NY Times - November 9, 2001

By HENRI E. CAUVIN

JOHANNESBURG, Nov. 8 — The editor of Zimbabwe's only privately owned daily newspaper, The Daily News, was arrested today, for the second time in less than three months, raising fears of a widening crackdown by the government against its opposition ahead of next year's elections.

The Ministry of Finance earlier this week had ordered The Daily News to halt operations, accusing its executives of breaching investment laws and exchange control regulations.

But the paper has continued to publish.

This morning its editor, Geoff Nyarota, was picked up by the police in the capital, Harare, along with Wilf Mbanga, who was the founding chief executive of the paper's parent company, Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe.

Early tonight, both Mr. Nyarota and Mr. Mbanga remained in custody, the paper's current chief executive, M. A. Masunda, said in a telephone interview from Harare.

The arrests appear to be the latest salvo in the government's campaign against the country's independent press, which has been fiercely critical of President Robert Mugabe, as he runs for re-election next year.

With the opposition presenting Mr. Mugabe's party with the biggest political challenge in its 21 years of power, many people in Zimbabwe fear that the crackdown will only intensify.

The Financial Gazette, a Zimbabwe weekly, reported today that opposition supporters working in the state media were being told to resign this week or risk being fired.

But it is not only the press that has been drawing the scrutiny of the government in recent days and weeks. International election monitors, who would be expected to converge on the country early next year, could be kept out of Zimbabwe altogether if a law proposed this week to bar them is passed.

The government steps this week come as Zimbabwe, once one of the more stable and self-sufficient countries in the region, is in the throes of a wrenching economic crisis and land-reform program.

With his popularity slipping, Mr. Mugabe has revived pledges, popular among landless blacks, to redistribute the land of white minority farmers.

The violence and intimidation that have marked Mr. Mugabe's plan have been strongly criticized abroad, particularly by the country's former colonial ruler, Great Britain. Almost three months ago, Mr. Nyarota and three of his journalists were arrested after The Daily News reported on police complicity in the looting of white-owned farms.

This week, an arm of the Ministry of Finance accused the owners of The Daily News of misleading regulators about the newspaper's ownership structure and of changing the shareholding without properly notifying the government.

Given the continuing antagonism between Zimbabwe and Britain, the fact that British investors have a stake in The Daily News may well have played a part in the ownership issues now being raised.

Mr. Masunda, the paper's current chief executive, said that innocent clerical errors were being twisted into something far more serious. "We are now left with no other reasonable inference to draw from all this than that this is part of an orchestrated campaign to harass directors, shareholders, and members of the staff of the Daily News," he said.

Jonathan Moyo, the minister of information, was out of the office this week and could not be reached on his cellphone. George Charamaba, the permanent secretary of information, did not return calls to his office and could not be reached on his cellphone.

On many occasions, Mr. Moyo has assailed the privately owned press in Zimbabwe, including The Daily News, and earlier this week, he said the government would take action against news media that "distort information to demonize the government and the ruling party."

The Daily News, which began publishing in 1999, has been an aggressive and critical chronicler of the country's recent economic and political turmoil and has made more than a few enemies in the process.

While many people in the country have come to embrace The Daily News as a welcome alternative to the state-run dailies, the paper's targets in the government have come to see it as a mouthpiece for the opposition Movement for Democratic Change.

Last year its main office was firebombed, and earlier this year, its printing plant was destroyed by a bomb. In many parts of the country, its reporters are routinely harassed by ruling party loyalists. Its editors have repeatedly been detained and questioned by police.

Zimbabwe's treatment of the press, which, along with The Daily News, includes several privately owned weekly papers, has drawn widespread attention and repeated international condemnation.

The United States-based Committee to Protect Journalists will honor Mr. Nyarota later this month in New York with one of the committee's international press freedom awards.

By RACHEL L. SWARNS

JOHANNESBURG, Nov. 16 — Violence swept across Bulawayo, Zimbabwe's second largest city, on Friday as supporters of President Robert Mugabe stoned and burned the headquarters of the opposition party to protest the killing of a colleague who the government said was strangled by members of the opposition.

Supporters of the opposition party denied that they had anything to do with the killing of Mr. Mugabe's colleague, Cain Nkala, and accused the government of using the case as an excuse to crack down on its opponents.

The opposition supporters retaliated by burning a college owned by an ally of Mr. Mugabe and by assaulting members of the state-controlled media, the police said. The protesters also tried to march on Mr. Mugabe's party office in Bulawayo, but the police blocked them.

"The situation has been stabilized," a spokesman for the national police, Wayne Bvudzijena, said in a telephone interview. Mr. Bvudzijena said that he could not confirm the extent of the damage but that houses belonging to opposition members were also burned in Bulawayo this week by government supporters. Those supporters were angered by the murder of Mr. Nkala, leader of a group of retired guerrillas who fought in the 1970's to end white rule.

Mr. Nkala was abducted last week, the police said, and his body was found on Tuesday in a shallow grave. More than 11 members of the opposition, the Movement for Democratic Change, have been arrested and charged with murder, including a legislator in Parliament.

Officials said the opposition had killed Mr. Nkala to avenge the killing of Patrick Nabanyama, an opposition member who disappeared before the parliamentary elections in June 2000. Party officials acknowledged that Mr. Nkala was widely believed to have been behind Mr. Nabanyama's disappearance. Although they denied a connection to Mr. Nkala's death, many opposition members in Bulawayo went into hiding, fearful that they would be attacked by government-backed militants.

"The M.D.C. has nothing to do with the abduction of Nkala," the party leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, said in a statement today. "We are a peace- loving and nonviolent party. We believe that the police know the real killers of Nkala and are seeking to protect them by shifting the blame.

"If our members are guilty, let the law take its course. But we believe that the people who abducted Nkala are among the war veterans' leadership themselves, arising out of their own power struggles."

Opposition officials said they believed that Mr. Nkala had been killed by his colleagues because he was preparing to disclose the involvement of other government supporters in Mr. Nabanyama's death.

Political tensions have been mounting as Zimbabwe braces for presidential elections, widely expected early next year. Mr. Mugabe, who has run the country since white rule ended in 1980, is running against Mr. Tsvangirai and is facing one of the toughest contests of his career. The economy is crumbling. Businesses are closing. Investors are fleeing, and food shortages are spreading. This month, the United Nations announced that it would start delivering emergency food rations to 550,000 people in December.

Last year, disillusioned voters shocked Mr. Mugabe by electing opposition legislators to nearly half the contested seats in Parliament. The government has since resettled black squatters on hundreds of white-owned farms in an effort to win support from rural communities hungry for land.

Voters in the two largest cities, Bulawayo and Harare, have been among the opposition party's most vocal supporters. But police officials said Mr. Nkala was challenging the opposition's popularity in Bulawayo.

The government announced today that Mr. Nkala had been officially deemed a national hero and would be given a state funeral on Sunday.

"We are convinced that this shocking action is nothing but a terrorist action," Information Minister Jonathan Moyo said of Mr. Nkala's killing in an interview broadcast by the state news agency. "We will not accept it, and we will call on our government to take every step that is necessary to protect individuals, to protect families and to protect the people, indeed to protect our nation."

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) -- Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe threatened on Sunday to crack down on opponents, describing them as ``terrorists'' sponsored by the British government.

The streets of the capital were filled with hundreds of paramilitary officers as Harare braced for more unrest in connection with the death of a ruling party militant.

On Friday, members of the ruling Zanu party firebombed offices of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change in the western city of Bulawayo, where Cain Nkala was found strangled earlier this month. At least 14 MDC members have been arrested in the killing but have not been allowed to see their lawyers. The opposition says they have been tortured into making bogus confessions.

At Nkala's funeral Sunday, Mugabe accused the MDC of organizing the killing with help from Britain, the former colonial power in what was then known as Rhodesia.

Nkala's death ``was the brutal outcome of a much wider terrorist plot by internal, and external terrorist forces with plenty of funding from some commercial farmers and organizations like the Westminster Foundation, which we have established beyond doubt gets its dirty money from dirty tricks, from the British Labor Party, the Conservative Party and Liberal Party and also of course from the government of Tony Blair,'' Mugabe said.

``Let it be heard in the tall towers of London, in their tall towers elsewhere ... we shall never, ever brook attempts to subject us directly or indirectly to colonial rule,'' Mugabe said.

Mugabe supporters held up signs at the cemetery that read, ``Kill All Terrorists.''

In London, a British Foreign Office spokesman speaking on condition of anonymity, said any suggestion that Britain was supporting any kind of terrorism was absurd.

The spokesman said Britain has helped fund the Zimbabwean opposition, specifically through the Westminster Foundation for Democracy, a government body set up in 1992 to support democracy around the world.

MDC secretary general Welshman Ncube also denied Mugabe's accusations. He has suggested that Nkala was killed by fellow Zanu members to prevent him from testifying about violence committed by them.

Nkala was a leader among Zanu party militants who have occupied 1,700 white-owned farms in Bulawayo and other areas of Zimbabwe, demanding they be redistributed to landless blacks.

