Zimbabwe Crisis: Mugabe Opponent Says Runoff Must Happen

While passions have risen in America over the course of the Presidential primary season, another huge political story is unfolding — in Africa, in Zimbabwe. And Time has a compelling interview with an opposition leader there. Here’s the intro and a small part of it:

Zimbabwe lurches deeper into crisis as President Robert Mugabe’s government menaces the opposition and its supporters in the walk-up to a second round of elections at the end of June. TIME’s Megan Lindow spoke by phone to Mugabe’s chief political rival, Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), in an interview arranged by MTVu, a college-oriented music network from MTV. Tsvangirai — who expressed his gratitude to MTVu, saying its help “will contribute to the awareness of the crisis in Zimbabwe internationally” — spoke after being detained twice in a single day by Zimbabwean authorities. The opposition leader sounded somewhat tired after his ordeal, which ended late Thursday night, but he was nevertheless focused and determined.

Here’s the first exchange:

You were detained twice yesterday, and Tendai Biti [secretary-general of the MDC] is now being charged with treason. What does this mean for the MDC and the runoff?
Tsvangirai: I think the facts are obvious — that the intention is to decimate our campaign, to slow down our mobilization and to frustrate the leadership. It is obvious that they realize they have lost the people, so the only thing to do is to frustrate the opposition.

What do you say to those who are calling for this runoff to be scrapped, claiming that there’s no way the election can be free and fair, and urging you to form a joint government with Mugabe?
This is democracy on trial. Do people want democratic change, or do they just want accommodation of a loser? Why did we go into the election if that was the case? We could easily — before the election — have negotiated a government of national unity without having had to subject people to this violence. Now my view is that there is no basis that the runoff should be scrapped, because no one has got the legal constitutional power to scrap it. The conditions are not free and fair; in fact, the conditions are so hostile for the opposition that talk of an election under these circumstances is ridiculous.

Read it in its entirety.

Just a look at the headlines shows you how this political drama has been growing and building to a head:
–Mugabe forces soldiers and police to support him in early vote
–Britain leads call for Zimbabwe sanctions to punish Mugabe for stealing election
–Mugabe Talks War as Zimbabwean Election Nears
–Mugabe sparks fears of civil war
–Zimbabwe’s pro-Mugabe war vets draw hard line
–Zimbabwe: Gordon Brown condemns Robert Mugabe’s ‘criminal regime’
–Runoff election won’t end Zimbabwe’s crisis
– Australian PM calls on African nations to prevent Mugabe from ‘stealing’ election
–African Union Ready to Counter Mugabe Threats
–Mugabe vows MDC will ‘never rule Zimbabwe’
–A blind eye to Mugabe’s reign of terror

Cartoon by Pat Bagley, Salt Lake Tribune