Explosive situation developing, warns Amnesty

Rights group Amnesty International believes that an "explosive situation" is developing in Zimbabwe, where President Robert Mugabe has warned that the opposition would be "consumed by fire" following last week's worker stay-aways. News reports on Monday quoted police saying that they had arrested around 400 opposition members since the start of a two-day opposition-led strike, which ended on Wednesday 19 March. Police said most of those arrested were charged with malicious damage to property and were still in custody. The charges related to incidents such as the torching of a bus during the stay-away. However, Amnesty International said the mass arrests signalled a "new and dangerous phase of repression" in Zimbabwe. "Amnesty International is deeply concerned by the increasing scale of arbitrary detentions and for the safety of several hundred people including officials and supporters of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) taken into custody in Zimbabwe since 18 March 2003. "Although some of those arrested have been released, many remain in detention, whilst the whereabouts of others remain unknown. At least one person, Steven Tonera, a farm worker in Manicaland province has been killed, allegedly as a result of being beaten by state agents," the rights group said. Mugabe had warned the MDC on Friday that "those who play with fire will not only be burnt but consumed by fire", the official Herald newspaper reported. He was speaking at the funeral of late minister Swithun Mombeshora at the National Heroes Acre in Harare. "Our law enforcement agents must react promptly and with vigour as they provide appropriate responses to dangerous mischief-makers," Mugabe added. Amnesty said the latest "wave of violence" was a reaction to the MDC organised stay-aways on 18 and 19 March and was an attempt by the government and its supporters to intimidate supporters of the MDC and other government critics prior to two by-elections due on 29 and 30 March. The rights group listed several incidents of alleged torture and violence by state officials. In one such incident on 18 March, "a group of soldiers and state agents beat and tortured three workers on the farm of Roy Bennet, MDC MP for Chimanimani. The three men were forced to lie on their stomachs on the ground and were beaten with batons, sjamboks (whips) and pieces of wire". "Their fingers and toes were also broken. As a result of the beatings and torture, one of the workers, Steve Tonera, died. The three men were accused of being MDC supporters and of burning a bus. On 20 March, a convoy of three trucks carrying up to 60 soldiers of the Zimbabwe National Army came back to the farm and severely assaulted up to 70 people," Amnesty alleged. The rights group added that the "alarming escalation" in political violence was a clear indication that the Zimbabwe authorities were "determined to suppress dissent by whatever means necessary, regardless of the terrible consequences". "We look upon the next 10 days with fear: the expectation is of further violent reaction to organised protests by the MDC and civil society," the organisation warned. Meanwhile, Mugabe blamed the West for supporting the opposition strike, naming countries such as Britain, America, Holland and Germany. "The money used to organise the pretended stay-away, pay our youths to self-destruct and turn them into purveyors of violence, came from the so-called democracies of the West," the Herald quoted him as saying. Mugabe also dismissed an ultimatum issued by the MDC last week, which called for the release of political prisoners and restoration of civil liberties.