2008 Woodie Awards
MorganTsvangirai fights for presidency of Africa
By: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Issue date: 4/18/08 Section: World
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa - Protests are fizzling at home, and his efforts to rally the world to the cause of democracy in Zimbabwe are being stymied by fellow Africans.
Morgan Tsvangirai - who has been beaten, accused of treason and nearly killed since founding Zimbabwe's main opposition movement in 1999 - wouldn't hazard a guess as to when the crisis over an election he says he won will be resolved.
If he knew who could persuade Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe to step down, he said in an interview with The Associated Press, "certainly that person should be contacted immediately."
Nearly three weeks have passed since the presidential vote. No official results have been released, and the opposition, which says Tsvangirai won, accuses Mugabe of withholding the results to stay in power after a campaign that focused on Zimbabwe's shell-shocked economy.
There has been talk of a recount or a runoff. But Mugabe could well simply continue to suppress the results and cling to power.
Human rights groups report increasing violence against Tsvangirai's supporters. Zimbabwe Doctors for Human Rights said Tuesday its members had treated more than 150 cases of injuries consistent with assault and torture since the March 29 poll, including a rash of recent ones linked to a crackdown sparked by the opposition's call for a stay-away from work protest.
The stay-away call was little heeded, both because few Zimbabweans can afford to miss even a day of work, and because police and militants loyal to Mugabe cracked down.
Tsvangirai said the stay-away "may have been an exhausted strategy." But he wasn't home to help his aides plot tactics. He has been traveling outside Zimbabwe for most of the period since the election, and acknowledged his homeland was a dangerous place for him.
"There are rogue elements there who might take the law into their own hands," he said.
The former trade union leader said diplomacy, not fear, was the main reason he was abroad. He would not say when he would return, saying his priority now is mobilizing international pressure on Mugabe.
Morgan Tsvangirai - who has been beaten, accused of treason and nearly killed since founding Zimbabwe's main opposition movement in 1999 - wouldn't hazard a guess as to when the crisis over an election he says he won will be resolved.
If he knew who could persuade Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe to step down, he said in an interview with The Associated Press, "certainly that person should be contacted immediately."
Nearly three weeks have passed since the presidential vote. No official results have been released, and the opposition, which says Tsvangirai won, accuses Mugabe of withholding the results to stay in power after a campaign that focused on Zimbabwe's shell-shocked economy.
There has been talk of a recount or a runoff. But Mugabe could well simply continue to suppress the results and cling to power.
Human rights groups report increasing violence against Tsvangirai's supporters. Zimbabwe Doctors for Human Rights said Tuesday its members had treated more than 150 cases of injuries consistent with assault and torture since the March 29 poll, including a rash of recent ones linked to a crackdown sparked by the opposition's call for a stay-away from work protest.
The stay-away call was little heeded, both because few Zimbabweans can afford to miss even a day of work, and because police and militants loyal to Mugabe cracked down.
Tsvangirai said the stay-away "may have been an exhausted strategy." But he wasn't home to help his aides plot tactics. He has been traveling outside Zimbabwe for most of the period since the election, and acknowledged his homeland was a dangerous place for him.
"There are rogue elements there who might take the law into their own hands," he said.
The former trade union leader said diplomacy, not fear, was the main reason he was abroad. He would not say when he would return, saying his priority now is mobilizing international pressure on Mugabe.
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