Arms cache discovered, opposition members arrested

Zimbabwean authorities have warned that more arrests will follow as it unravels an alleged plot by opposition members to overthrow the government following the discovery of an arms cache in the east of the country. Minister of Security Didymus Mutasa confirmed on Tuesday that security forces had arrested Peter Hitschmann, a former member of the pre-independence Rhodesian army, after police found weapons and communication equipment at his home last week in Mutare, 260 km east of the capital, Harare. Five people, including three officials of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), have been arrested this week for alleged links to Hitschmann, according to Arnold Tsunga, director of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights. They include MDC member of parliament Giles Mutseyekwa, and Brian James, the party's Manicaland province treasurer. Another senior MDC member, Roy Bennett, had been questioned by the authorities, said party spokesman Nelson Chamisa. "None of the MDC members have been allowed access to their lawyers," said Tsunga. Mutasa told IRIN, "More people - more members of the opposition - will be called in [for questioning]. There are many people involved." He added that the authorities had acted upon information gathered by its intelligence services. According to the official Herald newspaper, among the arms recovered was an AK-47 assault rifle, four FN rifles, seven Uzi sub-machine guns, four .303 rifles with telescopic sights, 11 shotguns, eight pistols, four revolvers and communication equipment. Thousands of rounds of ammunition were reportedly also recovered by the police. John Makumbe, a senior political science lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe, described the alleged plot as a "work of fiction" and an attempt to discredit the opposition. "It is also an attempt to divert attention from the country's problems," he commented, adding that it was not unusual to unearth arms caches dating back to Rhodesian days. The Zimbabwean authorities have however, linked Hitschmann to the Zimbabwean Freedom Movement (ZFM), which announced its presence in 2003 in a video recording showing two uniformed balaclava-wearing men seated before the country's flag. A statement, released in London by the previously unknown group, declared the ZFM's intention was to launch an armed struggle to oust the ruling ZANU-PF, but the movement was dismissed as a hoax by most analysts in Zimbabwe. The organisation has been quiet since the statement, released by Peter Tatchell, a gay rights activist who has twice attempted to place President Robert Mugabe under citizen's arrest. However, Mutasa claimed that the ZFM was affiliated to the MDC. "They are all one and part of the same thing". The authorities reportedly believe that Tatchell is a ZFM member who contacted Hitschmann and senior MDC officials to set up offices in Manicaland and open a bank account in Mozambique to finance operations to overthrow the government. But the MDC has distanced itself from "any violent attempts to overthrow the government" and stated that it was "not a guerilla movement". "We don't even know what the ZFM is; we don't even know who Hitschmann is. We can never support any armed struggle," said Chamisa.