Posted on 07/25/2005 4:44:22 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
After devoting his life to opposing Zimbabwe's regime, Frank Chamunorwa was beaten up on a street corner. Yet he was not attacked by thugs loyal to President Robert Mugabe.
Instead, his assailants were drawn from his own party, the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, which is paralysed by violent factional rivalry.
"I have never been so dejected in my life because my own party perpetrated atrocities on me," said Mr Chamunorwa, 55. "I was not only beaten but forced to bend down, lie on the ground by youths, most of them younger than my first-born child."
The gang of about six abducted him from his home in the capital, Harare, last month. They deliberately humiliated Mr Chamunorwa, throwing him to the ground, kicking and beating him.
He was close to tears as he described his experience. What makes him especially bitter is that he helped found the MDC six years ago and was almost murdered by thugs from the ruling Zanu-PF party.
The assault happened because Mr Chamunorwa was suspected of plotting against Morgan Tsvangirai, the MDC leader. Senior party figures have accused Welshman Ncube, the secretary general, of planning to oust his leader and seize control of the party - a charge he has denied.
Mr Chamunorwa said there was no plot.
"Morgan has our mandate, more than half the population want him to rule but his ineptitude and indecision may cost him and Zimbabwe dearly," he said.
If the 2002 presidential election had been free and fair, it is widely assumed that Mr Tsvangirai would be Zimbabwe's president.
Discontent with Mr Tsvangirai's leadership is coming increasingly to the surface as the MDC fails to make any headway against the regime.
When Mr Mugabe carried out his assault on the townships, bulldozing the homes or livelihoods of 700,000 people, the opposition failed to offer any coherent response. The MDC was paralysed by factional warfare and incapable of opposing Mr Mugabe.
The assault on Mr Chamunorwa was only one of many. Other MDC thugs tried to murder Peter Guhu, a party official, who was forced to flee to South Africa after suffering serious injuries.
Another member, Diamond Karanda, 31, was beaten up inside the MDC's headquarters in Harare on June 16. He was dragged into the boardroom and assaulted so badly that he still cannot walk properly.
"I have many scars from Zanu-PF. They knocked out four teeth, but it is not all right when I am beaten up in the MDC boardroom," he said.
Mr Tsvangirai responded by expelling 20 members. His allies point out that Zanu-PF is responsible for the great bulk of Zimbabwe's political violence, a fact confirmed by every human rights report.
But the violence within the MDC has dismayed its most senior figures.
An internal report obtained by The Daily Telegraph, written by David Coltart, the MDC's legal secretary, said the party "appears to be intent on tearing up everything we have worked so hard to build up over the last few, very difficult years". He added that Mr Tsvangirai's expulsion of 20 junior members was an inadequate response.
"I cannot believe that the youths involved in these despicable acts acted independently. It is common cause that they were unemployed and it is equally clear that they had access to substantial funding," said Mr Coltart. "The instructions to act must have come from people within the party as no one else would have the detailed knowledge the youths had access to.
"In expelling the youths and relatively low-ranking members of the security team we have only dealt with the symptoms of the problem, not its root cause."
Mr Coltart claimed that Mr Tsvangirai had conducted an "inadequate investigation" into the violence and breached the MDC's rule book by failing to establish a formal disciplinary committee.
"If we do not send out a clear and unequivocal message to Zimbabweans in general and in particular to our own members and staff that violence will not be tolerated, then we will simply reduce the standing of the MDC to that of our opposition, Zanu-PF," said Mr Coltart.
Observers believe that infighting threatens the MDC's very survival as a political force.
Brian Raftopoulos, a Harare commentator, said: "The MDC is paralysed and if this is not dealt with, it will lead to its demise."
oh goodie...if mugabe dies,they have another idiot to take his place....Oh,that will make zimbabwe come back to life...
I don't know if Tsvangirai is the man to lead Zimbabwe but Mugabe has done such a terrible number on the country, I don't know who could rally the sick, starving and demoralized opposition at this point. What the people need to be, is MAD AT MUGABE!!!!
Its like being a decent democrat{I know there aren't that many of them}who do you vote for??????john kerry,hillary clinton or al gore...Bill clinton is in the white house already...You vote for another idiot and life does not get better..just more of the same.....When your starving,desperate and even the opposition acts like a nazi ,the only choice is between communist rule and communist rule with a little more money from the african nations...And when the money runs out,its just more of the same mugabe crap...why can't african nations try capitalism for once...And longer than 20 minutes...
I know.
It's exasperating.
whats exasperating is the stupid,blood sucking ,black killing ,nazi loving dimwits keep trying to foist this crap on us!~!!!!!!!!!!!!
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