Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe issued a new warning to his political foes on Tuesday against attempts to destabilise the southern African country.
”I wish to reaffirm my message of peaceful and non-violent election campaigns and strongly warn that those that seek to indulge in illegal activities or attempts to create political instability will face the full wrath of the law,” Mugabe said.
The Zimbabwean president issued the warning as he opened a new Parliament session, attended for the first time by opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai who faces double treason charges.
Tsvangirai sat in the public gallery while other members of his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), who traditionally boycott
Mugabe’s parliamentary speeches, also attended Tuesday’s session in what a party spokesperson said was a bid to reduce political tension.
The MDC has launched a legal challenge to Mugabe’s victory in 2002 presidential elections, widely condemned as flawed.
”Our attendance to the opening of parliament does not in any way change our position that Mugabe’s position is disputed,” said MDC spokesman Paul Temba Nyathi.
”Our action is calculated to reduce political tension in the country so that an atmosphere conducive to dialogue can be created with a view to amicable negotiations for a dignified exit for … Mugabe from the political scene,” he said.
Nyathi earlier reported to the police where he was summoned and charged with breaching the country’s security laws following adverts he ran in the media in the run-up to an anti-government national strike last month, according to a party official. – Sapa-AFP