Zimbabwe situation is ‘dire,’ South Africa says

As the toll of Zimbabwe opposition supporters injured in postelection violence rose to more than 200 on Thursday, South Africa hardened its position on the crisis, calling for the speedy release of election results.

South African government spokesman Themba Maseko described the situation in Zimbabwe as “dire.”

“When elections are held and results are not released two weeks after, it is obviously of great concern,” Maseko said, referring to the March 29 presidential vote in Zimbabwe.

Official results of the parliamentary elections have been released, and they showed President Robert Mugabe’s party losing its majority. Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai said the regime had unleashed an orgy of violence on his party’s supporters and activists in response.

“As I speak, our people are being murdered, homes burned, children molested, women raped,” Tsvangirai said.

Although official results in the presidential race have not been released, senior figures in the ruling ZANU-PF party have conceded that Mugabe won fewer votes than did Tsvangirai. The opposition insists Tsvangirai won the 50% plus one required to win without a runoff, but independent projections suggest he fell short.

With the arrest of 11 electoral officials in recent days, ZANU-PF cited “irregularities” in the tallying and demanded that 23 seats be recounted, enough for it to reverse its loss of parliamentary control. It won 97 seats and needs 106 to control the 210-seat House of Assembly. The recount is set for this weekend.

South African President Thabo Mbeki, the appointed mediator between the Zimbabwean government and the opposition, and other regional leaders had been muted in their response to the disputed elections. Last weekend, after he met with Mugabe, Mbeki was widely reported as saying there was not a crisis in Zimbabwe, sparking sharp criticism in South Africa’s ruling African National Congress party. On Wednesday he denied having said that.

The Southern African Development Community, a regional body, issued a statement Sunday calling for the election results to be verified swiftly, but it avoided criticism of Mugabe or his government.

Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change said Thursday that at least two opposition supporters had been killed. The number admitted to hospitals with injuries rose to more than 200, with many suffering broken bones and cuts.

Tsvangirai hinted that members of Mugabe’s regime could someday face trial for crimes. “I think the current wave of violence against the people must stop and the only way to stop [it] is that those who are committing those crimes must know that they must be answerable one day,” said Tsvangirai, who visited Johannesburg on Thursday, giving a news conference and several interviews.

The intimidation is also directed at white farmers perceived by Mugabe’s party as allied with the opposition. About 130 white farmers have been threatened by gangs of war veterans ordering them to vacate their properties, according to the Commercial Farmers’ Union, and 28 have been evicted since the elections.

U.S. officials also expressed concern about violent retribution in Zimbabwe.

“We have disturbing and confirmed reports of threats, beatings, abductions, burning of homes and even murder from many parts of the country,” said the U.S. ambassador to Zimbabwe, James McGee, in a message to Zimbabweans on the eve of Independence Day celebrations.

Zimbabwe won independence from Britain on this date in 1980 and Mugabe has ruled ever since, presiding in recent years over a deepening economic crisis.

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robyn.dixon@latimes.com