Since the occupations began 18 months ago, the government has embarked on a plan to seize 5,000 farms -- nearly all the farms owned by whites -- without paying compensation.

Opposition officials accuse the government of using land seizures to garner support and intimidate opponents ahead of presidential elections scheduled for next year.

The MDC holds 56 of the 120 elected parliamentary seats. It is running on a platform of open and accountable government and its supporters range from black power activists to conservative whites. It has an especially large following among urban educated black Zimbabweans.

A report in The Sunday Standard, an independent newspaper, quoted associates of Nkala saying he was about to fly to Britain to testify there on the unrest when he was abducted from his home Nov. 5 by armed men.

By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

HARARE, Zimbabwe, Nov. 20 (Agence France-Presse) — The Supreme Court threw out charges of terrorism today against the country's leading opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, declaring that the law under which he was charged was unconstitutional, his lawyer said.

The ruling paves the way for Mr. Tsvangirai to run in next year's presidential election, in which he is expected to pose the greatest challenge yet to President Robert Mugabe's uninterrupted 21-year rule.

Mr. Tsvangirai, the leader of the Movement for Democratic Change, was charged under the notorious Law and Order Maintenance Act, for a speech he made at a rally last year calling for Mr. Mugabe's violent removal from power.

Had he been tried and convicted, Mr. Tsvangirai could have been sentenced to life in jail.

Civil rights groups, meanwhile, said they would stage a mass rally here on Wednesday against proposed amendments to election laws that they say will deny millions of Zimbabweans the right to vote. They will also protest a government decision, made earlier this month, to ban foreign election monitors.

LONDON (AP) -- Britain demanded Saturday that Zimbabwe refrain from interfering with the work of independent journalists, after the government there accused some reporters of supporting terrorists.

``I am profoundly concerned by the reports of comments made by the Zimbabwe government spokesman in which he implied that foreign and local journalists were assisting terrorism,'' Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said.

``The British High Commission in Harare is making urgent representations to the government of Zimbabwe to seek assurances that independent journalists will continue to be able to report freely and without censorship,'' Straw said.

On Friday, a spokesman for President Robert Mugabe said correspondents for foreign media who reported indiscriminate beatings of whites in Zimbabwe a week ago would be treated as terrorists.

In a statement that appeared in The Herald, a state-owned newspaper, the spokesman, who was not identified, singled out journalists from The Associated Press, Business Day of South Africa and the British newspapers The Times, The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph and The Independent.

On Saturday, The Herald reported that Information Minister Jonathan Moyo rejected an appeal from the editors of The Guardian asking that their correspondent be allowed to report freely in Zimbabwe.

The journalists warned Friday ``have purposely been used as instruments of the opposition by demonizing Zimbabwe, its government and people,'' the newspaper quoted Moyo as saying.

By RACHEL L. SWARNS

JOHANNESBURG, Nov. 30 — Zimbabwe has proposed a new law that would effectively bar foreign journalists from working in the country, the latest effort to curtail international scrutiny as the nation braces for a presidential election next year.

The proposed law, which must be submitted to Parliament, would allow only citizens of Zimbabwe to work as correspondents for foreign newspapers and television stations, the country's state-owned newspaper, The Herald, reported today.

The newspaper said "foreign-funded groups" were taking advantage of lenient press laws. "This has opened wide and potentially harmful opportunities to malicious interests that could prejudice national defense and security," the newspaper said.

The law would set up a commission to accredit all working journalists. The panel would be able to fine and suspend those found in violation of the statute, or refer them to court for criminal prosecution. Reporting news that might cause alarm or despondency in the country would be an offense carrying the potential for a two-year prison sentence or a $1,800 fine, the newspaper said.

Zimbabwe's information minister, Jonathan Moyo, could not be reached tonight to comment on the proposed law.

Journalists at privately owned newspapers said the plan would give the government too much power to determine who could report on events inside the country.

"The only good thing about the bill is that it does help foreign governments understand our repeated arguments that Zimbabwe is now effectively under fascist rule," said Sydney Masamvu of the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists. "All it seeks to do is to give the government the green light to weed out those not wanted in the journalism profession."

President Robert Mugabe, who has led Zimbabwe for 21 years, is facing one of the toughest political battles of his career.

Once among Africa's most prosperous countries, Zimbabwe now suffers from food shortages and surging unemployment; its increasingly authoritarian government seems more and more willing to crack down on critics with the approach of the presidential election, which is expected early next year.

On Wednesday, 18 members of the opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change, were arrested and charged with kidnapping a local politician who supports Mr. Mugabe. Another 14 opposition party supporters were charged with killing a government loyalist earlier this month.

Also this week, Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa said that officials would allow only foreigners from friendly countries to observe the election. He said no observers would be permitted from countries that are considering imposing sanctions on Zimbabwe for its intimidation of journalists, opposition party members and white farmers.

"We cannot allow people who are our enemies to come to our soil," Mr. Chinamasa told Parliament.

Last week, the government accused eight journalists of "the obscene misrepresentation of facts," saying that they were no better than the so-called terrorists in the opposition party. The eight journalists are based in the capital, Harare, and mostly work for foreign news organizations, including The Associated Press.

The United States has sharply criticized Zimbabwe's treatment of journalists, deploring what it describes as "a continuing trend of harassment of the free press."

"The United States has, and will continue to call upon the government of Zimbabwe to cease its harassment of the free press, to re-establish the rule of law and to take steps to ensure that the will of the people is respected in the upcoming presidential election," Richard Boucher, the State Department spokesman, said this week.

But Zimbabwe defended the proposed law today, saying the country needed an information commission to prevent unprofessional journalists from defaming and discrediting people in the press.

"All along, the media has been operating in an unstructured fashion which has led to ethical and professional lapses on the part of the some media practitioners," the Information Department said in a statement quoted in The Herald.

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African President Thabo Mbeki is making it plain to Robert Mugabe that the Zimbabwean leader should no longer expect his protection, government officials said.

Explaining South Africa's tougher stance over the escalating Zimbabwean crisis this week, officials said Mbeki's patience was wearing thin with his country's neighbor, the Sunday Times newspaper reported sources as saying.

``He (Mbeki) wants Mugabe to know that he should not expect protection any more. Up to now we have rallied behind him,'' one senior official told the paper.

Other government sources told Reuters they could not expand on the remarks, but said the comments were fair.

``It's a nice, accurate account of what's going on behind the scenes,'' one said.

Mbeki told foreign journalists on Thursday that the situation in Zimbabwe was worsening and may deteriorate further if presidential elections next year were not free and fair.

``Clearly in a situation in which people get disenfranchised, in which people get beaten up so that they don't act according to their political convictions, obviously there can't be free elections,'' Mbeki said when asked about Zimbabwe's deteriorating political environment.

Officials said the situation in Zimbabwe was putting increased pressure on Mbeki, who was receiving regular phone calls from Western leaders asking him to get a message through to Mugabe, the Sunday Times reported.

They said Mbeki called Malawi's President Bakili Muluzi this week, asking him to convene a meeting of the Southern African Development Community's (SADC) special task team on Zimbabwe.

MORE ACTION DEMANDED

South African opposition parties welcomed Mbeki's more outspoken stance, but said the president needed to take concrete action to ensure free and fair elections in Zimbabwe next year.

``SADC leaders now need to consider what actions they might undertake to back up their tougher words,'' Democratic Alliance leader Tony Leon said in a statement.

The New National Party (NNP), which recently agreed a power-sharing deal with Mbeki's ruling African National Congress, went further and said Mbeki must withdraw all support from Mugabe to ensure he was not re-elected as president.

``Mugabe has become a liability that neither South Africa nor the rest of the SADC countries can afford,'' NNP spokesman Boy Geldenhuys said.

In Zimbabwe, the government-controlled Sunday Mail newspaper quoted a senior official of Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF party as saying it was ``quite sad'' if Mbeki made the statements attributed to him.

``We in ZANU-PF believe these remarks cannot be true because if they are, then that would be quite sad,'' said the official.

``President Mbeki, more than anyone else, knows too well that this region and our country in particular was economically and militarily destabilized by apartheid,'' the official added.

He said it was curious that the ANC was changing its policy toward Zimbabwe soon after agreeing to cooperate with the NNP, which created and ruled South Africa during apartheid.

Mugabe, 77, has held power since the former British colony of Rhodesia gained independence from London in 1980.

Critics say his campaign to extend power has been marked by a campaign of intimidation against voters, attempts to disenfranchise Zimbabwean voters who do not live in Zimbabwe, most of whom support the opposition, and moves to muzzle media criticism.

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AP) -- Amnesty International said Friday police and security forces in Zimbabwe are waging a campaign of violence and intimidation against judges, journalists and opposition leaders in the run-up to presidential elections early next year.

Casey Kelso, of Amnesty International in Zimbabwe, told journalists in Johannesburg that President Robert Mugabe's government had created a climate of intimidation and political violence that could prevent free and fair voting in the presidential elections.

