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Opposition leader cites harassment

General Metsing Lekhanya, leader of the opposition Basotho National Party (BNP), has sought a High Court order to stop alleged harassment by the security forces, news reports said on Wednesday. In an affidavit to the court on Tuesday, Lekhanya sought the withdrawal of members of the security forces from his residence on the outskirts of the capital Maseru. He also asked that police stop tailing him. He claimed the surveillance began after his weekend call for a five-day general strike in the tiny African mountain kingdom in protest at what he said was government’s intransigence regarding preparations for the 2001 general elections. The strike call went unheeded. Government spokesman Tom Thabane said in a radio interview on Wednesday morning: “We are not aware that the leader of the Basotho National Party is being harassed by the security forces.”

This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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