Mugabe continues to terrorize voters after opposition drops out

Guardian:

Robert Mugabe's forces kept up their assault on the opposition yesterday as its leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, sought refuge in the Dutch embassy, fearing for his safety after pulling out of Friday's presidential election because of escalating violence.

Armed police raided the Movement for Democratic Change's headquarters and hauled away scores of people sheltering from state-orchestrated killings, abductions and assaults.

The ruling Zanu-PF said the election would go ahead despite Tsvangirai's withdrawal, while Mugabe repeated threats to continue to pursue his opponents after the ballot. He warned that he would hold the MDC responsible for the violence, and said the government would pursue those it regarded as responsible for the country's economic collapse, including white businessmen.

"Sooner or later we are going to accuse the MDC leadership of being vicariously responsible for the violence," he said.

But Tsvangirai's withdrawal from the run-off presidential election, because he said he could not ask people to die voting for him, has intensified foreign condemnation of Mugabe.

Last night, the UN rebuked the Zimbabwean government and called for the election to be scrapped. In the organisation's first direct involvement in the crisis, a draft Security Council resolution blamed the government for "a campaign of violence" that had "denied its political opponents the right to campaign freely".

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Don't expect Mugabe to take responsibility for the mess he has made. The only way to stop this despot is with superior military force. It is past time to end this odious regime and its abuse of the people of Zimbabwe.