``I observed a level of fear that I have not seen before,'' said Kelso, speaking of meetings he held with aid workers and supporters of the political opposition in Zimbabwe. ``Everybody was looking desperately for the outside world to come in and help.''

Kelso accused the government of waging a ``war by proxy'' against its own people and said Amnesty International was appealing to the 14-nation Southern African Development Community to apply pressure on ruling party officials.

Political violence has convulsed Zimbabwe since March 2000 when ruling party militants, encouraged by the government of President Robert Mugabe, began the often violent occupation of white-owned farms. About 60 people have been killed in the political violence.

Mugabe's government ignored court orders to end the occupations and restore the rule of law. It also refused to protect judges, including the chief justice of the Supreme Court, when they were threatened and harassed into resigning. The government has appointed new judges that consistently rule in favor of the government.

The government accused foreign media organizations of being terrorist collaborators for reporting on violence in Bulawayo that also was confirmed by Western diplomats.

The crackdown on the opposition and the press in Zimbabwe is increasing as the country moves closer to presidential elections. Mugabe, 77, who has ruled since independence in 1980, wants another six-year term. He is facing the toughest electoral challenge of his rule.

By HENRI E. CAUVIN

JOHANNESBURG, Dec. 11 — A senior Bush administration official met today with Zimbabwe's ministers of finance and foreign affairs and warned them that time was running out to create an environment for fair national elections next year.

The mission, led by Walter H. Kansteiner, assistant secretary of state for African affairs, followed an overwhelming vote in the House of Representatives last week for a bill that would offer Zimbabwe economic incentives if it eased its recent authoritarian moves, but would urge President Bush to punish Zimbabwe if it failed to act.

Zimbabwe's president, Robert Mugabe, who has held office since blacks won majority rule in 1980, announced today that national elections would take place in March. At 77, he is running again for office, and faces a major challenge from the Movement for Democratic Change.

In recent months, his government has cracked down on opposition supporters and on the independent news media. The crackdown and Zimbabwe's efforts to limit international monitoring of the elections have alarmed many countries.

Mr. Kansteiner said the credibility of the elections was a principal topic of the meetings today.

"Our message was, `You still have time to make this right,' " Mr. Kansteiner said by telephone. "If you have a free and fair electoral process, the election can reflect the will of the people and the voice of the Zimbabwean people will be heard."

The response from Finance Minister Simba Makoni and Foreign Affairs Minister Stan Mudenge was, Mr. Kansteiner said, ambiguous. "It was clear they wanted to show some flexibility," he said, "but at the same time, clearly they are worried about their political future."

News reports from Harare said President Mugabe had announced that he would allow election observers from the Organization of African Unity, and even from the Commonwealth, but that only Africans would be accepted.

Calls seeking further comment from Jonathan Moyo, the minister of information, were not answered.

Leaders from the Southern African Development Community also concluded meetings today with Mr. Mugabe. Neighboring countries have become increasingly frustrated by Zimbabwe's mounting economic and political problems, and the development meetings today and Monday were an attempt to exert pressure.

But the members of the development community have opposed sanctions, a step the European Union is considering. Southern African nations fear that punitive steps could unsettle the region further.

Inflation in Zimbabwe is soaring, AIDS infection and unemployment are high and the country, once one of Africa's most self-sufficient, will need food aid for hundreds of thousands of people in coming months.

Still, Mr. Kansteiner said he was encouraged by signals from regional capitals in recent weeks. President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa and others have increased their criticism of the Mugabe government, reflecting "a worry about the way this country is headed," he said.

Mr. Kansteiner said he made little headway on the question of foreign new media, which the two ministers said have been unfair to Zimbabwe. Many international news organizations have been denied entry to Zimbabwe. "I suggested that if you allowed the international press to come to Zimbabwe, you might get more coverage and better coverage," he said.

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai was detained for several hours by police on Friday after they found a two-way radio during a search of his Harare home, an opposition spokesman said.

The arrest came a day after President Robert Mugabe accused Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) of terrorizing supporters of his ruling ZANU-PF party ahead of presidential elections in March next year.

Tsvangirai was arrested around 4:30 a.m. and taken to Harare's central police station. He was released several hours later.

``We understand he has now been released, but we don't have the details. We are waiting to hear from his lawyer,'' MDC spokesman Learnmore Jongwe told Reuters.

``Mr. Tsvangirai was arrested...in connection with a walkie talkie radio found with his security guards when police searched his house,'' Jongwe said.

A police spokesman was not immediately available for comment.

Mugabe, who is facing his toughest election challenge after 21 years in power, said Thursday the MDC was a ``terrorist'' organization with no viable political program.

``The MDC has realized that its political message is not believable and has indeed resorted to terrorism...to terrorizing our supporters and killing some of them with the aim of driving them away from our party ahead of the elections,'' Mugabe told his party's annual congress.

Tsvangirai, who regards the accusations as part of a drive to justify a crackdown on his party, says Mugabe has become desperate ahead of the elections.

Zimbabwe is suffering its worst economic crisis in decades, which many blame on government mismanagement, but which Mugabe says is due to sabotage by his opponents.

In November, Zimbabwe's Supreme Court threw out charges of terrorism against Tsvangirai, ruling that they contravened the country's constitution.

Tsvangirai had been charged with terrorism and sabotage after telling a rally last year that Mugabe should quit or face violent removal.

Mugabe accuses the MDC of being a puppet of local whites and his international opponents whom he accuses of sabotaging the economy in retaliation for his drive to seize white-owned farms for redistribution to landless blacks.

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) -- A defiant President Robert Mugabe said Friday he would not halt the seizure of white-owned farms, despite mounting international pressure for sanctions to protest political violence linked to his government's controversial land reform program.

``Sanctions or no sanctions, we will not desist from the process of giving the people their land back,'' he told some 7,000 supporters on the second day of his ruling party's annual convention.

He said opponents of his land program, including Britain, Zimbabwe's former colonial power, and its Western allies, were using ``every trick in the book'' to try to prevent the government from confiscating white-owned farms for resettlement by landless blacks.

``We will win. We can't lose the fight for land, never, never, never,'' Mugabe said in a speech from Victoria Falls broadcast on state television.

He accused the opposition Movement for Democratic Change party of being backed by whites yearning for a return to the colonial era of Rhodesia, as Zimbabwe was known before independence in 1980. Mugabe likened whites to those who refuse to share a plate of food with the needy.

Mugabe's government has listed some 4,500 properties -- about 95 percent of farmland owned by whites -- for nationalization without compensation. Last month, it warned about 800 farmers they had three months to vacate.

Political violence triggered by the illegal occupation of some 1,700 farms by ruling party militants since March 2000 has left at least 77 people dead and tens of thousands homeless.

Independent human rights groups say most of the victims were opposition supporters, and that the police did little to curb the violence or arrest the main perpetrators.

Mugabe said he was being branded ``a Hitler, a Napoleon, a devil'' for fighting to return land seized by colonial era settlers to blacks. On Thursday, he vowed to crush political opponents he accused of violence and terrorism.

Hours later, opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai was detained in a police raid at his home and questioned over a two-way radio used by one his security guards. He was released four hours later.

Opposition spokesman Learnmore Jongwe said police demanded to see a license for the radio, a model that is exempt from licensing under state communications regulations.

Tsvangirai, 44, said he was not mistreated or charged with any offense.

``Who is building institutions of violence? It is Mugabe,'' he said Friday after his release.

Jongwe called the detainment ``the latest in a series of instances of harassment and intimidation of the opposition'' ordered by the ruling party ahead of March presidential polls.

The opposition poses the biggest threat to Mugabe's hold on power since he led the nation to independence in 1980.

The MDC narrowly lost parliamentary elections last year. Mugabe, 77, had controlled all but three seats in the previous parliament.

VICTORIA FALLS, Zimbabwe, Dec. 14 — President Robert Mugabe opened his re-election campaign today by saying Zimbabwe's former white rulers backed his main opposition party rival, who was briefly detained by the police this morning.

The police said they had detained the opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, who is head of the Movement for Democratic Change, and held him at the central police station in Harare, the capital, after finding a two-way radio during a search of his home. He was released about 35 minutes later.

"He was not arrested," said a police spokesman, Wayne Bvudzijena. "He was merely called in in connection with the security radio, which requires a license."

The Movement for Democratic Change said in a statement that the incident was part of an intimidation campaign against their leader, who poses the strongest electoral challenge to Mr. Mugabe after 21 years in power.

"All these incidents are part of ZANU-PF's campaign strategy," the party said. "They are carefully designed to throw his program off course and get him to think about his plight and not that of the people."

President Mugabe, facing a vote in March, urged his ZANU-PF party to unite to defeat the surging opposition group, which nearly defeated the ruling party in parliamentary elections last year. Those elections were marred by political violence that left 31 people dead, most of them opposition supporters.

Looking tired during most of his hourlong speech to party supporters at a congress in this resort city, Mr. Mugabe, 77, vowed to stick to his land redistribution drive and to champion the interests of Zimbabwe's black majority.

