Tsvangirai seeks refuge in Dutch embassy

Tsvangirai seeks refuge in Dutch embassy

HIDING: Tsvangirai sought refuge in Dutch embassy

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By Lebo Nkatazo

MORGAN Tsvangirai took refuge at the Dutch Embassy in Harare on Monday, as a police sweep at his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) headquarters led to the arrest of at least 60 people, officials said.

Tsvangirai announced Sunday that he was pulling out of a presidential election run-off due Friday. But within hours of making that announcement, the MDC leader was holed up in the Dutch embassy “for security reasons”, an MDC spokesman in Johannesburg told the BBC.

A Dutch foreign ministry spokesman said Tsvangirai had spent Sunday night in the Dutch embassy but had not requested asylum.

The spokesman said Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen had told the MDC leader that if he needed security, he was welcome to stay.

Tsvangirai spoke to a South African radio station on Monday morning, and made no reference to the fact he was at the Dutch Embassy.

Tsvangirai told Talk Radio 702 he is prepared to negotiate with President Robert Mugabe's party if pre-election violence is halted.

"We are prepared to negotiate with Zanu PF, but of course it is important that certain principles must be accepted before the negotiation takes place," Tsvangirai said on South African radio.

"For instance one of the preconditions is that the violence against the people must stop."

On Monday, the MDC said police raided its headquarters in Harare and took away about 60 people.

Police did not immediately explain the raid, but MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa said most of those taken away Monday were women and children given refuge at the headquarters building after fleeing political violence elsewhere.
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