MDC: Zim Government Instigated Public Violence

by jordan | March 26, 2007 at 12:40 pm

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Zimbabwe's Movement for Democratic Change claims that Robert Mugabe's government has instigated the violence with which the MDC is blamed. Currently Mugabe runs Zim with an iron fist, but cracks are beginning to appear in his armor.

Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) on Monday accused the government of sponsoring recent acts of violence, including petrol-bombing incidents, to justify a major crackdown on the resurgent party.

The police have accused the MDC of leading a "militia-style" campaign of violence to topple President Robert Mugabe from power, charges the opposition party rejects.

"There is no reason why the MDC should target innocent civilians because we have chosen a non-violent struggle," said Nelson Chamisa, spokesperson of the Morgan Tsvangirai-led MDC.

"It is the government that is trying to provoke the people into anarchy. They are at the centre of this terrorism; it is state-sponsored terrorism," added Chamisa.

Tensions are running high in the Southern African state, fuelled by an acute economic crisis that critics blame on mismanagement by Mugabe and that has seen poverty levels rising and inflation soaring to world-record levels.