Mugabe heckled in Zimbabwean Parliament

President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe opened Parliament in the capital, Harare, on Tuesday to rambunctious heckling from opposition members of Parliament just hours after the police arrested three more of them, bringing the total in custody to five.

Mugabe, who has ruled the country during 28 increasingly repressive years, declared that he had "every expectation" of striking a power-sharing deal with the opposition, but by locking up a growing roster of political rivals his government was further embittering its rivals and complicating the prospects for negotiations.

The police had sought to arrest eight members of Parliament before they were able to vote on Monday for the powerful speaker of the lower house of Parliament, opposition officials said, but backed off when legislators summoned reporters, wanting to avoid a public scene. The opposition's candidate was victorious on Monday by a margin of 12 votes. For the first time since the country's independence in 1980, it gained majority control of Parliament.

But between 1 and 3 a.m., the legislators on the police's wanted list heard knocks on the doors of their hotel rooms. Their lawyer, Alec Muchadehama, who said he feared for their lives, counseled them not to let anyone in until he could get there. More than 100 opposition supporters have been killed since the disputed March elections, according to human rights groups.

The government said in the state newspaper Tuesday that the legislators were being sought on charges ranging from rape to kidnapping to incitement of political violence, but the opposition charged that their real motive is to try to regain control of Parliament. The governing party, ZANU-PF, has 99 seats, to 100 for the main opposition party, with 10 more held by a opposition faction.

The Movement for Democratic Change, which challenges Mugabe's right to rule after a violence-prone electoral season, sought to shout him down in the Parliament chamber, calling the president's ZANU-PF party "rotten."

"People should fear there will be more violence, more unlawful arrests, more disappearances, more harassment," said Muchadehama, the attorney representing the arrested opposition leaders. "That is where we are heading."

The nation's long political crisis came to a head with presidential elections in March and June this year. The opposition claimed ascendancy in the first round of voting, but Mugabe insisted on a runoff vote, which the Movement for Democratic Change boycotted. Since then, the two sides have held inconclusive power-sharing talks, stalled on what the opposition maintains is Mugabe's refusal to abandon executive power.

Mugabe's party still controls the Senate, which can block legislation approved by the lower house.

The opposition had initially indicated that it would boycott the opening of Parliament on Tuesday, news reports said. But its decision to attend and heckle offered an unusual situation for Mugabe, who is more used to being obeyed than challenged.

source : www.iht.com