"They" — the whites — "stole our land," he said, "and now turn around, when we reclaim our land, that we are breaking the rule of law. What cheek is that?" Mr. Mugabe said there were foreign moves to demonize him and the government over the land issue.

He dismissed the threat of penalties against his ruling elite, saying that granting land to blacks was more important.

John Nkomo, the national chairman of ZANU-PF and home affairs minister, urged the party faithful to rally behind Mr. Mugabe, likening his land and campaign program to an unstoppable supersonic jet.

"The Concorde has taken off, and it has attained its altitude," Mr. Nkomo said. "The captain is in control; it has no reverse gear, no emergency breaks. Captain Mugabe is in command."

Mr. Mugabe repeated charges that Mr. Tsvangirai's party was a puppet of his white opponents out to topple him over the land program. On Thursday Mr. Mugabe called the Movement a terrorist group with no viable political platform.

The Movement responds that Mr. Mugabe is desperate as he faces an electorate struggling through a severe economic crisis. The party says the downturn has been caused by mismanagement and Mr. Mugabe's controversial plan to seize white- owned farms for black resettlement.

The land program has been cited as sharply reducing agricultural production in a country once ranked as the bread basket of the region.

The United Nations World Food Program made an urgent appeal on Thursday for $54 million to buy food for more than half a million people in Zimbabwe, where supplies of the staple grain maize could run out before the end of this month.

By RACHEL L. SWARNS

JOHANNESBURG, Dec. 24 — Zimbabwe's leading opposition party said today that three of its members had been killed in recent days by supporters of President Robert Mugabe, in what it charged were politically motivated attacks.

The authorities in Zimbabwe confirmed only one of the killings. A Zimbabwe police spokesman, Wayne Bvudzijena, said that one member of the opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change, was stabbed in the neck over the weekend by a supporter of the governing party.

According to Mr. Bvudzijena, the two men had scuffled in a bar in the town of Magunge. He said the killer had shouted political slogans in support of the governing party, the Zimbabwe African National Union-Popular Front, touching off the fighting. The victim, Milton Chambati, 45, died at the scene.

"We know who the suspect is," Mr. Bvudzijena said in a telephone interview from Zimbabwe. "We are looking for him."

Opposition party officials said a second party member was dragged from his home recently in the town of Karoi and stabbed while a third party member was ambushed and beaten to death in Bindura on Sunday. Mr. Bvudzijena said he could not confirm those killings.

But he said that there had been several clashes between members of the two rival parties, whose leaders are contesting the presidential election scheduled for March.

Mr. Bvudzijena described the disputes as random and spontaneous. "I think it is political immaturity, where people don't respect other people's political views," he said.

However, Welshman Ncube, the secretary general of the Movement for Democratic Change, said he believed that the violence was coordinated by the government. He said he feared that violence would only intensify as election day approaches. "The situation is quite bad," Mr. Ncube said in an interview.

Last year, more than 30 people were killed during the campaigning for parliamentary elections, most of them members of the opposition party. But even though government- backed militants intimidated many voters, the Movement for Democratic Change stunned the political establishment by winning nearly half of the contested seats in Parliament.

This year, the stakes are even higher. Mr. Mugabe, who has run Zimbabwe since 1980, is facing the most serious challenge of his career in next year's presidential election. He will be running against Morgan Tsvangirai, the labor leader who heads the Movement for Democratic Change.

The governing party and the opposition both held national meetings this month and tensions have been rising in recent weeks. Since November, the government has arrested more than a dozen opposition party members and charged them in the murder of one of Mr. Mugabe's supporters.

Next month, presidents and prime ministers from 14 countries in the region will meet in Malawi to discuss Zimbabwe's deepening political and economic crisis.

Once one of Africa's most promising and prosperous countries, Zimbabwe is now racked with food shortages and surging unemployment, and an increasingly authoritarian government seems more and more willing to crack down on its critics.

Leaders from neighboring countries have been criticized for being slow to denounce Mr. Mugabe for condoning the sometimes violent seizure of white-owned farms and the intimidation of his political rivals.

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AP) -- Zimbabwe used to be held up as a model for Africa, but after nearly two years of chaos and government-sponsored attacks on white farms and political opponents, the country once known for its prosperity and stability is hurtling toward anarchy.

Its economy is unhinged, its rural areas are choked by violence, its media, courts and opposition are under threat and hundreds of thousands of people are facing starvation

``Four years ago Zimbabwe was a wonderful country,'' said Tarcisius Zimbiti, acting director of Zimbabwe's Catholic Justice and Peace Commission. ``Now we are in hell.''

Human rights workers, opposition leaders and international officials say the chaos is an orchestrated campaign to ensure the re-election of President Robert Mugabe, the increasingly unpopular leader who has ruled Zimbabwe since independence in 1980.

``This is a political game that is being played,'' Zimbiti said in a telephone interview. ``There is no way we could have free and fair elections because of the amount of intimidation going on at the moment.''

Mugabe's spokesman, George Charamba, did not return repeated calls for comment from The Associated Press.

The violence began soon after the surprise defeat in February 2000 of a constitutional referendum that would have further entrenched Mugabe's broad powers to rule the country.

Acting with tacit government approval, thousands of armed militants led by veterans of Zimbabwe's independence war began occupying farms owned by white Zimbabweans, many of whom opposed the referendum and are key supporters of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change.

The militants demanded the farms be seized and distributed to the country's millions of landless blacks.

Human rights groups said the government was less interested in correcting Zimbabwe's unfair land allocation than in intimidating opposition supporters ahead of June 2000 parliamentary elections. The Movement for Democratic Change won nearly half Parliament's elected seats anyway.

With presidential elections expected in March, the chaos has spread into the towns and cities and even into the Supreme Court, which declared Mugabe's plan to seize white-owned land illegal in 2000.

Hundreds of thugs from Mugabe's ruling Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front stormed the court in 2000, dancing behind the judges' benches and chanting party slogans. Police made no move to stop them, and no one was arrested.

Anthony Gubbay, chief justice at the time, has called the court invasion ``disgraceful'' and said Mugabe's public repudiations of the courts ``show a blatant and contemptuous disrespect for the constitution.''

Last year, the government forced Gubbay to retire, and the court, with four new judges loyal to Mugabe, ruled the land program legal.

The country's once-thriving independent press has also come under attack. Police have routinely arrested journalists, authorities have refused entry to the country to many foreign correspondents, including several from the AP, and Parliament is considering a harsh new media bill.

The government also has announced plans to ban foreign election monitors.

Ruling party militants have killed scores of opposition supporters. On Nov. 16, the militants firebombed the Movement for Democratic Change office in Bulawayo, accusing the movement of killing a ruling party militant. Police arrested the office's administrative staff in the killing, weakening the movement in the western city that was its stronghold.

``The gloves are completely off,'' said David Coltart , a spokesman for the movement. ``There is an increasing sense of desperation and paranoia in government circles.''

The ruling party has begun calling the opposition ``terrorists,'' and state television is labeling the government crackdown a ``War on Terror.'' U.S. Rep. Ed Royce, a California Republican who sponsored a bill proposing sanctions on Zimbabwe, called the terrorist accusation ``Orwellian'' and praised the opposition for not resorting to violence.

The bill, which has been adopted but most be reconciled with a similar measure in the U.S. Senate, would freeze loans and debt relief to Zimbabwe from Western financial institutions. The European Union has proposed similar measures.

But most aid to the economically crippled country has already been frozen.

Unemployment is running at more than 50 percent and inflation is out of control. The farm violence and bad weather have led to a food shortage that threatens to leave more than half a million Zimbabweans hungry.

Other leaders in the region, usually reticent to criticize fellow African leaders, have begun to worry that Zimbabwe's instability could hurt them.

In November, Botswana President Festus Mogae blamed Mugabe for not ending the violence, and South African President Thabo Mbeki expressed unhappiness with the crisis.

``The entire international community is very concerned about the fact that this is a leader who is literally burning his country down,'' Royce said by telephone.

Certain Mugabe would never leave office without a fight, Zimbiti fears only his re-election could bring peace.

Coltart disagrees.

``If Mugabe steals this election, there will be almost uncontrollable levels of anger,'' he said.

HARARE (Reuters) - The Zimbabwean government is expected to push through parliament this week a package of controversial bills which critics say is aimed at boosting President Robert Mugabe's re-election bid in March.

Parliament reconvenes Tuesday after a three-week break to consider legislation that includes a media bill banning foreigners from working as correspondents in the country and threatening jail terms for journalists who violate tough rules.

The session comes ahead of a Friday meeting between Zimbabwe and the European Union in Brussels which will discuss the deepening political crisis in the southern African country.

The EU is threatening to impose sanctions on Mugabe over his land seizures, his drive against the media and the judiciary and his supporters' campaign of violence ahead of the presidential elections.

The main opposition Movement for Democratic Changedenounced Mugabe's government Monday for fanning violence, which it said had claimed six lives in less than two weeks and pushed the death toll to over 100 since February 2000.

