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Strike Over Vote Falters in Zimbabwe
By Angus Shaw
The Associated Press
Tuesday 15 April 2008
Harare, Zimbabwe - A nationwide strike called by Zimbabwe's opposition to protest
the withholding of election results appeared to falter Tuesday as police and
soldiers fanned out across the country.
Many in the capital said they were not aware of the protest.
Zimbabwe is still waiting for the presidential results 17 days after a vote
that longtime ruler Robert Mugabe apparently lost. The opposition Movement for
Democratic Change, whose previous efforts to force the release of results have
failed, called on Zimbabweans to stay home Tuesday in a low-key show of solidarity.
"Every Zimbabwean should stay at home until (the electoral commission)
announces the results for the presidential poll," opposition spokesman
Nqobizitha Mlilo said in a statement.
Police and soldiers spread out across Harare in the early morning, with the
government saying they were sent to prevent violence and looting. But there
had been little publicity of the strike before Tuesday, and traffic moved through
the capital as usual. Banks and stores were open and many of those downtown
said they hadn't known a strike was called.
The state's control of the media meant "it was difficult for MDC to fully
inform everyone," one man in Harare told AP Television News, without giving
his name. Many Zimbabweans fear speaking out against the government to reporters.
Still, commuters reported fewer privately run minibuses on the road, suggesting
that some transport workers were staying away. A number of downtown restaurants
said they were missing staff.
Past strike calls have been met with resistance by impoverished workers, who
cannot afford to lose even one day's wages in a country with surging inflation
and 80 percent unemployment.
Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai says he won the March 29 election outright
and has accused Mugabe of holding back the results to try to maintain his 28-year
grip in power. Independent tallies show Tsvangirai won, but did not receive
enough votes to prevent a runoff.
On Monday, the country's High Court rejected their appeal for the immediate
release of the presidential results.
Residents in Harare's Glen Norah neighborhood said police dispersed crowds
of commuters waiting for buses. Police also manned checkpoints surrounding the
capital.
Since the vote, ruling party militants have waged a campaign of violence against
opposition supporters before a possible second round of voting, the opposition
and human rights groups said.
Government-controlled radio stations are playing songs that encourage violence
against perceived political opponents, a media watchdog group said.
"Give me my spear so that I can kill the many sellouts in my forefathers'
country," urges one song quoted by the Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights said Monday it had documented at least 130
attacks on opposition or independent poll monitors. Two people have been killed
and 29 hospitalized with serious injuries, director Irene Petras said.
In South Africa, the ruling African National Congress broke ranks Tuesday with
President Thabo Mbeki's policy of quiet diplomacy toward Zimbabwe and criticized
the delay in announcing election results.
In a snub to Mbeki, the ANC said it would "make contact directly"
with Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu-PF and opposition Movement for Democratic Change
"with a view to having dialogue on the situation in Zimbabwe."
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