Mugabe hounding rivals in Zimbabwe

Harare, Apr. 19 (ANI): Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has reportedly intensified his campaign of harassment against his opponents in Parliament.

According to the New York Times, he has ordered the arrest of a quarter of them since they agreed to join the government in a shaky power-sharing arrangement.

About 30 of the MDC's 109 members of Parliament have been arrested at one point or another, with some of them being taken into court shackled in leg irons, according to human rights lawyers and the M.D.C.

"They're trying to force us out, and they're not sophisticated enough to hide it," the paper quoted Elton Mangoma, a cabinet member and M.D.C. leader, as saying.

The latest arrest of an opponent came on Friday, despite warnings from Zimbabwe's neighbors that such detentions must stop.

Police accused Moses Mzila Ndlovu, co-minister for national healing, of attending a meeting held without their authorization. It was a memorial prayer service for the thousands of civilians from the Ndebele minority slain in the early years of Mugabe's 31-year rule.

Mugabe, 87, is seeking another term, and his political anxieties are showing. (ANI)