Zimbabwe prime minister wants out of coalition

[News_Editor]

Zimbabwe prime minister wants out of coalition

2011-03-11 00:07:44 GMT+7 (ICT)

HARARE (BNO NEWS) -- Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said Thursday he wants a divorce from the unity government after one of his top political allies was arrested and the supreme court removed his party's speaker of parliament from office.

Tsvangirai told a press conference that Energy Minister Elton Mangoma was picked up at his office in central Harare at 8.45 am by plainclothes policemen, The Zimbabwean newspaper reported.

"His arrest is nothing but a continuation of the calculated assault on the people of Zimbabwe. The fact that a Cabinet minister can be arrested by a constable is a reflection of Zanu PF's total disregard to the basic tenets of decency," he said.

Robert Mugabe's Supreme Court on Thursday handed down a judgement reversing the election of Lovemore Moyo as the Speaker of Parliament. Tsvangirai said that the election of the Speaker was lawful and legitimate, and accused the Zanu PF of trying to use the courts to regain what it lost in the election. 

Following the incidents, Tsvangirai threatened to pull out of the coalition. He said that the marriage between his party and Zanu PF is not working and therefore an amicable divorce should be sought.

"If there is a breakdown in the relationship of the parties in the GPA, it is important for the parties to agree on a clean divorce," he said.

Tsvangirai insisted that conditions should be set for an election roadmap with the Southern African Development Community on board.

In the past three weeks, 73 meetings of the MDC, Tsvangirai's party, have either been banned or disrupted by the police. Meanwhile, President Robert Mugabe's militias and security forces have been attacking people and forcing them to join Zanu PF marches.

"From January 2011 up to today, we have seen an increase in incidences of violence and assaults on the people of Zimbabwe. This has included the destruction of people's homes and property in Mbare and the displacement of 1 200 MDC cadres. The violence in Mbare coincided with the massive deployment of soldiers to terrorize innocent civilians in the countryside. People are being force-marched to attend rallies and there has been an upsurge in cases of intimidation and State-sponsored violence in the countryside," Tsvangirai said.

The MDC and Zanu-PF agreed to share power after disputes over the 2008 poll. Mugabe and his senior lieutenants are now facing visa and financial restrictions imposed by the European Union and the United States over suspected human rights abuses and vote rigging.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-03-11

[softgeorge]

Zimbabwe - Once the food bowl of Africa and a developed nation. Now a third world country who blame the rest of the world for thier woes.

[MAJIC]

Zimbabwe - Once the food bowl of Africa and a developed nation. Now a third world country who blame the rest of the world for thier woes.

Well Magabe does.

That's the point of being a Despot,you never accept blame,even when the Lush Plantations,go back to Jungle through mismanagement,and your people starve.