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Zimbabwe Opposition Calls Strike
Mugabe bans rallies, will skip summit on election results
By Nick McMaster
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Posted Apr 11, 08 5:08 PM CDT
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(Newser)
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Zimbabwe’s opposition party called a general strike today in response to news that Robert Mugabe will not attend a weekend summit intended to speed the release of last month’s election results, Reuters reports. Morgan Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change marshaled support for the strike, which "starts Tuesday." But police warned that all political rallies are outlawed "with immediate effect," BBC reports.
Mugabe’s absence from the summit means the group is unlikely to take action on the Zimbabwean elections. The government banned an MDC rally scheduled for Sunday, and Tsvangirai took to South African radio to warn that the repression would only get more severe: “The military has a rollout plan and is already embarking on intimidation and violence against the people."