Zimbabwean riot police patrolled a restive Harare township yesterday to stop possible unrest, a day after crushing an opposition rally amid government fears of a new street campaign against President Robert Mugabe.
Heavily armed riot squads prevented the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) from holding a court-approved rally in Highfield on Sunday, firing teargas and water cannon to drive away stone-throwing protesters and arresting 122 people.
MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai left the rally without addressing the crowd after security forces began attacking his supporters, reporters said.
"The rally has been canceled for now," MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa said on Sunday. "The sad thing is that police failed to respect the court order."
"What has happened is a clear sign of the collapse of rule of law and, tragically, of the police force," he said. "Many people have been injured."
Riot squads on foot and in armored trucks were still patrolling the streets of Highfield early yesterday, but in smaller numbers than on Sunday.
Police armed with guns, rubber batons, shields, teargas canisters and launchers were also on guard at the poor township's main shopping mall, traditionally a flashpoint for political clashes.
"It's quiet here, but you can see there that they are not quite sure yet," one resident said, nodding towards one police patrol.
Tension has been rising in recent months over Zimbabwe's deteriorating economy and skyrocketing cost of living, prompting some workers, including doctors and teachers, to embark on wage strikes as inflation tops 1,600 percent.
The High Court on Saturday ordered the government to allow the MDC to hold its rally, rejecting police arguments that they needed more time to find the manpower to monitor it.
State media suggested the authorities were worried that the MDC wanted to use the event to launch a wave of anti-government protests, and stopped it "for security and political reasons."
The media said the rally was to be part of a British-backed drive "to galvanize the regime change lobby" and embarrass Mugabe, who turns 83 this week and will celebrate his birthday at a huge party organized by his governing ZANU-PF on Saturday.
"I think the government's heavy-handed approach yesterday, the decision to ignore the court order and use force has further damaged its image at home and abroad," said Eldred Masunungure, a political science professor at the University of Zimbabwe.
"Both here and internationally, they are reinforcing the impression that they are in trouble, and the use or show of force is just going to worsen the tension, it's adding fuel to the fire," he said.
The MDC had said it planned to use the rally to launch its presidential election campaign. The election is due in March 2008 but the ZANU-PF party plans to put it off until 2010 and to hold it at the same time as parliamentary elections.
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