better to withdraw so as to save lives.
Every-one who will ever attend any MDC rally will be targeted.
Soon after the rally the Zanu militias will make a follow-up and start brutalising each and every-one who would have attended that rally, and every-one will be scared to attend any other MDC rallies.

[Doctor]

The point in every revolution is to accept that there will be casualities and its not the right thing to give up now. Let us fight to the bitter end..and when all is done we arrest all those who were anti-peace..that means the entire Zanu PF guys who have been persecuting other people.

[majays]

I admire your bravery Doctor, but let's bare in mind what the Zanu PF contitution says each and every-one has to cast his vote in his/her consituency. Then the Zanu PF militia is busy displacing voters from their respective consituencies they are registered in.They will make sure they target each and every-one who attends an MDC rally destroy him completely and make sure in three weeks to come the individual from Tsholotsho will be homeless in the Mbare musika come 27june.

[MacPayne]

I agree with Doc. To do the right thing is not always the "path of least resistance", the easy way. The birth of change comes with difficulty, and casualties are to be expected by those who want it bad enough to make the sacrifice.

No one wants to see pain, suffering, injury, and death, but when the status quo gets so bad that those who must endure it, those who suffer the indignities, and those who desire freedom enough will pay the cost of bringing change. Mugabe has treated the Zim people so badly, he has forced them into this situation. In his greed, he has "shot himself in the foot".

The thing is, no one is forcing Zimbabweans into making the sacrifice for change. No external power is bringing misery upon them. The misery is generated internally by a tyrant who put himself into power by brutality and murder, and is using the same brutality to keep himself from facing the consequences for his theivery and butchery. It's obvious that the change he brought when colonialism was overcome wasn't for the sake of the Zim people at all, but merely his personal desire for wealth and power. If his motives had been honorable, the life of the Zim people would now be the envy of the world... instead, there is only pity and handouts.

Many of those who supported him are now seeing the truth, and among them are those who are honest enough to admit to themselves they made a mistake in following him. They turned a blind eye to his atrocities when others were suffering reprisals for not bowing to him, but now they must suffer for their own compilcity. The land he promised, the reforms he promoted, it was all a lie they wanted to believe. They desired the wealth, and thought if it were taken from those who had it, it would be their's. Their own greed blinded them and turned them into fools and beggars.

It's a sad admission to say that, except for a few instances, Africa was better under colonialism. Not at all that colonialism was good... it wasn't, and it must not return. It's just the lesser of the evils, based on what replaced it. When colonialism was displaced, there was opportunity, wonderful opportunity, bright and glorious possibilities, but it was squandered by the greed, corruption, and mismanagement of a few.

So, now Zimbabweans have another opportunity. Not to return to colonialism, but to control their own destiny. They have the opportunity to make a change for the better, to rid themselves of low-class thugs and thieves. But, to bring peace and freedom and a future, will require sacrifice... and many are proving themselves able to meet the challenge.

It's time to take a stand, and at the same time, kneel and pray.

[Michael]

I have to agree with Doc and Mac here, if the path of least resistance was the way forward, then Mugabe wouldn't be in power and colonial Rhodesia would still be flying the Green & White.

People are choosing to make these sacrifices, and with someone like Mugabe there will be losses, but that is a short term view ..... when you look at the long view, ZANU-PF have the potential to cause far more losses simply by staying in power than a full scale civil war could ever cause.

In the 1970's, the Zimbabweans called for self rule from Rhodesia .... they fought and died for it under the guidance of murderers and terrorists, and now I'm willing to bet that a lot of the ones making sacrifices to get Mugabe out are the same people ..... the ones who believed in and fought for a country they did not in the end get because of the despotic greed of a few.