Mugabe vows opposition will never rule Zimbabwe

President Robert Mugabe vowed on June 14 that the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) would never rule Zimbabwe and that he was prepared to fight to keep them from taking power. "We shall never, never accept anything that smells of... the MDC. These pathetic puppets taking over this country? Let's see. That is not going to happen," he said in a speech at the funeral of a former army general. "We are prepared to fight for it if we lose it in the same way that our forefathers lost it [to British colonial rule]." MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai will face Mugabe in a run-off presidential election on June 27, after winning the first round in March but without the necessary majority. Tsvangirai, rights groups and Western powers accuse Mugabe of unleashing a brutal campaign, including using police to harass opponents, to win the run-off. Tsvangirai and and 11 MDC campaign colleagues were held by police for three hours on June 14 after being taken into custody at a roadblock in the morning. He has been detained several times this month. "It is clearly impossible to talk about a free and fair election in Zimbabwe," the MDC said in a statement after their leader was detained. "To suggest otherwise is to be clearly blind to the grave harassment, intimidation and violence that the people of Zimbabwe have had to endure over the past few years." The MDC claims 66 of its followers have been killed in attacks since the March polls. On June 12, police arrested the MDC secretary general. Tendai Biti, a lawyer who became the public face of the MDC during the first round of voting, was arrested as he flew in to Harare from South Africa. Police later said Biti would be charged with treason and would face "the death penalty or life in prison" if convicted. Tsvangirai's campaign convoy, which included his tour bus, was stopped at a roadblock near the central town of Kwekwe, and he was taken to a police station where he was held for two hours. It is the third time he has been detained since returning to Zimbabwe from South Africa three weeks ago. Biti, who is the party's third in command, had left Zimbabwe shortly after the Mar. 29 vote for security reasons, and traveled around Africa helping Tsvangirai seek support from other countries. Last month police authorities were quoted in the state-run press saying that Biti had broken the law by declaring that Tsvangirai had won the presidential election before official results were released. The MDC said that 10 plainclothes policemen had taken Biti from Harare airport to an undisclosed location. "We are charging him with treason and communicating statements prejudicial to the state," said a police spokesman, Wayne Bvudzijena. Tsvangirai appears determined to contest the poll whatever the obstacles. Police have blocked several of his rallies, while there have been widespread reports of brutal violence against MDC supporters in rural areas. There are also increasing indications that the military is running Mugabe's campaign, a tactic not seen in previous elections.