``The fact of the matter is that the ZANU-PF regime is now the most racist and fascist regime,'' MDC information secretary Learnmore Jongwe said.

Information Minister Jonathan Moyo told state media at the weekend that the government would move to adopt the media bill ''without fear or favor'' and would not be deterred by criticism led by former colonial power Britain.

Moyo accused Britain of double standards, saying its media laws were more stringent than Zimbabwe's, whose own legislation was based on its national constitution.

He said the media bill would allow Mugabe's government to address the problem of ``lies by foreign correspondents about the situation in Zimbabwe.''

UNIONS TO IGNORE BILL

Zimbabwe media unions say the media bill is draconian and have vowed to ignore it. Under the bill, journalists can only work in Zimbabwe if they get a one-year renewable accreditation from a government-appointed commission.

The bill imposes registration requirements for private media companies and bars foreign nationals from working as correspondents.

The bill also prescribes heavy fines for journalists publishing stories on protected information, or news likely to cause alarm and despondency, which could range from rumors, advice offered to Mugabe or minutes of cabinet meetings.

Zimbabwe government officials said the parliamentary session starting Tuesday would also debate a public order and security bill. Critics say this will give Mugabe sweeping powers to clamp down on the opposition as he faces the biggest electoral challenge since taking power in 1980.

The government says the bill is aimed at consolidating law-and-order legislation and has nothing to do with the March elections in which Mugabe's main rival will be MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai.

The MDC nearly beat the ruling ZANU-PF in general elections in June 2000 despite a violent campaign that left at least 31 mostly opposition supporters dead. Tsvangirai says that without violence, and in a fair and free political environment, Mugabe would lose in March.

Parliament is also due to consider an election regulations bill under which the government proposes to ban local independent monitors from the March elections and to bar private organizations from voter education.

By HENRI E. CAUVIN

OHANNESBURG, Jan. 10 — Legislators from the ruling party in Zimbabwe did the bidding of President Robert Mugabe and enacted sweeping security and election laws today that will allow the government to clamp down on its critics and limit monitoring of presidential elections in March.

A third bill, which proposes stringent controls on media and new curbs on disclosing what is deemed state information, is still before Parliament.

Mr. Mugabe, who at 77 is seeking re-election, had pushed hard for the new laws, drawing an equally determined but ultimately futile push from the opposition to prevent their passage, which took longer than expected.

Critics of the new measures see them as a clear attempt to muzzle free speech and political opposition to ensure the re-election of Mr. Mugabe, who has been in power since blacks won majority rule in Zimbabwe in 1980 and whose party faced a stern opposition challenge in elections in 2000.

The measures "are again clear indications of how desperate the regime is to manipulate the information sector, control it and ensure that the people of Zimbabwe don't know the truth," John Makumbe, a senior politics lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe and one of Mr. Mugabe's most vocal critics, said in a telephone interview.

The new Public Order and Security bill would allow police to ban public demonstrations in particular communities for up to a month and would criminalize statements that could cause "contempt or ridicule" of the president.

Under the second bill passed, election monitors will have to be drawn exclusively from the country's electoral supervisory commission. Organizations like the Southern African Development Community and the African Union may be invited, but other bodies more critical of Mr. Mugabe, like the European Union, would almost certainly be unwelcome. In urban areas, which are opposition strongholds, voters will now have to produce documents to verify that they have lived in their voting district for at least a year.

The opposition Movement for Democratic Change, which holds just over a third of the seats in Parliament, was able to drag out the debate on the bills and even weaken some provisions.

Today, however, the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front sidestepped parliamentary procedure and marshaled members to push the bills through.

The legislative tussle illustrated how hard fought the upcoming election will be. Mr. Mugabe's lieutenants, who have power and influence to lose if he falters, are lining up strongly behind him.

This week the country's military, police and intelligence chiefs warned they would accept only a veteran of Zimbabwe's independence struggle as the national leader.

"We will not accept, let alone support or salute, anyone with a different agenda that threatens the very existence of our sovereignty, our country and our people," the commander of the defense forces, Gen. Vitalis Zvinavashe, told reporters in Harare, according to the state-controlled Herald newspaper. "We wish to make it very clear to all Zimbabwean citizens that the security organizations will only stand in support of those political leaders that will pursue Zimbabwean values, traditions and beliefs for thousands of lives lost in pursuit of Zimbabwe's hard-won independence."

Analysts differed over whether rank-and-file soldiers would heed their commanders' defiant words.

Zimbabwe's armed forces, long regarded as among Africa's better trained, have pledged more than once to stay out of politics. The apparent change of heart is a signal of how desperate the government is becoming ahead of the March 9-10 election, the president of the opposition movement, Morgan Tsvangirai, said today. The statement was "tantamount to defiance of constitutional government," he said.

George Charamba, a spokesman for the president, did not return a call to his office and could not be reached on his cellphone.

The proposed law on the media would require that journalists working in the country, even those working for foreign news outlets, be Zimbabwean citizens. Since late last year, few foreign journalists have been granted visas to report from the country and the proposed law could effectively ban foreign correspondents from the country.

Privately owned local news organizations, which have been persistent critics of Mr. Mugabe and his government, would be subject to a raft of new regulations. Newspapers like The Daily News and The Zimbabwe Independent, which already faced regular harassment from ruling party loyalists and the police, would now need a license to operate and could have the license revoked for any number of offenses.

January 12, 2002

Looting Reported on Zimbabwe Farms

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 5:01 p.m. ET

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) -- Government-backed militants embarked on a fresh looting campaign of white-owned farms last week, forcing 23 landowners from their homes, a farmers' organization said Saturday.

One farmer was given five minutes to vacate his property while another had to barricade himself inside his house, said Jenni Williams, a spokeswoman for the Commercial Farmers' Union.

Most of the reported incidents were in the Raffingora area, about 62 miles northeast of the capital, Harare, not far from a camp where opposition politicians say the ruling party is training unemployed youths as militia.

In one attack, a group of militants -- including a police officer -- stole 900 bags of corn and slaughtered five cattle, Williams said.

The victims of the latest round of attacks asked not to be named, saying they feared further violence. Police were unavailable for comment.

Militants have invaded hundreds of white-owned farms since early 2000 with the tacit support of President Robert Mugabe, who called their actions a justified response to the legacy of inequitable land ownership left by colonial rule.

Most of Zimbabwe's commercial farmland is owned by whites who make up less than half a percent of the population.

Human rights groups and opposition parties say Mugabe is using the land issue as a smoke screen to bolster his support and crush dissent ahead of March presidential elections.

Polls indicate Mugabe is in danger of losing power, but the possibility of free elections is considered remote.

Western governments have condemned the violence. America has imposed sanctions, and the European Union has threatened to do the same.

Leaders from the 14-nation Southern African Development Community will discuss Zimbabwe at a special one-day summit in Malawi on Monday.

Ministers attending a preparatory meeting Saturday indicated that Zimbabwe had the support of the regional trading bloc, currently chaired by Malawi.

``Positive signs'' were coming out of Zimbabwe, and the trade group was optimistic the political crisis could be resolved through negotiation, said Lilian Patel, Malawi's foreign minister. ``We will therefore not support any form of sanctions that may be prescribed on Zimbabwe.''

Addressing journalists shortly after arriving in Malawi, Mugabe accused Britain of trying to re-colonize his country and attempting to persuade the European Union to impose sanctions.

``It's just Britain -- Britain is at war with us,'' Mugabe said. British Prime Minister Tony Blair ``has his own version of colonialism, and we will resist that, I can assure you.''

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe accused British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Saturday of reneging on pledges to support land reforms and said the country would survive sanctions, state news agency ZIANA reported.

Mugabe told an interdenominational prayer meeting in Harare it was puzzling that Britain was keen to discuss Zimbabwe's forthcoming presidential elections but had not fulfilled its promise of financial support for land reforms, ZIANA said.

``You can't deny responsibility in one area and accept it in another. Mr. Blair don't be a liar, a Bliar,'' Mugabe was quoted as saying.

``Sanctions or no sanctions, Zimbabwe will survive,'' Mugabe said on Saturday, adding God was ``on our side'' on the land issue.

Relations between the southern African country and its former colonial ruler Britain have soured since a government-backed land seizure campaign of white-owned farms for redistribution among landless blacks began in February 2000.

Mugabe's government accuses Britain of orchestrating an international campaign against it -- including the threat of economic sanctions -- in retaliation for the land drive.

Nine white farmers have been killed, scores of black farm workers assaulted and thousands others displaced since the land invasions, seen as a major catalyst for the country's unprecedented economic and political crisis.

Critics say Mugabe has largely ignored a Nigerian-brokered plan he endorsed in September to end the farm seizures in exchange for funds from Britain and other sources and implement a fair land reform plan.

APPEAL FOR PEACEFUL CAMPAIGN

On Saturday, ZIANA said Mugabe appealed for a peaceful campaign ahead of the presidential poll scheduled for March 9 and 10, where he faces an unprecedented challenge from opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai.

But he also lashed out at local whites, who he routinely accuses of working with Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change to oust him over his land seizures.

