Zimbabwe opposition leader seeks refuge at Dutch Embassy
Despite Morgan Tsvangirai's withdrawal from the presidential runoff, Robert Mugabe's supporters continue their violent crackdown.
HARARE, ZIMBABWE — Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai sought refuge in the Dutch Embassy here just hours after he pulled out of the presidential runoff election scheduled for Friday, citing rising violence by supporters of longtime President Robert Mugabe.
Despite the opposition's withdrawal, the Zimbabwe ruling party's crackdown continued unabated Monday, with 60 opposition activists arrested by riot police in a lunchtime raid at the opposition headquarters. Curfews and door-to-door searches also continued in suburbs of Harare, the capital.
Many of those arrested at the Movement for Democratic Change headquarters had been injured in recent outbreaks of political violence and were sleeping at the office for their safety. More than 80 activists with the opposition Movement for Democratic Change were admitted to clinics in Harare on Sunday, severely beaten by ruling ZANU-PF party operatives when they tried to attend a rally.
In New York, the United Nations Security Council voted unanimously to condemn the violence and intimidation by Zimbabwe's government and said that "a free and fair election" is impossible at this point.
Nevertheless, Zimbabwe's U.N. ambassador, Boniface Chidyausiku, said after the session that the runoff would proceed as planned and that the Security Council had no business meddling in his country's elections.
In Harare, there was no official comment from the MDC on Tsvangirai's decision Sunday evening to seek refuge at the Dutch Embassy. The move took some senior MDC officials by surprise.
Nor were there any details about the security threat that led Tsvangirai to seek refuge, but MDC officials said the ruling party's anger over the opposition leader's withdrawal from the vote had heightened concern about his security.
Dutch officials told the Associated Press that Tsvangirai had sought temporary political refuge, not political asylum.
Leaders across the world expressed concern Monday over the violence that led Tsvangirai to pull out of the election, and ruling party officials held crisis meetings to decide how to handle the surprise move.
At the U.N., Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon took an unusually strong stand, saying, "The situation in Zimbabwe represents the single greatest challenge to regional stability in southern Africa today."
