HARARE (AFP) — Zimbabwe's opposition leader Wednesday lashed out at police for treating him "like a common criminal" after he was briefly detained in the early hours ahead of a protest against President Robert Mugabe.
"They came and woke me up in the wee hours today and said to me 'come here with us.' I asked 'to do what?' and they said it's about the march," Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai told supporters on the outskirts of the capital.
"Where in the world have you seen the leader of a reputable national and international brand like the MDC be treated like a common criminal?
"If this is the reaction of this dictatorship, then the elections are a farce. I don't foresee a situation where this very police can salute a change of government. I don't foresee a situation where this Zimbabwe Electoral Commission can actually announce the defeat of Mugabe."
Tsvangirai was picked up by police at about 2:00am and questioned for around four hours ahead of the rally to press for free and fair elections and for a solution to the economic crisis ravaging the southern African country.
Police had initially banned the protest but the MDC was given permission by a court in Harare to gather at a football stadium while being barred from marching through the city centre.
Tsvangirai said the rally was to test Mugabe's commitment to talks brokered by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to defuse long-simmering tensions between the MDC and Mugabe's ruling party.
"Today's march is a test of sincerity on the part of Mugabe. Today's march is a test of sincerity on the part Thabo Mbeki and SADC to ask they whether they really want a solution to the crisis facing this country.
"The solution is to engage and listen to the people."
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