``The gates are open for racists to go. Those who want to stay with us should stay and respect our values,'' Mugabe said.

Political analysts say Mugabe, 78 next month and in power since the former Rhodesia gained independence in 1980, is using the radical land reform program as part of a campaign to retain power in the polls.

International calls for sanctions against Zimbabwe mounted following the passing this week by parliament of new laws that give his government sweeping powers.

Australia and New Zealand called for the country's expulsion from the 54-member Commonwealth.

He later left for neighboring Malawi, where he will attend an extraordinary summit of southern African heads of states on Monday.

On his arrival, Mugabe maintained his attack on Blair and told the state-owned Malawi Broadcasting Corporation in an interview that ``Blair wants that old colonization of Zimbabwe.''

The Zimbabwe issue will be on the agenda of the 14-member Southern African Development Community, as well as the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Veteran anti-apartheid campaigner Archbishop Desmond Tutu said on Saturday Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe had gone ``bonkers in a big way'' for disregarding the rule of law and assuming greater powers.

In an interview with the Saturday Star, Tutu joined mounting international criticism over Mugabe's leadership and said the sensible thing for the Zimbabwean leader would be to step down.

``Mugabe seems to have gone bonkers in a big way. It is very dangerous when you subvert the rule of law in your country, when you don't even respect the judgements of your judges...then you are on the slippery slope of perdition,'' Tutu said.

``It is a great sadness what has happened to President Mugabe. He was one of Africa's best leaders, a bright spark, a debonair, well-spoken and well-read person,'' the 1984 Nobel Peace Prize Winner told the newspaper.

Zimbabwe's parliament, where Mugabe's ZANU-PF has a comfortable majority, passed two controversial laws on Thursday -- one that criminalized criticism of Mugabe and gave sweeping security powers to the government and another banning independent election monitors for the March 9-10 presidential polls and denying voting rights to millions of Zimbabweans abroad.

Faced with growing international isolation and the threat of sanctions, Zimbabwe said on Friday it would accept international observers for the elections, but strictly on its own terms.

The European Union is under mounting pressure to impose economic sanctions on Zimbabwe and suspend development aid. There are also calls for Zimbabwe to be suspended from the 54-nation Commonwealth.

South Africa broke a two-day silence on developments in its northern neighbor on Friday, saying it was ``unacceptable'' for the Zimbabwean army to signal it would only accept a victory by Mugabe, 77, in the election.

South Africa's President Thabo Mbeki said in a separate comment that ``wrong things are happening in our neighborhood.''

Tutu said Mbeki's government needed to take a stronger stance and its policy of quiet diplomacy had failed.

Tutu told BBC radio by telephone on Saturday the threat of international sanctions might be needed.

``If he (Mugabe) can't be made to see sense...there may be a carrot that you could dangle in front of him to say that if he does certain things then obviously sanctions will not be applied,'' Tutu said.

Mugabe, in power since 1980 when the former Rhodesia gained independence from Britain, faces a serious election challenge from Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change.

Malawi's vice president, Justin Malewezi, said on Saturday the imposition of sanctions against Zimbabwe would not resolve the country's deepening crisis and called instead for dialogue.

Malawi is the current chair of the 14-member Southern African Development Community. The Zimbabwe issue will be on the agenda of a summit of SADC leaders on Monday in Blantyre, Malawi's commercial capital.

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) - Government-backed militants beat and critically injured several opposition activists in Zimbabwe during the weekend and burned down an opposition party office, officials said Monday.

The unrest, which reportedly included police tear gassing an opposition rally and militants from President Robert Mugabe's ruling party spraying several homes in Harare with gunfire, capped a week marred by violence.

Government-backed militants embarked on a fresh looting campaign of white-owned farms last week, forcing 23 landowners from their homes. International observers have said Mugabe is using the land issue as a screen to bolster his support and crush dissent ahead of March presidential elections.

With the tacit support of the government, militants have invaded hundreds of white-owned farms since early 2000. Mugabe has called their actions a justified response to the legacy of inequitable land ownership left by colonial rule.

Full story here.

BRUSSELS, Jan 16, 2002 -- (dpa) European Union governments look set to slap "smart sanctions" on Zimbabwe's ruling elite in a joint decision expected towards the end of January, EU diplomats said Tuesday.

The punitive measures are expected to include the introduction of travel restrictions on Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and his closest associates and a freeze on their financial assets in Europe.

The German government this week joined a growing number of EU nations lobbying for sanctions on Zimbabwe in response to deepening political repression in the country.

A statement by Germany's Development Aid Ministry slammed President Robert Mugabe's new election, security and media laws which, among other things, make it illegal to criticize the president, bar many reform candidates and ban foreign journalists.

Mugabe faces a presidential election March 9 and 10.

EU diplomats, meeting Zimbabwean Foreign Minister Stan Mudenge in Brussels last week, said the government had one week to give a written guarantee that international monitors would be invited to ensure the presidential polls were free and fair.

"We need action from Zimbabwe, words are not enough," said commission development affairs spokesman Michael Curtis.

Diplomats said EU governments were worried that any moves to freeze development aid to Zimbabwe would end up hitting the country's already desperately-poor people.

"Smart sanctions" targeting the country's ruling elite were therefore more likely, the diplomats said.

The EU is a major source of foreign funds for Zimbabwe, providing the country with about 30 million euros (about 27 million dollars) in annual aid over the last 10 years.

But officials say up to 127 million euros in aid are currently on hold given deteriorating human rights conditions in the country.

LONDON, Jan 16, 2002 -- (dpa) Britain has ceased all deportations of Zimbabwean asylum seekers until after the presidential election in March, Home Secretary David Blunkett announced on Tuesday, citing a "worsening situation" in the former British colony.

The move follows controversy over the deportation of supporters of the opposition, who were reported to have faced maltreatment by the Zimbabwean authorities on their return.

British authorities had earlier declared a temporary freeze on deportations.

"Because of the worsening situation, and because I think it's right to review the position over the weeks ahead, I have taken the decision we will suspend the rules until after the general election in Zimbabwe," Blunkett said.

Airlines are reported to have refused to fly deportees from Britain to Zimbabwe after being approached by human rights organizations regarding their treatment on arrival.

New legislation muzzling the press and banning criticism of President Robert Mugabe ahead of elections in March has raised concerns in Britain and elsewhere.

HARARE, Zimbabwe (Reuters) - Political violence is rising in Zimbabwe despite growing international pressure on President Robert Mugabe to rein in militant supporters spearheading his re-election campaign, human rights groups said Thursday.

They said die-hard militants from the ruling ZANU-PF party had stepped up violence against the opposition Movement for Democratic Change in the past week. The country's presidential election is scheduled for March 9 and 10.

The drive defied calls by Western governments led by the United States for Mugabe to restore respect for the rule of law and ensure the buildup to the vote is fair.

``We are receiving more and more reports of violence from across the whole country. ... The reports we are getting suggest it is ZANU-PF and not the MDC which is behind this violence,'' said a spokesman for Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (Zimrights).

MDC President Morgan Tsvangirai poses the greatest threat to Mugabe's nearly 22-year-old hold on power in an election to be held against the background of a political and economic crisis.

Zimbabwe is embroiled in its biggest political crisis since independence from Britain in 1980, symbolized by the violent seizure of white-owned farms, and state-sponsored campaigns against the independence of the judiciary and the media.

Reflecting the scale of the crisis, Zimbabwe's powerful southern neighbor, South Africa, said it was preparing a camp for a possible influx of refugees.

South African Home Affairs Department spokesman Leslie Mashokwe said intelligence, police and defense officials were monitoring Zimbabwe and had identified a former military base near the border to house refugees should matters ``reach meltdown.''

The United States has warned Mugabe that he and his lieutenants face personal sanctions if the election is not free and fair.

European Union foreign ministers will discuss Zimbabwe on Jan. 28 in Brussels and decide whether Mugabe has fulfilled commitments to accept international observers and independent media to cover the election.

U.N. human rights chief Mary Robinson expressed alarm Wednesday about the ``deteriorating situation.'' She highlighted rights abuses against opposition supporters, the independent media and human rights groups.

ZANU-PF has pushed legislation through parliament this month that grants the security forces sweeping powers to curb the opposition and disenfranchises millions of Zimbabweans abroad.

Legislation that critics argue aims to muzzle the media will be debated in parliament next week.

Home Affairs Permanent Secretary Tineyi Chigudu urged the police Thursday to be impartial in the run-up to the election.

POLITICAL VIOLENCE RISES

The state-run Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corp. has reported an increase in political violence across the country, but critics accuse it of biased reporting in which MDC supporters are always the perpetrators of violence and not the victims.

The Zimbabwe Human Rights Nongovernmental Organizations Forum said seven politically motivated murders were reported in December, the highest number for any month in 2001.

``It is urgent that the Zimbabwean government takes steps to ensure a climate of peaceful political competition,'' the forum statement said.

The MDC says nearly 100 of its supporters have been killed in political violence since February, 2000, when the program of land reform began.

