Zimbabwe

Opposition supporters say they have been beaten by agents of the Zimbabwean military in recent weeks and that some activists have been abducted and taken to paramilitary bush camps for interrogation. A leader of the Movement for Democratic Change said Sunday that 10 activists had been killed since the national elections March 29, and that scores had disappeared.

It's a rare moment when three African nations, in an effort to forestall violence, block a shipment of weapons to a neighboring country in political turmoil. It's perhaps even a historic development when those weapons were sold by a great power and were bound for a government that is not under United Nations sanctions and has every legal right to buy arms -- though no moral right to do so. So let us praise the courageous peoples of South Africa, Mozambique and Zambia for refusing to allow the Chinese freighter An Yue Jiang to unload its deadly cargo: 77 tons of rockets, mortars and ammunition, manufactured by a Chinese state-owned enterprise, purchased by the government of Zimbabwe and virtually certain to be used by President Robert Mugabe to repress his opposition following an election that he may have lost.

Zimbabwe's security crackdown intensified Friday as riot police raided the opposition movement's headquarters in the capital city of Harare, arresting hundreds of people, including many rural activists and their families who had fled recent violence in their home districts. Opposition officials said more than 200 armed riot police raided the building and arrested about 300 people. Police said they had a warrant to search for "suspicious individuals."

Re "Ship of shame," editorial, April 24 Your editorial is a masterpiece of inspiration and encouragement. Obviously the Chinese government has yet to learn key virtues from its ancestors -- wisdom and benevolence. As Confucius said of rulers: "Moral disciplines do not simply stand alone. He who keeps them will have neighbors." The courageous acts by South Africa, Mozambique and Zambia to stop the entry of Chinese weapons into Zimbabwe is proof that collaboration between stakeholders can prevent potential regional conflicts and crises.

The two factions of Zimbabwe's divided opposition Movement for Democratic Change have reached a deal to cooperate in parliament and claimed Monday that some ruling party lawmakers had defected, steps that give them a solid parliamentary majority. The MDC factions together control 109 seats in the 210-member parliament following March 29 elections. An independent lawmaker, Jonathon Moyo, said Monday that he also might side with the opposition in the new parliament.

Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai announced Saturday that he had decided to take part in a runoff election against President Robert Mugabe, saying he believes the vote "could finally knock out a dictator for good." Tsvangirai had previously ruled out participating in a runoff, saying he had won outright in the disputed March 29 election. But in announcing his decision to return to Zimbabwe, he said that despite risks faced by opposition activists, it would be a betrayal of Zimbabweans not to participate in the second round.

Seven weeks after its presidential election, Zimbabwe finally set a runoff date, saying longtime President Robert Mugabe and rival Morgan Tsvangirai will face off June 27. The opposition fears that the vote will be skewed by fraud. Opposition supporters have been beaten, killed and driven from their homes in what observers say is a campaign to secure Mugabe's grip on power. Tsvangirai says that he won the original vote outright but that he will participate in the runoff. Official results said he fell short of a majority.

To Zimbabwe's government, James McGee is the undiplomatic diplomat. McGee, the U.S. ambassador to Zimbabwe for the last six months, has eschewed the tactful, almost invisible role that envoys often take. With foreign journalists largely blocked from covering events in the African nation, McGee and other Western diplomats have adopted an outspoken posture, exposing political violence and ratcheting up international pressure on the regime.

Zimbabwe hangs in a dangerous political limbo: A ruling party clique clings to power amid rumors of a coup if President Robert Mugabe loses the upcoming presidential runoff. His opponent, Morgan Tsvangirai, far from facing down military hard-liners, has been out of the country for weeks, fearing assassination.

Opposition leader and presidential candidate Morgan Tsvangirai returned to his homeland Saturday, stopping first to visit hospitalized supporters who had been targeted in an onslaught of state-sponsored violence. He then called on autocratic President Robert Mugabe to "set his people free from poverty, hunger and fear" by stepping down. Tsvangirai, who had been out of Zimbabwe for six weeks after national elections, planned to return a week ago but decided against it after his party, the Movement for Democratic Change, said he was the target of a military assassination plot.