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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| UK increases pressure on Zimbabwe | UK increases pressure on Zimbabwe |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Britain is stepping up the pressure on Zimbabwe's president Robert Mugabe, after opposition activists were attacked following a rally. | Britain is stepping up the pressure on Zimbabwe's president Robert Mugabe, after opposition activists were attacked following a rally. |
| Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett has asked the UN Human Rights Council to find those responsible for the attack. | Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett has asked the UN Human Rights Council to find those responsible for the attack. |
| Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai was arrested after the rally and appeared in court days later with a badly bruised face and head wound. | Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai was arrested after the rally and appeared in court days later with a badly bruised face and head wound. |
| Mr Mugabe blamed the opposition for the violence and told critics to "go hang". | Mr Mugabe blamed the opposition for the violence and told critics to "go hang". |
| Mrs Beckett also wants the EU to make its sanctions against Zimbabwe more effective. | Mrs Beckett also wants the EU to make its sanctions against Zimbabwe more effective. |
| International 'horror' | International 'horror' |
| She told the BBC's Politics Show that Mr Mugabe liked to portray criticism of his regime as a battle between the old colonial power - Britain - and Zimbabwe. | She told the BBC's Politics Show that Mr Mugabe liked to portray criticism of his regime as a battle between the old colonial power - Britain - and Zimbabwe. |
| "It's one of the reasons why we in the British government try to approach the issue in a way that doesn't give him the excuse to pretend it's all just about the relationship between him and us because that way it is the people of Zimbabwe who suffer." | "It's one of the reasons why we in the British government try to approach the issue in a way that doesn't give him the excuse to pretend it's all just about the relationship between him and us because that way it is the people of Zimbabwe who suffer." |
| Everyone is concerned Margaret Beckett | Everyone is concerned Margaret Beckett |
| She said "horror" at developments in Zimbabwe had been "felt right across the international community". | She said "horror" at developments in Zimbabwe had been "felt right across the international community". |
| "Everyone is concerned," she added. | "Everyone is concerned," she added. |
| On Friday Mr Tsvangirai, the leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), left hospital in a wheelchair. | On Friday Mr Tsvangirai, the leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), left hospital in a wheelchair. |
| Badly bruised | Badly bruised |
| He and colleagues were arrested after police broke up a banned rally on Sunday. | He and colleagues were arrested after police broke up a banned rally on Sunday. |
| Two days later he appeared with a badly bruised face and stitches in a head wound - although doctors have denied reports that he suffered a fractured skull. | Two days later he appeared with a badly bruised face and stitches in a head wound - although doctors have denied reports that he suffered a fractured skull. |
| He told the BBC that Mr Mugabe's government could not defend itself against what it had done | |
| Mr Tsvangirai arrived at court with a bruised face and head wound | Mr Tsvangirai arrived at court with a bruised face and head wound |
| "It has strengthened the view nationally and internationally that this regime is a rogue regime which is behaving in a manner which is intolerant," Mr Tsvangirai said. | |
| "And we can not move forward with this regime." | |
| Four other MDC officials remain in hospital. | |
| British Foreign Office minister, Lord Triesman told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that Mr Mugabe's actions looked "to be bordering on crimes against humanity". | |
| But he said that military action would not be a practical proposition and that African leaders, especially President Mbeki of South Africa, had to put more pressure on the government in Harare. | |
| But President Mugabe said there had been no Western criticism of the MDC, which he said had instigated the violence. | But President Mugabe said there had been no Western criticism of the MDC, which he said had instigated the violence. |
| "When they criticise the government when it tries to prevent violence and punish perpetrators of that violence we take the position that they can go hang," he said. | "When they criticise the government when it tries to prevent violence and punish perpetrators of that violence we take the position that they can go hang," he said. |
| Police have blamed the MDC for what they said was a firebomb attack on a Harare police station which left two policewomen in hospital. | Police have blamed the MDC for what they said was a firebomb attack on a Harare police station which left two policewomen in hospital. |