The MDC said nobody had been charged or convicted of the murder of its members.

Southern African states have resisted Western pressure to read the riot act to Zimbabwe, taking their lead from South Africa's policy of ``quiet diplomacy.''

On Thursday, Mugabe won support from Namibian President Sam Nujoma, who labeled Tsvangirai a ``traitor,'' putting him in the same category as Angolan rebel leader Jonas Savimbi and exiled Namibian opposition leader Mishake Muyongo.

By HENRI E. CAUVIN

JOHANNESBURG, Jan. 18 — After three days of meetings in Zimbabwe, the State Department's top human rights official said today that he had made no progress in persuading the government of President Robert Mugabe to improve conditions for elections and halt intimidation of the opposition.

In an interview here after his trip, Lorne Craner, the assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labor, said Zimbabwe was gripped with fear as the presidential election, scheduled for March 9 and 10, approached.

"The electoral environment is very bad," Mr. Craner said. "People fear for their personal safety, even people who are not active in civil society, ordinary people."

Political violence has been intensifying in advance of the electoral showdown between President Mugabe, who has run the country since blacks won majority rule in 1980, and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change.

Once a stable and largely self- sufficient country, Zimbabwe is now struggling, and the opposition party has tapped anger over the country's economic slide and the government's increasingly autocratic rule to mount the most serious challenge Mr. Mugabe has ever faced.

The United States has threatened limited economic sanctions against Mr. Mugabe's government, like freezing the assets of the president and his associates and restricting their travel in the United States. The outcome of Mr. Craner's mission appeared to make such measures more likely. "I conveyed to them that time is just about out," said Mr. Craner, who met with the speaker of the Parliament, Emmerson Mnangagwa, and senior officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Mr. Craner said the Mugabe government appeared determined to maintain its current policy course. "The language I heard was something out of the 1950's or 1960's, about how a shrinking economy is okay, how it doesn't matter if they are isolated even from their neighbors," he said.

Mr. Craner said he would meet with State Department officials to consider what steps the Bush administration should take.

The European Union has been contemplating sanctions as well, and after today may be a step closer to imposing them. At a meeting last week in Brussels, the European Union gave Zimbabwe a week to sign a pledge to allow foreign journalists and election observers into the country. But according to news reports from Brussels, no pledge has arrived.

Jonathan Moyo, Zimbabwe's minister of information, and George Charamba, the permanent secretary for information, did not respond to telephone calls tonight.

The prospect of American and European action follows several days of diplomatic initiatives aimed at easing the crisis in Zimbabwe, which has aroused deep concern in neighboring countries.

Leaders of the 14-nation Southern African Development Community assembled in Malawi this week for an emergency meeting on the region's biggest crises, including Zimbabwe.

At the meeting, President Mugabe promised to allow international journalists and election observers into the country, and to order investigations of political violence.

A day later, Zimbabwe's Parliament delayed passage of a bill that would have imposed new limits on the country's press and effectively barred foreign correspondents. But the legislation is scheduled to go before Parliament again next week, and the outcome of the vote remains uncertain.

Today, militants of Mr. Mugabe's party seemed to deepen tensions when they stormed white-owned farms in northern Zimbabwe, and youths in government uniforms set up roadblocks to seal off several districts, The Associated Press reported.

HARARE, Zimbabwe (Reuters) - Twenty Zimbabweans were injured and thousands tear-gassed as police and militants from President Robert Mugabe's party broke up an opposition rally Sunday, an opposition spokesman said.

Welshman Ncube of the Movement for Democratic Changesaid militants from Mugabe's ZANU-PF entered a stadium in the second city, Bulawayo, and beat up MDC activists while police tear-gassed opposition supporters waiting to get into the venue.

Police denied attacking the opposition, which is challenging Mugabe at a presidential election in March, and said they had intervened only to break up fighting between rival groups.

No independent account of the incident was available.

``The police moved in as between 8,000 and 10,000 of our people were waiting outside the stadium to get in for the rally,'' the MDC's Ncube said by telephone from Bulawayo.

``They chased them and threw teargas,'' he told Reuters.

``Some of our people have been assaulted and tortured by members of the militia in the stadium,'' Ncube said, referring to pro-government ZANU-PF militants. ``They are on a terror run out here, chasing and assaulting people randomly.

``I hope the world can see what is going on here.''

A police spokesman said: ``The police moved in to stop violence between supporters of two parties. The police threw teargas to disperse the crowd to avoid any further trouble.''

The violence came hours before a visit by Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, who arrived in the capital Harare late on Sunday for talks with Mugabe over the Zimbabwean president's pledge to end violent seizures of white-owned farms.

Obasanjo was met by Mugabe at Harare airport and told a welcoming party of thousands of people from Mugabe's ZANU-PF party that he had come to ``see and dialogue'' in the best interests of Africa and Zimbabwe.

``We are here for the best interests of the people and leaders of Zimbabwe and the people of Africa,'' he was quoted by Zimbabwe's state media as saying before being whisked to Mugabe's official State House for the talks.

Mugabe said Zimbabwe was grateful for Nigeria's help now, and during the country's struggle for independence in the 1970s.

``They will support us today and tomorrow as you know that Africa is for Africans and Zimbabwe for Zimbabweans,'' he said.

Foreign correspondents left the airport before Obasanjo's arrival after government officials denied some of them entry.

Nigerian officials said Obasanjo's discussions with Mugabe would also include the Zimbabwean government's controversial media bill, which bans foreign nationals from working in the country as correspondents for foreign media.

``President Obasanjo is coming to Zimbabwe as a friend, and because he is a friend he wants to help President Mugabe to look at all the difficult problems that he may be facing and offer his advice and that relationship is mutual,'' said one official.

ELECTION TENSION

Mugabe committed himself last year under a Nigerian-brokered accord to a peaceful solution to the land problem. But the Commercial Farmers Union, speaking for 4,500 farmers whose properties have been the targets of seizures by black militants loyal to Mugabe has said its members are still being attacked.

Analysts say ZANU-PF has stepped up a violent drive against the MDC and in favor of taking over white-owned farms ahead of the presidential election on March 9-10 in which Mugabe faces a strong challenge from MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai.

Mugabe, who turns 78 next month, seems determined to ignore threats of international sanctions in his campaign to retain the power he has held since he led the former British colony of Rhodesia to independence from London 22 years ago.

Zimbabwean journalists vowed Saturday to launch a series of protests from Tuesday against planned legislation they say will severely undermine media freedom and which has been criticized by the United States and European Union.

Journalists not working for government-controlled media already have very limited access to areas outside main towns.

Under the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Bill, due to be debated in parliament Tuesday, foreign journalists would be barred from Zimbabwe altogether and all reporters and media organizations would have to register with a government-appointed body or face two years in jail.

Reporting that sowed ``alarm or despondency'' would carry the same penalty.

HARARE, Jan 25, 2002 -- (dpa) Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has made what was seen as an offensive remark over Germany's Nazi past to a senior German diplomat, according to reports on Friday.

The state-controlled daily Herald newspaper quoted Mugabe, during a meeting on Thursday with Peter Schmidt, the new German ambassador to Zimbabwe, as expressing irritation over being compared with German dictator Adolf Hitler (1889-1945).

"I have been called a Hitler, but I do not know where Hitler was born," he said. Diplomats said it was a sarcastic jibe in response to sharp criticism of Mugabe's regime by German President Johannes Rau on Wednesday when he was visiting South Africa.

Rau expressed "grave concern" at the campaign of violent repression mounted by Mugabe ahead of presidential elections in 43 days time.

"It was just crude and ignorant," said a German resident here who asked not to be named. "Germans feel a deep shame about Hitler, and they have shown the rest of the world that that kind of evil can never happen in German again."

Comparisons with the tactics employed by Hitler and the 77-year-old African dictator have been made frequently in the last year.

Observers point to the extensive use by both men of lawless gangs of youths to intimidate opponents, the persecution of racial minorities, the appointment of pro-ruling party judges and slick and relentless propaganda machines.

No comment was available from the German embassy. Schmidt was presenting his credentials to Mugabe.

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) -- Zimbabwe's government announced plans Monday to make national youth service training compulsory, a move the opposition says is an effort to create a private army.

State radio said high school graduates would be required to undergo the training to instill them with ``patriotism'' and what it calls an unbiased understanding of the country's history.

But the opposition claims that the youth groups are basically unarmed militia that have been used to assault and intimidate critics of President Robert Mugabe.

Mugabe, who has ruled Zimbabwe since independence in 1980, is fighting for political survival ahead of upcoming presidential elections scheduled for March.

But his brutal crackdown on the opposition -- tacit government approval of violence against opposition activists and legislation aimed at silencing any dissent in the southern African country -- has been criticized by the international community.

On Monday the European Union threatened the government with economic and diplomatic sanctions if Mugabe failed to improve Zimbabwe's human rights record.

The main opposition Movement for Democratic Change called on the government to disband youth groups who have already graduated from a state training camp in northeastern Zimbabwe.

