By MacDonald Dzirutwe
HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwean police arrested oppositionleader Morgan Tsvangirai on Thursday while he was campaigningfor the country's June 27 presidential run-off election, hisMovement for Democratic Change (MDC) said.
It is the third time in little more than a week thatTsvangirai has been detained by police. Earlier on Thursday,police arrested the party's secretary general at Harare airportas he flew in from South Africa.
The opposition and human rights groups accuse PresidentRobert Mugabe's government of waging a campaign of arrests andviolent intimidation ahead of the run-off with Tsvangirai.
"Morgan Tsvangirai has been arrested by Zimbabwean policeand is currently being held at Kwekwe police station. He andhis entourage of 20 people were detained at a roadblock outsideof Kwekwe while conducting a campaign tour through Midlandsprovince," the MDC said in a statement.
Tsvangirai was leaving Kwekwe, 200 km (125 miles) west ofHarare when he and his convoy were stopped at a roadblock andtaken to a police station. There were more than 20 cars in theconvoy, including a tour bus.
"We have been detained at the police station and they aresaying they want to search for something," Tsvangirai'sspokesman George Sibotshiwe told Reuters by telephone.
"This is just a deliberate attempt to delay us, it is justharassment."
On the phone, Tsvangirai could be heard asking a policeofficer what crime he had committed and saying that the bus, onwhich a large poster of the MDC leader's face was displayed,was part of the opposition campaign strategy.
PREMATURE ANNOUCEMENT
Police said MDC secretary general Biti was wanted inconnection with prematurely announcing the results of the firstround of voting.
Biti, the party's number three, left the country soon afterdisputed March 29 elections to gather African support.
"He was wanted in connection with the prematureannouncement of results before the official announcement ofresults by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission," said policespokesman Wayne Bvudzijena.
Tsvangirai beat Mugabe in the first round of elections inMarch but not by enough to avoid a run-off, according toofficial figures.
The MDC says ZANU-PF activists have killed 66 oppositionsupporters to try to intimidate voters before the run-off. Theruling party blames the opposition for the political violence.
Observers from southern African regional body SADC saidmonitoring the elections would be a big challenge. Monitorsfrom Western countries critical of Mugabe will not be allowed.
"It is a mammoth task," SADC official Tanki Mothae saidbefore the deployment of 120 observers out of 400.
Mothae said SADC wanted to help Zimbabwe run a free andfair poll: "This is to help the people of Zimbabwe go throughthis election as peacefully as possible."
Mugabe's support has been eroded by the economic collapseof the once prosperous country, which he has ruled sinceindependence from Britain in 1980.
Critics blame Zimbabwe's decline on Mugabe's policies,including the seizure of white-owned farms. Some of the mostfertile farms have gone to supporters who were ill-equipped toproperly engage in agriculture.
The official Herald newspaper quoted Mugabe as saying only42 percent of the land was under full use and renewing threatsto re-possess farms that were not being properly used in acountry suffering food shortages and economic collapse.
(Additional reporting by Cris Chinaka; Editing by MatthewTostevin)
