Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
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June 12, 2008

Zimbabwean Police Detain Tsvanigirai Again 
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=1CA755C:A6F02AD83191E160FBA5B57BE69189D60531BB26A5003E7B&
 
It is the third time this month police have detained the opposition
party leader; MDC's secretary-general Tendai Biti also arrested Thursday
as he stepped off a plane in Harare 

Morgan Tsvangirai, 10 Jun 2008Zimbabwe's main opposition party says
police have detained the party's leader and presidential candidate
Morgan Tsvangirai.

The Movement for Democratic Change says Mr. Tsvangirai was stopped at a
roadblock outside the central town of Kwekwe Thursday as he was heading
toward a campaign rally.

This is the third time this month police have detained Mr. Tsvangirai.
On the two previous occasions, he was held for several hours and
released.

Tendai Biti (file photo)

Police today also arrested the MDC's Secretary-General Tendai Biti at
the Harare airport on his return from South Africa. 

Police say Biti, a fierce critic of President Robert Mugabe, broke
electoral laws by saying the MDC won the March 29 presidential and
parliamentary elections before an official announcement.

Mr. Tsvangirai now faces President Robert Mugabe in a presidential
run-off election June 27.

Political tensions are running high in Zimbabwe as the vote draws near.
The state-run Herald newspaper today quoted Vice President Joseph Msika
as saying that voting for Mr. Tsvanigirai would be like voting for war.

Msika promised that "trouble" would start if a Tsvangirai government
tried to reverse the land redistribution carried out under Mr. Mugabe.

Zimbabwe's government has seized thousands of white-owned farms this
decade. Mr. Mugabe calls the program an effort to undo colonial-era
imbalances. Critics blame the seizure for the fall in food production
that triggered shortages and the country's record-setting inflation.

Earlier this week, U.S.-based Human Rights Watch said the Mugabe
government has extinguished any chance for a fair and free runoff vote
with a campaign of violence and intimidation against the opposition.

The MDC says ruling party supporters have killed more than 60 opposition
activists since the first round of voting in March. Mr. Mugabe accuses
the MDC of carrying out its own attacks.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.


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