Mugabe invites unrest with ban on strikes

ZIMBABWEAN HUMAN rights leaders responded yesterday with dismay to President Robert Mugabe's new rules banning strikes and restricting political and public gatherings, accusing him of introducing a state of emergency by stealth.

"It's horrifying. This amounts to an unjustified declaration of a state of emergency and sets us back as a country." said Mike Auret, chairman of rights watchdog Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace.

Mugabe's embattled government on Friday published tight rules requiring organisers to notify officials or seek police permission at least seven days before calling any gathering or march, limiting the number of speakers at those events to three and giving the state the right to record the speeches.

He also declared finance, commerce and industry essential services, making it a criminal offence for anyone to incite a strike in these sectors. Communications, energy, health, food, water supply, sewage services, fire- fighting and transport are already listed as essential.

Mr Mugabe's declaration came as the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) threatened to call a five-day stoppage to press demands for tax cuts, and the order effectively removes workers' right to strike. It was his biggest blow to a group he accuses of wanting to topple him through unrest, a charge labour organisers deny.

But political analysts say although Mugabe means to tighten his grip on the state he has ruled for the last 18 years, his move might spark further opposition. Over the past year various sectors have used strikes and protests to assert their rights and demands.

"I think these restrictions and rules will be resisted. He (Mugabe) may end up with more trouble than he is trying to get rid of." said Lupi Mushayakarara, a political commentator and chairman of the political rights Institute for the Advancement of Freedom.

"The lesson from the last couple of months is that people have become very assertive. They are fighting and defending their rights,"she said.

A top ZCTU official said the organisation was preparing a comprehensive reply to Mugabe's action, but added: "Our real response would be resounding." Constitutional lawyer Professor Welshman Ncube, of the University of Zimbabwe in Harare, said Mugabe's declaration was illegal, unless invoked alongside a general state of emergency.