The opposition blames the groups, many dressed in green military-style uniforms, of disrupting its meetings and rallies ahead of upcoming elections.

Officials said ruling party militants including youth militias disrupted two of its weekend campaign rallies in Harare.

``It is meant to stop our campaign. Canceling rallies is an option we could have to consider,'' Opposition spokesman Learnmore Jongwe said, citing the safety of opposition supporters.

At least 18 people were injured in clashes between rival supporters. The opposition said one of its followers died Saturday from injuries suffered at the rally the week before.

The death brought to eight the official tally by police of political related killings this month. Independent human rights groups have blamed most of the violence on militants from the ruling ZANU-PF party.

At least 100 people died in political violence last year and thousands have been left homeless from the unrest.

On Monday, the EU promised economic and political sanctions against Mugabe to meet demands to improve his nation's human rights record, including unconditional acceptance of EU election monitors.

The EU foreign ministers said ``targeted sanctions'' would be implemented if no improvement is evident by Feb. 3.

By that date, the EU wants European observers in Zimbabwe to monitor the campaign for the March 9-10 presidential elections in which Mugabe, whose ZANU-FP party holds 93 of the 150 parliamentary seats, wants to extend his 22-year rule.

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AP) -- Media groups declared Zimbabwe's free press dead after parliament passed a bill essentially gagging independent journalists ahead of the country's contentious presidential election in March.

The legislation passed Thursday makes it illegal for journalists to operate without government accreditation and allows foreign correspondents into the country only to cover specific events.

Critical reporting of the government effectively would be banned under the proposed law. It still must be signed by President Robert Mugabe, who has dominated the country's political system since independence in 1980.

``The purpose of the bill is to silence the media and to make sure the only voice that is heard is President Mugabe's,'' said Iden Weatherell, editor of the Zimbabwean Independent.

Secretary of State Colin Powell and British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw also condemned the proposed law.

``I wholly condemn the passage of these press laws,'' Straw said Thursday after meeting with Powell in Washington. He raised the possibility of European Union sanctions against Zimbabwe.

Powell said the Bush administration is working with Britain and other countries on possible joint steps against Zimbabwe.

Presidential spokesman George Charamba did not return repeated calls from The Associated Press for comment.

The bill creates a state-appointed commission with disciplinary powers to withdraw licenses, confiscate equipment and jail journalists for up to two years.

It is considered symbolic of Mugabe's efforts to wipe out dissent ahead of the elections. The independent press has harshly criticized the former revolutionary.

The bill shows ``the complete powerlessness of journalists in this really repressive machine Mugabe has managed to build,'' said Yves Sorokobi, the Africa coordinator for the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists.

The organization said it was helping journalists who believed they were in danger to get out of the country.

Independent newspapers have been essential in exposing the country's economic collapse, the wave of political violence by ruling party militants against opposition activists and the violent occupation of white-owned farms by those militants.

In March, Mugabe faces Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai, whose party won nearly half the seats in the 2000 parliamentary elections despite a campaign marred by violence blamed on the ruling party.

Even before the bill, human rights activists doubted the presidential election could be free and fair amid the violence and chaos of the country.

Now there is concern that voters cannot make an informed choice if the independent press does not cover the elections.

``We defy everything in this (bill). It prevents us from reporting the issues,'' said Basildon Peta, who heads Zimbabwe's union of journalists. ``It's a fascist piece of legislation ... with the main purpose of gagging the media.''

The government-controlled media barely covers the opposition. During the 2000 election campaign, 92 percent of the stories were on Mugabe's ruling party, said the Media Monitoring Project tracking coverage in Zimbabwe.

Andrew Moyse, who heads the organization, said the media bill symbolizes that Zimbabwe is ``becoming one of the most repressive societies on the continent.''

The bill makes ``being a journalist impossible,'' he said.

About 100 reporters and editors work at independent newspapers and agencies in Zimbabwe. There are no independent radio or television stations as efforts to create them have been squashed by Mugabe.

Peta and other independent journalists have said they would risk jail by not registering for the required accreditation.

The government has refused requests from many foreign reporters, including several representing the AP, to enter Zimbabwe. Officials have described previous attempts at regulating the media as efforts to ensure reporters act responsibly.

Mugabe's information minister, Jonathan Moyo, pushed for the proposed law by attacking white journalists and international news organizations, including the AP, as racially biased.

Even before the bill's passage, independent journalists only had restricted access to officials and operated under the threat of violence. State authorities refuse to talk to them and the police rarely divulge information.

By RACHEL L. SWARNS

JOHANNESBURG, Feb. 1 — The first casualties of a raft of new laws tightening the grip of President Robert Mugabe before March elections lay this week in a hospital in Zimbabwe's capital, Harare.

The two men — one left with a fractured spine, the other with swollen testicles — were beaten in clashes with the police over the weekend when they tried to hold a rally without official permission.

Even as they recuperated, Zimbabwe's Parliament passed a new law on Thursday restricting the news media, a measure that some within the governing party said they succeeded in moderating.

But by today there was no doubt that the media law and two others passed in recent weeks — on top of months of violent and sometimes deadly intimidation of political opponents — have dramatically tilted the political landscape in Mr. Mugabe's favor and hobbled his challengers.

Under the new laws, citizens can no longer hold public meetings without giving the police four days notice. Local journalists must now be licensed by a government commission to work. Campaign workers can be arrested for handing out flyers. And the authorities can ban demonstrations for up to three months.

Zimbabwe's state news agency reported that two other men were charged under the new laws this week for "having used abusive language on the person of the president," a crime that now carries a jail sentence of up to one year.

David Coltart, a senior opposition lawmaker, said he was still confident that citizens would turn out in March to vote against Mr. Mugabe, who has run the country for 22 years. With the economy collapsing and intimidation and violence flaring, this once prosperous nation is desperate for change, he said.

But he acknowledged that the crowds at opposition rallies have been dwindling lately. Last month, one man was killed and more than a dozen were injured when government militants clashed with opposition party supporters at a rally in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe's second largest city.

Nowadays, Mr. Coltart said, he can no longer urge his constituents to attend public meetings. "I don't want blood on my hands," he said today. "People come to me and say, `It's not that we don't support you. It's just that we want to stay alive.' "

Government officials dismissed such complaints, as they dismissed criticism from the West over the new media and security laws. Today President Mugabe hit the campaign trail, greeting thousands of cheering supporters while his aides hailed passage of the media law as the end of the drumbeat of "daily lies from Zimbabwe's detractors."

Mr. Mugabe's backers said the opposition was to blame for much of the violence, and they accused white critics of trying to stop Mr. Mugabe from undoing the legacy of colonialism and redistributing land from the white minority to the black majority.

Officials deride the black members of the opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change, as puppets of the British, the country's formal colonial ruler, and of the white farmers and white businessmen who finance the party.

Today, with the news media freshly under tighter government control, Mr. Mugabe's party used a full-page advertisement to depict Morgan Tsvangarai, the opposition party leader, as a waiter offering up the entire country in a teacup to the British prime minister, Tony Blair.

Government officials did not return phone calls today, but Jonathan Moyo, the minister of information, vigorously defended the media law, though he questioned the need for news media at all. "Thomas Jefferson said it was better to have newspapers without government," he told CNN in Harare. "He was very, very wrong. It is far better to have government without newspapers."

In The Herald, the state-controlled daily newspaper, he said the media law was needed to defend the country against what he described as lies peddled by foreign journalists and local reporters who back the opposition. The government's willingness to remove contested clauses proves that officials are responsive to the concerns of the people, he added.

Some in the independent news media seemed to agree. "I'm not as worried as I was two weeks ago," said Trevor Ncube, the publisher of two private newspapers, The Standard and The Independent. "The concessions that have been won are pretty significant. We can continue to operate."

The law will not prevent foreign reporters from working altogether in Zimbabwe, as had been suggested in earlier drafts. It will not allow the minister of information to seize equipment from news organizations without a search warrant.

And it does not require journalists to be licensed until the end of the year — well after the presidential election — after which they will have to seek new accreditation from the government-appointed commission.

Officials at the State Department acknowledged that the final media law was better than earlier drafts, but said it still curtailed civil liberties. "It's still problematic, as are the other pieces of legislation that still seriously hamper a free and fair electoral process," Walter H. Kansteiner, the assistant secretary of state for African affairs, said in an interview from Washington.

Officials in the European Union and the United States have vowed to consider imposing sanctions against Zimbabwe — restricting the foreign travel and freezing the foreign assets of Mr. Mugabe and his deputies. "The message to the political elite is that these next six weeks will determine the rest of your life, the fate of your country and your personal fate," a Western diplomat said.

Officials at the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists vowed to fight the bill, saying it was designed to muzzle the lively and often critical coverage in the country's private newspapers.

"We are still totally against it," said Sydney Masamvu, a spokesman for the union.

And Mr. Coltart, who is a senior member of the opposition, was equally unequivocal in his assessment. "We have all the trappings of a fascist state," he said today. "They cloak their human rights abuses in legislation. They use laws as a cover for acts that in democratic countries would be criminal."