Zimbabwe Teachers 'Targeted By Thugs'

By Sky News SkyNews - Monday, May 5 11:44 am

Teachers in Zimbabwe are threatening to strike, saying they are being attacked by government thugs.

The country's opposition and human rights groups have accused Robert Mugabe's regime of waging a campaign of terror since he came second in the March 29 presidential elections.

Sky News has seen evidence of brutal beatings of opposition supporters, and witness accounts testify to abduction, torture and murder.

Electoral officials have said a second round of voting is necessary because neither Mr Mugabe nor his rival Morgan Tsvangirai won an outright majority, and there are fears of increased violence in the lead-up to the run-off.

Teachers have traditionally assisted in running elections. The Progressive Teachers' Union said the violent campaign against them was meant to instil fear and prevent them from participating as polling officers.

"Whoever is calling himself the government should act to stop violence in schools or we will be forced to act," the union said, adding it was considering calling a nationwide strike.

The union said more than 1,700 teachers have fled violence.

Mr Tsvangirai's party says he won the vote despite Mr Mugabe's attempts to rig it and he should rightfully be installed as president.

However, Mr Tsvangirai's deputy in the Movement for Democratic Change, Tendai Biti, has acknowledged that skipping a second round could result in another term for Mugabe.

International observers have questioned whether a run-off would be legitimate, given the violence the opposition has faced.

The opposition's top leaders, including Mr Biti and Mr Tsvangirai, have been staying out of Zimbabwe for fear of arrest.

Mugabe, 84, was hailed at independence in 1980 for promoting racial reconciliation and bringing education and health care to the black majority.

However, his policies have been blamed for reducing a once-prosperous nation to a basket case plagued by hyper-inflation, food shortages and low life expectancy.

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