Tendai Biti arrested on return to Zimbabwe

Tendai Biti arrested on return to Zimbabwe

NABBED: Tendai Biti arrested at airport

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TENDAI Biti, the secretary general of Zimbabwe's main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) was arrested on Thursday upon returning to the country from South Africa where he had been since April, his party said.

Biti had earlier told reporters before departure at Johannesburg's O.R. Tambo International Airport that he expected to be arrested upon arriving in Harare, Zimbabwe's capital.

He said he had been informed that he would be arrested, but would not say who told him. He was not clear of the charges.

"The only crime I have committed is fighting for democracy," he said as he hugged an aide and disappeared through the boarding gate.

And in a press statement released by his party before his arrtest, Biti said: "Notwithstanding the threats of arrest, I am going back to Zimbabwe because I take seriously the mandate that I have had the privilege of being given by the people of Zimbabwe, to be part of the leadership of those that wish to see a democratic and prosperous Zimbabwe.

"They have said, lets finish it, and begin a new Zimbabwe of hope, jobs, education, health care and a functioning economy. I am prepared to meet whatever will come my way in this long and difficult, but noble road to Zimbabwe's democracy."

Biti and other opposition leaders left Zimbabwe soon after the election amid security concerns and have been lobbying support among regional leaders.

Zimbabwe officials have said that Biti may have broken laws by announcing results from the March 29 election before they had been released by the state electoral agency.

Government comment was not immediately available.

Presidential candidate Morgan Tsvangirai, who came in first in the initial round of voting, faces longtime President Robert Mugabe in a June 27 runoff. His campaign has been beset by violence blamed on Mugabe's forces.

Tsvangirai, who has said he is the target of a military assassination plot, left Zimbabwe soon after the first round and has only been back since May 24.

Since returning, Tsvangirai has twice been briefly detained by police as he tried to campaign, and police have stopped several attempts to hold rallies. The state-controlled media has all but ignored him in a country where few have access to the Internet or satellite television.

The opposition, foreign diplomats in Zimbabwe and Zimbabwean and international human rights groups accuse Mugabe of unleashing violence against Tsvangirai's supporters to ensure Mugabe wins the runoff. Zimbabwean government and party spokesmen have repeatedly denied such allegations. - AP/Staff Reporter
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